Speakers

Dr. Matt Mountain

Dr. Matt Mountain is the current President of The Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA) – which builds and operates telescopes and observatories for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA. Previously, he was Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute and prior to that led the construction of and directed Gemini Observatory. Matt is also the Telescope Scientist for James Webb Space Telescope. He received his Ph.D. in Astrophysics from Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. Dr. Mountain’s research areas of focus include star formation, advanced infrared instrumentation, and capabilities of advanced telescopes.

Congressman Bill Foster

Congressman Bill Foster is a scientist and businessman representing the 11th Congressional District of Illinois, a position he’s held since 2013. He also represented the 14th Congressional District of Illinois from 2008 to 2011. He is the only PhD physicist in Congress. Before he became a Member of Congress, Bill worked as a high-energy physicist and particle accelerator designer at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab). He was a member of the team that discovered the top quark, the heaviest known form of matter. He also led the teams that designed and built several scientific facilities and detectors still in use today, including the Antiproton Recycler Ring, the latest of Fermilab's giant particle accelerators.

David Goldston

David Goldston became Director of the MIT Washington Office in May, 2017. In that role, he directs MIT’s federal relations and works with faculty and students who want to help shape federal policy. For the eight years prior to joining MIT, he was the Director of Government Affairs at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a leading environmental group, where he helped shape NRDC’s federal political strategy, policies and communications. He came to NRDC after spending more than 20 years on Capitol Hill in Washington, working primarily on science policy and environmental policy. He was Chief of Staff of the House Committee on Science from 2001 through 2006. After retiring from government service, Goldston was a visiting lecturer at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 2007 and at the Harvard University Center for the Environment in 2008 and 2009. He is currently an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. From 2007 through November 2009, he wrote a monthly column for Nature on science policy titled “Party of One.” Goldston also was the project director for the Bipartisan Policy Center report “Improving the Use of Science in Regulatory Policy,” which was released in August 2009. He authored a chapter in The Science of Science Policy: A Handbook (Stanford University Press, 2011).

He has served as a member of the Advisory Committee of the National Academy of Sciences’ Division of Environment and Life Sciences, and of the Academy’s Aerospace and Space Engineering Board, among other panels. He is currently a member of the Academy’s advisory committee for its Climate Communications Initiative. He holds a B.A. (1978) from Cornell University and completed the course work for a Ph.D. in American history at the University of Pennsylvania.

Matteo Rini

Matteo Rini is the Editor of the APS Physics Magazine and an Adjunct Professor of Science Writing and Communication at New York University. He holds a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and a Ph.D. in Physics (Humboldt University of Berlin) and has worked as a scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and other industrial and academic institutions. As a researcher, he developed laser and x-ray methods to image ultrafast processes in liquids and solids. Prior to joining the American Physical Society in 2012, he served as a Science Officer for the Climate-Change Directorate of the European Commission.

Julia M. Phillips

Julia M. Phillips retired from Sandia National Laboratories in 2015. She culminated her Sandia career by serving as vice president and chief technology officer. Prior to her time at Sandia, she spent 14 years at AT&T Bell Laboratories, where she performed leading edge research in thin film epitaxial electronic materials and complex oxides. She received a BS degree in physics from the College of William and Mary and a PhD in applied physics from Yale University. Phillips is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Materials Research Society, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and the American Physical Society (APS). She received the George E. Pake Prize from APS “for her leadership and pioneering research in materials physics for industrial and national security applications.” She has authored more than 100 journal publications and holds five patents. In the current chapter of her life, she is active in advising the federal government and research organizations, communicating about science and engineering and its national importance to diverse audiences, and mentoring individuals and groups at diverse career and life stages. Phillips was appointed a member of the National Science Board in 2016 and reappointed to the class of 2022-2028.

E. William Colglazier

E. William Colglazier, PhD, is editor-in-chief of Science & Diplomacy and senior scholar in the Center for Science Diplomacy at the American Association for Advancement of Science. He works there to advance knowledge and practice on science policy and diplomacy and to support international cooperation in science and technology. From 2016 to 2018 he co-chaired the 10-member group appointed by the UN Secretary General to advise on science, technology, and innovation for achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. He served as the science and technology adviser to the Secretary of State from 2011 to 2014. From 1994 to 2011, he served as executive officer of the National Academy of Sciences and National Research Council overseeing the studies that provide independent, objective advice on public policy issues.

Robert Rosner

Robert Rosner is an eminent theoretical physicist and the 2023 APS President, and his love for the field stretches back to childhood. “I loved puzzles; I always read science articles, books,” he says. He earned his bachelor’s degree in physics from Brandeis and his doctorate from Harvard and has been at the University of Chicago since 1987.

Rosner’s research focuses on fluid dynamics, plasma physics, and computational physics, but energy issues — both science and policy — loom large, too.

Dr. Rose Hendricks

Rose Hendricks, PhD, is a cognitive scientist who conducts research to improve the effectiveness of science communication. In her current role with the Association of Science & Technology Centers, she is leading the development of a program that will support science centers and museums in engaging with public audiences on the climate and biodiversity crises. She is also a co-principle investigator on a study investigating Americans' motivations, interests, and barriers to engaging with science. Prior to this work, Rose led the development of a network of scientific societies working to support their members in their public communications efforts, based at the American Society for Cell Biology. She has also worked as a researcher at the FrameWorks Institute, studying the ways that various messages shape public thinking about a wide range of science issues. Rose earned a PhD from the University of California, San Diego, and a BS from Vassar College.

Steven Rathje

Steve is a postdoctoral researcher in psychology at New York University, where he studies how social media relates to polarization and the spread of misinformation. He is also a science communicator, and makes psychology TikToks under the name @stevepsychology (1.1+ million followers). He received his PhD from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College), where was a Gates Cambridge Scholar, and studied psychology and symbolic systems as an undergrad at Stanford University.

Richard Baron

Richard Baron, MD, board certified in internal medicine and geriatric medicine, is president and chief executive officer of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the ABIM Foundation. He was a former chair of the American Board of Internal Medicine’s Board of Directors and served on the ABIM Foundation Board of Trustees.

Baron practiced general internal medicine and geriatrics for almost 30 years at Greenhouse Internists, P.C., located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Greenhouse was a pioneer in the comprehensive adoption of electronic health records in the small-practice environment. Following that, from 2011 to 2013, he served as Group Director of Seamless Care Models at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Innovation Center, where he led efforts related to accountable care organizations and primary care. Until joining the federal government, Baron also served on the board of the National Quality Forum and their Health Information Technology Advisory Committee, as well as the Standards Committee of the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Baron served as chief medical officer of Health Partners, a not-for-profit Medicaid HMO set up by four teaching hospitals in Philadelphia, from 1988 to 1996. He was the architect of the Best Clinical and Administrative Practices program, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Center for Health Care Strategies, working with medical leadership of Medicaid health plans around the country in learning collaboratives to improve the quality of care for their members. This program reached plans serving more than half of the Medicaid managed care population in the United States.  He is a member of the Aspen Institute Health Strategy Group.

Baron received a bachelor’s degree in English from Harvard College and his medical degree from Yale University. He completed house staff training at New York University-Bellevue Medical Center and served a three-year commitment in the National Health Service Corps in rural Tennessee.

Arturo Andujo

My name is Arturo Andujo, but please call me Art. I am a graduate student in the physics department of the University of Texas at El Paso. I find it incredibly important to facilitate community building between scientists and their local communities. This was one of the principal goals of my officers and I when I had the privilege of being our campus's Society for Physics Students (SPS) president. Aside from being a member of the scientific community, I am also a Buddhist. I often see a lot of parallels between the world of physics and Buddhism. One of my favorites is called a kōan, questions that are framed in a certain way to provoke thought and critical analysis. I often find that best physics questions mirror this structure and alludes to a kinship and shared goal that both communities have to each other. I have used these two lenses to engage in all sorts of community building efforts in my city and I hope for an opportunity to grow beyond that.

Jackie Acres

Jackie Acres is a doctoral student in Applied Physics at Portland State University. Her research has focused on using digital holographic microscopy to characterize microbial motility after simulated microgravity. She is also an advocate for equity in physics with an interest in addressing graduate student pay.