Looks like Washington wants a Science Laureate, a
"This new honorary position would be appointed by the President from nominees recommended by the National Academy of Sciences and serve for a term of 1-2 years. Using this national platform, the Science Laureate would be empowered to speak to Americans on the importance of science broadly and scientific issues of the day..."
 |
| "So, should we rock-paper-scissors for it, then?" Credit: Solar San Antonio | Hayden Planetarium |
“...Establishing honorary U.S. Science Laureates would send a clear message to young people about the value of science and technology in our society, and the importance of scientific research to both economic progress and our quality of life,” said Alan I. Leshner Chief Executive Officer of the AAAS and Executive Publisher of Science."OK, I'm all in favor of increasing exposure and public awareness of science, even if most of the politicians quoted in the article keep beating the STEM STEM STEM horse to death.
So, what does this gig pay, anyway?
"Like the Poet Laureate, the Science Laureate would be an unpaid, honorary post. The scientist would also be encouraged to continue their important scientific work."Tough break. Guess you'd be expected to write those R01's on the road, then.
Happy Friday!
SAO
Certainly not Bill Nye, whose scientific credibility took a nose-dive when he was caught faking a scientific experiment with Al Gore.
ReplyDeleteActually that experiment should be right up your street for an assessment.
Wow, how interesting! I hadn't seen that link...that would have made BlogSyn, I'm sure!
ReplyDeleteHe's not an American, but I'd vote for Chris Hadfield.
ReplyDeleteother than convincing the drooling masses not to pull funding from the NIH and NSF and so on, what exactly is the point of all this "science awareness" work? we're not short on PhDs in the current job market. bill nye, carl sagan and their ilk are great entertainers, but too much of that kind of entertainment can be a bad thing. my generation overdosed on lawyer TV and now law grads can't find work
ReplyDeleteWant to get "underrepresented groups" excited about science? plentiful jobs in the field with high starting salaries will do that. in my opinion Breaking Bad should be taken off the air until the job market for chemists improves. stop showing kids liquid nitrogen tricks and force them to run columns instead on career day, etc etc
Anonymous @ 6:53, i'd say your link qualifies bill nye for the job if anything. whoever takes it should be a showman and a bunko artist first and foremost.