Optica/MRS Congressional Fellowships

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Optica / MRS Congressional Fellowship

The application deadline for both of Optica's 2024-2025 Congressional Fellowships has passed. The application deadline for the Congressional Fellowships are typically the first Friday in January.

Optica and MRS offer a congressional fellowship program, providing members with an invaluable opportunity to learn about public policy. Fellows contribute to the effective use of optical and materials science knowledge in government and broaden awareness of the value of the interaction between scientists, engineers, and government to our memberships, the federal government and the public.

Program

The Fellow spends one year working as a special legislative assistant on the staff of a member of Congress or congressional committee. Activities may involve conducting legislative or oversight work, assisting in congressional hearings and debates, and preparing briefs and writing speeches. The fellow also attends an orientation program administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) on congressional and executive branch operations, which includes guidance in the congressional placement process and a year-long seminar series on science and public policy issues. The AAAS also administers many other aspects of the program for the Optica/MRS fellow, as well as other fellows sponsored by nearly two dozen scientific societies.

Criteria

A prospective fellow must have a record of success in research or scholarship in a field relevant to optical science and technology and/or materials, familiarity with the discipline and a working understanding of the scientific communities. The fellow must also demonstrate sensitivity toward policy issues and have a strong interest in applying scientific and technical knowledge to United States public policy issues. The fellow must be able to work quickly and communicate effectively to both scientific and non-scientific audiences on a wide variety of topics and work cooperatively with individuals having diverse viewpoints. An applicant is expected to be a member of Optica or MRS (or an applicant for membership) and have a Ph.D. by the start of the fellowship (01 September 2024). U.S. citizenship is not required; however, applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Specifically excluded as selection criteria are age, sex, creed, race, ethnic background and partisan political affiliation.

Applicants will be evaluated based on the following categories:

Scientific/technical background and professional accomplishments — weighted in consideration of the applicant's career stage.
Communication skills — to scientific and nonscientific audiences - including writing ability, community involvement, and outreach activities.
Demonstrated public policy interest — such as through participation in policy or advocacy activities; service to professional societies and/or the broader scientific community; and student government or other campus involvement (if applicable).
Fellowship skills and abilities — including (but not limited to) capacity to work quickly, flexibly and cooperatively; experience working with individuals with diverse viewpoints; ability to work in a public environment; and strong interpersonal skills.

Stipend

The 2024-2025 fellow will have a one-year appointment beginning 01 September 2024. The Fellowship stipend will be USD 81,750, plus additional funds for health insurance, travel and relocation expenses to the Washington, DC area.

Application

Application materials must be submitted to the application portal (https://apply.optica.org/prog/2024-2025_congressional_fellowships/) by the application deadline. Candidates must submit the following materials:

A resume, no longer than two pages, providing information about educational background, professional employment, community and professional activities, public policy and legislative experience and committee and advisory group appointments. One additional page (for a total of up to three pages) should list professional publications and presentations. Resumes should be tailored to address the qualifications above.
A statement of up to 1,000 words addressing the applicant's interest in the fellowship, career goals, contributions the applicant believes he or she can make as an Optica/MRS fellow to the legislative process, and what the applicant wants to learn from the experience.
Three signed letters of reference addressing the applicant's qualifications for the fellowship as described in the "Criteria" section above. Letters of reference should be upload into the application portal by the recommender and must be in PDF format, on official letterhead and include an electronic or scanned signature. Letters of reference should not be sent by the candidate themselves. However, the candidate is responsible for ensuring the letters are received by the application deadline. If your recommender is having issues with uploading the letter into the application portal, please have your recommender email the letter directly to Brandy Dillingham at bdillingham@optica.org.

NOTE: You may submit one set of application materials for both the Arthur H. Guenther and Optica/MRS Congressional Fellowships as long as you check the box in the application portal indicating the materials are being applied to both fellowships.

Questions? Contact:

Brandy Dillingham

Government Relations Manager
Office: +1 202.416.1409
Email: bdillingham@optica.org

Directly below is a list of present and past fellows, along with their congressional office placements:

2023-2024	Marie Fiori Ph.D. in Chemistry University of Wisconsin-Madison	Rep. Derek Kilmer
2022-2023	Sindhu Nathan Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering Stanford University	Sen. Tina Smith
2021-2022	Rachel Starr Ph.D. in Chemistry Columbia University	Sen. John Hickenlooper
2020-2021	Catherine Clark Ph.D. in Materials Science University of Minnesota	Sen. Richard Durbin
2019-2020	Daniel Broberg Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering University of California, Berkeley	Sen. Christopher Coons
2018-2019	Dylan Rittman Ph.D. in Geological Sciences Stanford University	Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand
2017-2018	Sarah Vorpahl Ph.D. in Chemistry University of Washington	Sen. Bernie Sanders
2016-2017	Felicia Lucci Ph.D. in Chemistry Tufts University	Sen. Heidi Heitkamp
2015-2016	Peter Winter Ph.D. in Cell & Molecular Biology Colorado State University	Sen. Christopher Coons
2014-2015	James O'Dea Ph.D. in Chemistry University of California, Santa Barbara	Sen. Brian Schatz
2013-2014	Sydney Kaufman Ph.D. in Chemical Physics University of Colorado Boulder	Sen. Mark Begich
2012-2013	Mirvat Abdelhaq Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry University of Colorado, Boulder	Sen. Jeff Merkley
2011-2012	Laura Povlich Ph.D. in Macromolecular Science and Engineering University of Michigan	Rep. Sandy Levin
2010-2011	Ashley White Ph.D. in Materials Science Cambridge University	Senator Al Franken
2009-2010	Gavi Begtrup Ph.D. in Physics University of California, Berkeley	Rep. Gabrielle Giffords
2008-2009	Amit Mistry Ph.D. in Bioengineering Rice University	Rep. Ed Markey
2007-2008	Alicia Jackson Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
2006-2007	Kevin Whittlesey Ph.D. in Biological Sciences Northwestern University	Rep. Doris Matsui
2005-2006	Benjamin Jay Gross Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry Columbia University	Rep. Rush Holt
2004-2005	Karin Ezbiansky Pavese Ph.D. in Inorganic Chemistry University of Pennsylvania	Sen. Joseph Lieberman
2003-2004	Colin McCormick Ph.D. in Physics University of California, Berkeley	Rep. Edward J. Markey
2002-2003	Jeffrey Haeni Ph.D. in Materials Science Pennsylvania State University	Rep. Rush Holt
2001-2002	Eric Werwa Ph.D. in Electronic Materials Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Rep. Mike Honda
2000-2001	Susan Ginsberg Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering University of Minnesota	Rep. Howard L. Berman
1999-2000	Arun Seraphin Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering Massachusetts Institute of Technology	Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman
1998-1999	Merrilea Mayo Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering Stanford University	Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman
1997-1998	Brian Holloway Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering University of Florida	Sen. John D. Rockefeller
1996-1997	Michal Freedhoff Ph.D. in Physical Chemistry University of Rochester	Rep. Edward J. Markey
1995-1996	Kelly Kirkpatrick Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering Northwestern University	Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman