Department of State Celebrates Science and Technology Fellowships

On August 10, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) hosted a reception to honor the Department’s science and technology fellows programs. The event included remarks from Secretary Antony Blinken which centered around the significance of DOS technology fellowships within the federal government. Blinken also recognized the important science and engineering society partnerships that have promoted vital support of U.S. technology initiatives, noting ASME and ASME’s Executive Director/CEO Tom Costabile, as key partners, along with Marcia McNutt from the National Academy of Sciences, K.J. Ray Liu from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and Michael Moloney from the American Institute of Physics.

Since 1980, more than 900 fellow participants across five science and technology sectors have contributed to key advancements within the Department of State. Within the past year, the State Department has contributed to the White House blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights and the design of an AI Risk Management Framework to outline principles for best practices and protections. Secretary Blinken acknowledged the vast contributions that fellowship programs have made in relation to crisis responses, disease outbreak mitigation, gender equality in STEM, and emerging technological developments. 
 
A new ASME/Department of State Engineering and Diplomacy Fellowship beginning this Fall will support the Department’s efforts on issues intersecting engineering and international involvement in emerging scientific issues. This announcement comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of ASME’s fellowship program and marks the first new Engineering and Diplomacy Fellowship at the State Department since 2003.
 
For more information on the State Department’s science and technology Fellowship programs, visit here.