The politicization of science for political gain occurs when government, business, or advocacy groups use legal or economic pressure to influence the findings of scientific research or the way it is disseminated, reported or interpreted. The politicization of science may also negatively affect academic and scientific freedom, and as a result it is considered taboo to mix politics with science. Historically, groups have conducted various campaigns to promote their interests in defiance of scientific consensus, and in an effort to manipulate public policy.
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) is an umbrella term used to group together the distinct but related technical disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. The term is typically used in the context of education policy or curriculum choices in schools. It has implications for workforce development, national security concerns, and immigration policy, with regard to admitting foreign students and tech workers.
The David and Lucile Packard Foundation is a private foundation that provides grants to not-for-profit organizations. It was created in 1964 by David Packard and his wife Lucile Salter Packard. Following David Packard's death in 1996, the Foundation became the beneficiary of part of his estate.
The Organization for Women in Science for the Developing World (OWSD) is an international organisation that provides research training, career development and networking opportunities for women scientists throughout the developing world at different stages in their career. It was founded in 1987 and was officially launched in 1993. The organisation was formerly known as the Third World Organization for Women in Science (TWOWS). It is a program unit of UNESCO and based at the offices of The World Academy of Sciences in Trieste, Italy.
Science for the People (SftP) is an organization that emerged from the antiwar culture of the United States in the late 1960s. Since 2014 it has experienced a revival focusing primarily on the dual nature of science. The organization advocates for a scientific establishment that is not isolated from society, rather one that uses scientific discoveries to advocate for and advance social justice and critically approach science as a social endeavor.
Victor Joseph Dzau is a Chinese-American doctor and academic. He serves as the President of the United States National Academy of Medicine of the United States National Academy of Sciences and Vice Chair of its National Research Council. He is Chancellor Emeritus and James B. Duke Professor of Medicine at Duke University and former president and chief executive officer of Duke University Medical Center.
Scientists in School is a leading Canadian science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education charitable organization that offers curriculum-aligned hands-on workshops from Kindergarten to Grade 8 across the country. Workshops are offered in both English and French and led by presenters that are experts in their fields. Scientists in School offers community workshops providing their program to libraries, summer camps, daycares, after-school programs and community groups. They have reached over 10 million children and youth since 1989.
Sarah Ballard is an American astronomer who is a professor at the University of Florida. She has been a Torres Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a L'Oreal Fellow, and a NASA Carl Sagan Fellow.
The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) is an organization established and owned by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan with an investment of 99 percent of the couple's wealth from their Facebook shares over their lifetime. The CZI is legally set up as a limited liability company (LLC) that can be seen as a for-profit charity and is an example of philanthrocapitalism. CZI has been deemed likely to be "one of the most well-funded Philanthropies in human history". Chan and Zuckerberg announced its creation on 1 December 2015, to coincide with the birth of their first child. Priscilla Chan has said that her background as a child of immigrant refugees and experience as a teacher and pediatrician for vulnerable children influences how she approaches the philanthropy's work in science, education, immigration reform, housing, criminal justice, and other local issues.
The March for Science is an international series of rallies and marches held on Earth Day. The inaugural march was held on April 22, 2017, in Washington, D.C., and more than 600 other cities across the world. According to organizers, the march is a non-partisan movement to celebrate science and the role it plays in everyday lives. The goals of the marches and rallies were to emphasize that science upholds the common good and to call for evidence-based policy in the public's best interest. The March for Science organizers, estimated global attendance at 1.07 million, with 100,000 participants estimated for the main March in Washington, D.C., 70,000 in Boston, 60,000 in Chicago, 50,000 in Los Angeles, 50,000 in San Francisco, 20,000 in Seattle, 14,000 in Phoenix, and 11,000 in Berlin.
Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an American theoretical cosmologist and particle physicist at the University of New Hampshire. She is also an advocate of increasing diversity in science.
María Margarita Gual Soler is a Spanish science diplomat, policy advisor, international speaker and educator. She is best known for helping elevate the role of science in international diplomacy and strengthening the connections between science, policy and society. She played a major role in promoting science diplomacy around the world by developing its educational and training approaches with the Center for Science Diplomacy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She advised the science diplomacy strategies of several governments and the European Union and helped re-establish the scientific linkages between the United States and Cuba. Gual Soler has received many fellowships and awards, including the Global Competitiveness Leadership Fellowship at Georgetown University, was named one of 40 Under 40 Latinos in Foreign Policy by The Huffington Post and is a former Aspen Ideas Festival Scholar. In 2019 she was selected to join Homeward Bound, the largest-ever expedition of women in Antarctica.
Autumn Kent is an American mathematician specializing in topology and geometry. She is a professor of mathematics and Vilas Associate at the University of Wisconsin. She is a transgender woman and a promoter of trans rights.
Nina Dudnik is an American social entrepreneur, science diplomacy advocate, and the Founder and former CEO of Seeding Labs, a US-based nonprofit organization investing in building scientific capacity in the developing world. Dudnik founded the organization in 2003 as a graduate student studying at Harvard University, where she received her PhD in molecular biology.
Tamara Jane Zelikova is a climate change scientist, advocate and communicator interested in the impacts of environmental change on natural and managed ecosystems. Her interests are broad and include tropical biogeochemistry, as well as the effects of climate change on organisms big and small. She combines a strong emphasis on research with an interest in science communication and outreach, thinking about ways to expand the role of science in tackling global issues.
Cristin Ann Dorgelo is the senior advisor for management at the White House Office of Management and Budget. Dorgelo is the president emeritus of the Association of Science and Technology Centers, where she previously served as president and CEO. Dorgelo served as the chief of staff at the Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Barack Obama White House.
Angela Michelle Byars-Winston is a professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She was the first African American to achieve the rank of tenured Full Professor of medicine at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. She studies the impact of culture on career development, in particular for women and minorities in STEM. She is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and was one of Barack Obama's Champions of Change.
Mika Tosca is a climate scientist. Her research concerns ways in which art and design can impact communication about climate science to more effectively address climate change. Tosca also contributes to science communication, including through science-art initiatives, and she is an advocate for Trans people in STEM, academia, and the media.
Ingersoll Gender Center is an American non-profit organization based in Seattle that provides peer-led support groups, advocacy and community organization for transgender and gender non-conforming people in the Puget Sound region. It is one of the oldest organizations serving said community in the United States.
Carolyn S. Brinkworth is a British-born LGBTQ community activist and advocate of diversity and inclusion in STEM educational institutions and in the field itself, based in the United States. She holds a PhD in astrophysics and a master's degree in education. As chief diversity, equity, and inclusion officer (CDO) at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, Brinkworth has led DE&I initiatives, revamping hiring practices and changing the culture of the organization through training and professional development programs. Her master's thesis included recommendations on how to create inclusive environments for LGBTQ individuals studying STEM. She has also co-published research on the effectiveness of career development seminars in encouraging students from minority communities to pursue STEM professions.
