2012 - 2013 MRS/OSA Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship

Program | Purpose | Criteria | Award | Application | FAQs 

Program 

The Fellow spends one year working as a special legislative assistant on the staff of a member of Congress or congressional committee. Activities may involve conducting legislative or oversight work, assisting in congressional hearings and debates, and preparing briefs and writing speeches. The Fellow also attends an orientation program on congressional and executive branch operations, which includes guidance in the congressional placement process, and a year-long seminar series on science and public policy issues. These aspects of the program are administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.          

Purpose 

To provide MRS and OSA members with an invaluable public policy learning experience, to contribute to the more effective use of optical and materials science knowledge in government, and to broaden awareness about the value of scientist and engineer-government interaction among MRS and OSA members and within the federal government. 

Criteria 

A prospective Fellow must demonstrate a record of success in research or scholarship, in a field relevant to materials and/or optical science and technology. The Fellow must also demonstrate sensitivity toward policy issues and have a strong interest in applying scientific and technical knowledge to U.S. public policy issues. The Fellow must be able to work quickly and communicate effectively on a wide variety of topics, and be able to work cooperatively with individuals having diverse viewpoints. An applicant is expected to be a Member of MRS or OSA (or an applicant for membership) and have a doctorate.  

Award 

The Fellow will have a one-year appointment beginning September 1, 2012. The Fellowship stipend will be $72,000, plus assistance for health insurance, travel and relocation expenses to the Washington, DC area.  Final selection of the Fellow will be made in early 2012.  The 2011-2012 MRS/OSA Fellow is Laura Povlich of the University of Michigan.  (View Current and Past MRS/OSA Fellows)

Application 

The application period for the 2012-2013 MRS/OSA Congressional Science and Engineering Fellowship has now ended.  Applications were required to be postmarked or emailed by January 6, 2012 and were to include the following materials:

  1. A detailed resume, no longer than two pages, providing information about educational background, professional employment, community and professional activities, public policy and legislative experience and committee and advisory group appointments plus one additional page for professional publications and presentations
  2. A statement of approximately 1,000 words addressing the applicant’s interest in the fellowship, career goals, contributions the applicant believes he or she can make as a Fellow to the legislative process and what the applicant wants to learn from the experience
  3. Three signed letters of reference specifically addressing the applicant’s ability to work on Capitol Hill as a special legislative assistant.

The deadline for applications was January 6, 2012.
Letters of reference should be mailed or emailed directly by the reference to the appropriate address below and must be in PDF format, on official letterhead and include an electronic or scanned signature. Letters of reference should not be submitted by the candidates themselves.

MRS-OSA applications were required to be mailed to:

Sarah Cogan
The Optical Society
2010 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 2--36-1023
scogan@osa.org
Tel: 202-416-1409

Additional Information
For additional information, contact:

Laura Kolton 
202-416-1907
lkolto@osa.org 

or

Donna Gillespie
724-779-2731
gillespie@mrs.org 

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