Civic Scientist Program

KEY PEOPLE

• Neal F. Lane, Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy
• Kirstin R.W. Matthews, Fellow in Science and Technology Policy

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Civic Scientist Program aims to increase the engagement of scientists and engineers with society to increase knowledge as well as interest in science.

The Civic Scientist Program at the Baker Institute is based on the premise that a more informed and engaged public will lead to improved science policy in both the private and public sector. Neal Lane, senior fellow for Science and Technology Policy and former director of the National Science Foundation and science advisor to President Clinton, describes the civic scientist as "someone who uses his or her knowledge, accomplishments and skills to help bridge the gap between science and society."

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The Civic Scientist Program is managed by the Science and Technology Policy Program at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. Click here for a 2020 report on the Civic Scientist Program's activities. For information on the "Developing Civic Scientist Leaders” program, click here. 

 The Civic Scientist Program is composed of three separate but complementing initiatives:

• A community outreach initiative that send scientists and engineers from Rice University and the Houston community to local middle and high schools to talk about careers in science.
• Science and technology policy advice
• A collection of talks by the leading scientists and engineers who have impacted public policy.  

  • Eric Schmidt, former Google CEO, co-founder of Schmidt Futures, and current chair of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence; John Hennessy, former president of Stanford University and chairman of the board of directors for Alphabet Inc.; and Norman Augustine, retired CEO and chairman of Lockheed Martin
    Unprecedented Challenges To Key Technologies Underpinning U.S. Competitiveness And Security

  • John Hennessy, former president of Stanford University and chairman of the board of directors for Alphabet Inc., and Norman Augustine, retired CEO and chairman of Lockheed Martin
    The Perils Of Complacency: America at a Tipping Point in Science & Engineering

  • Kelvin K. Droegemeier, Ph.D., Science Advisor to President Donald Trump and Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy 
    A Bold New Era of American Science and Technology
    
    
  • Vint Cerf, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist, Google 
    The Future of the Internet
    
    
  • France A. Córdova, Ph.D., Director, National Science Foundation
    Ten Big Ideas: Realizing the NSF's Vision for Research and Discovery
    
    
  • William H. Press, Ph.D., Raymer Professor, Department of Computer Science, The University of Texas at Austin
    Science in Action: Advice on Convincing a Skeptical Public 
    
    
  • Sylvester James Gates Jr., Ph.D., Member, National Academy of Sciences; and University System Regents Professor and the John S. Toll Professor of Physics, University of Maryland, College Park
    Jeannette M. Wing, Ph.D., Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research; and Consulting Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
    Science, Technology and Innovation Policy in the New Administration
    
    
  • Marcia McNutt, Ph.D., President, National Academy of Sciences
    Science Advice for Policy Decisions: Is Anyone Listening?
    
  • David Laude, Ph.D., Senior Vice Provost and Professor, The University of Texas at Austin
    Creating a Campus Culture Where Every STEM Student Graduates
  • Norman Augustine, Retired Chairman and CEO, Lockheed Martin Coporation 
    Stephen Chu, Ph.D., William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Physics and Molecular & Cellular Physiology, Stanford University; Former U.S. Secretary of Energy; and Nobel Laureate
    Restoring the Foundation: Reviving the U.S. Science, Engineering and Technology Enterprise
  • Peter J. Hotez, M.D., Ph.D., Fellow in Disease and Poverty, Rice University's Baker Institute
    Robert Bazell, Nonresident Fellow in Science and Technology, Rice University's Baker Institute; and Adjunct Professor, Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, Yale University
    Influenza, SARS, Ebola and the Next Pandemic: Perceptions in the Media and Public
  • Anita Jones, Ph.D., Department Chair and Owen R. Cheatham Professor of Computer Science, Emerita, University of Virginia
    Cybersecurity and Civil Society
  • Neal Lane, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy, Rice University's Baker Institute
    John Mendelsohn, M.D., L.E. and Virginia Simmons Fellow in Health and Technology Policy, Rice University's Baker Institute
    David Eagleman, Ph.D., Director, Laboratory for Perception and Action, Baylor College of Medicine
    Advancing Civic Science in America
  • Rita R. Colwell, Ph.D., Chairman, Canon US Life Sciences, Inc.; Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland; Adjucnt Professor, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; and Former Director of the National Science Foundation
    Oceans, Climate and Health: Cholera as a Model of Infectious Diseases in a Changing Environment
  • Subra Suresh, Sc.D., Director, National Science Foundation
    Civic Scientist Lecture
  • David Baltimore, Ph.D., Nobel Laureate and the Robert Andrews Millikan Professor, California Institute of Technology
    Alice Huang, Ph.D., Senior Faculty Associate in Biology, California Institute of Technology
    Civic Scientist Lecture
  • Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Administrator, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
    Restoring Science to Its Rightful Place: Its Role in America's Future
  • Nobel Laureates: Sir Harry W. Kroto, Ph.D., Professor, Florida State University, and Robert F. Curl Jr., Ph.D., University Professor Emeritus, Rice University
    Webcast
  • Bruce Alberts, Ph.D., Editor-in-Chief, Science Magazine
    Redefining Science Education and the Role that Scientists Play in Society
  • Shirley Ann Jackson, Ph.D., President, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
    From Uncertainty to Opportunity: Creating a Comprehensive Energy Roadmap and the Human Capital to Make It Happen
  • Arden L. Bement, Ph.D., Director, National Science Foundation
    When the Jobs in the Nation Change, So Does the Job of the Scientist
  • Sylvia Earle, Ph.D., Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic
    The Gulf of Mexico: Exploring and Caring for the Ocean That Unites Three Countries
    
    
    Full archive of Civic Scientist Lecture Series events

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