The AMS Marks Twenty Years of Sending Mathematicians to Congress

In the fall of 2005, mathematician David Weinreich joined a few dozen other scientists—each sponsored by a scientific society—bringing their expertise to Congress. David was the first Congressional Fellow sponsored by the AMS, though the program began in 1973, with a class of seven Fellows.

AMS Congressional Fellows are part of a larger program bringing scientific expertise to the US government; the 30–35 Congressional Fellows are joined by about 250–275 who work in executive branch agencies. There is also one Fellow placed in the judicial branch. Fellows bring scientific expertise to government decision-makers. The question of where Congress gets their science and tech information is a great one and has a complex answer. The first answer is that members of Congress have science policy advisors, and some have strong scientific backgrounds. From 1974–1995, the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA) served as a primary support, providing Congress with objective analyses of science and technology issues. This office influenced legislation and fostered relationships between Congress and the scientific and technological community. Congressional Fellows help fill the gap left by the OTA’s disbandment.

After the fellowship year, AMS Congressional Fellows follow different career paths. Almost all AMS Fellows have come from academia. A few returned to academia, but most have not. The AMS Congressional Fellowship has proved transformational for the careers of individual mathematicians for twenty years.

2005–2006 Fellow David Weinreich focused on a wide range of issues during his year working for Representative Robert Andrews from southwestern New Jersey, issues from agriculture to water resources. One success during his fellowship was a provision of law that prevented logging in Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. His fellowship was followed by full-time employment in the US House of Representatives. For four years he was the Legislative Director for Representative Bob Etheridge of North Carolina, followed by helping establish the office for first-year Representative Hansen Clarke of Detroit as Policy Director. In 2011, he left Congress and founded a consulting firm, the Weinreich Strategic Group, and he is very active as the Director of Policy and Government Relations of STM.⁠¹ STM is the leading association of scholarly publishers and its members publish, roughly, two-thirds of all published papers in science, technology, medicine, social sciences, and humanities. “The fellowship not only transformed my career trajectory, but enabled me to bring my analytical skills and knowledge of the research community to inform public policy,” David said. “It also led to many productive conversations with fellow mathematicians about funding policy and how to effect change in the government.”

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The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers, known as STM, has more than 140 members across the globe including all the major commercial publishers, professional society publishers, and university presses. The AMS is a member.

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2019–2020 Fellow Lucia Simonelli is a senior climate researcher at Giving Green. Following her year working for Rhode Island’s Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on climate and energy policy, she transitioned to full-time work in climate. “The AMS Congressional Fellowship enabled me to witness the importance of integrating scientists into policymaking and reflect on how the skills derived from mathematical training can transfer to a broader context. The experience helped restore my respect for, and faith in the government, and it taught me the power and importance of creating a strong network—not for self-gain, but more as a collective that can work together in various ways to support the advancement of common goals and causes.”

2021–2022 Fellow AJ Stewart, who spent his fellowship year working on economic policy for Georgia’s Senator Raphael Warnock, is now a policy advisor at the US Department of the Treasury. There, he investigates national security issues stemming from foreign investment in the United States. “I was always good at math and even though it took me a while to find my way towards becoming a mathematician, once I did I was hooked. However, I assumed that there was only one way to be a mathematician, by performing research at a university. This fellowship opened my eyes to how mathematics is applied across government in amazingly unique ways. Being able to tangibly apply mathematics every day and see the effects of that work has changed my whole view of what it means to perform mathematics.”

This short article highlights the post-fellowship paths of only three of the amazing AMS Congressional Fellow alumni group.

Read more about all alumni fellows, and find out how you can join this wonderful group (applications due February 1), at: https://www.ams.org/government/government/ams-congressional-fellowship.