UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Fulfilling a need to connect state policymakers to experts in science, technology, engineering and math, Penn State’s Law Policy and Engineering Initiative (LPE) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Science and Technology Policy Program (COPA-STEP) recently launched the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Legislative Science and Technology Policy Fellowship. The first program of its kind offered in the commonwealth, the fellowship places early-career scientists from across the U.S. in legislative offices in Harrisburg, providing lawmakers with a nonpartisan, research-based perspective on scientific and technological issues facing the commonwealth.
Fellows will serve a one-year term starting each fall, with the goal of helping policymakers and legislators make evidence-based decisions on science and technology policy. Applicants must reside in Pennsylvania throughout the duration of their term, and preference is given to candidates committed to pursuing long-term careers in Pennsylvania’s science policy ecosystem.
The inaugural fellow, Jae Wan Ahn, who earned his doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago, currently serves as an artificial intelligence (AI) fellow at the Joint State Government Commission (JSGC), a bipartisan research arm of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Ahn’s fellowship with the JSGC primarily focuses on producing a legislative report of AI impact across Pennsylvania, which will help inform regulation, among other technological policy issues.
“States are now the main stage for AI innovations and regulations, and I am excited and honored for the opportunity to contribute to the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s effort to understand and harness AI for good,” Ahn said. “I am eager to combine my knowledge of AI and science to continue assisting the legislators in a meaningful way.”
Fellows will be placed in different host offices and bipartisan research agencies around Harrisburg during their term, including the Center for Rural PA; the House Health Committee, which supports health litigation; the House Communications and Technology Committee, which supports technology-related legislation; the JSGC; and the Senate.
According to Christine Kirchhoff, Penn State associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and associate director of law, policy and engineering, the fellowship goes beyond just supporting early-career researchers.
“These fellowships help support the science-policy workforce, provide a public service supporting the legislature and benefit the commonwealth by enabling the use of non-partisan scientific research and cutting-edge technology for complex policymaking,” Kirchhoff said.
Patricia Gruver-Barr, director of COPA-STEP and project associate for LPE, believes fellows play a valuable role in regulating emerging technologies.
“Few state legislators, their staff or research offices come from science, technology, engineering or math backgrounds, and yet routinely make policy decisions that require them to interpret highly technical scientific knowledge and facts,” Gruver-Barr said. “Fellows will use their scientific and technical expertise to help legislators, and their staff interpret this technical information, filling the gap that exists between expert scientific opinion and policymaking.”
According to Kirchhoff, the goal is to have four to eight fellows working simultaneously in different sections of the Pennsylvania legislature. To make this goal a reality, Gruver-Barr and Kirchhoff have been actively fundraising with the goal of supporting a group of fellows to serve on House and Senate committees and the Center of Rural Pennsylvania this fall.
The inaugural fellow is funded by the National Conference of State Legislatures; Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology; Penn State’s Law, Policy and Engineering Initiative; and the Henry L. Hillman Foundation.