Cornell talks science policy on Capitol Hill


Kristen L. Adams
From left, Yangyang Cheng, Chris Schaffer, Ismail Baggari, Kathleen Hefferon, Sabrina Solouki, Chelsea Gregg

A group of Cornell graduate students and postdocs with an interest in science policy visited Washington, D.C., June 9 with Chris Schaffer, associate professor of biomedical engineering.

Schaffer, who spent a year on Capitol Hill as an American Association for the Advancement of Science policy fellow, teaches a class on science policy and brought the group to Washington to engage with lawmakers, administration officials and nongovernmental organization representatives.

On the Hill the Cornellians advocated for research funding and had discussions about science and technology policy priorities. They met with members and staff in 10 Congressional offices including Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY-23), Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA), Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO).