New Era of Science Policy — Yale Experts Available to Discuss Obama’s Plan

President-elect Barack Obama has said science is crucial to assuring America’s future by creating jobs and wealth today, through the development of alternate energy sources, green industries, new medicines and advanced technologies. His campaign promises included reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, lifting the current administration’s ban on federal funding of research on embryonic stem cell lines, and doubling funding for basic research in the physical and life sciences, mathematics, and engineering over the next decade. 

Several leading Yale scientists are available to speak with the media about the Obama administration’s science priorities and expected changes in science policy ahead of the January 20 inauguration.

Steven Girvin, deputy provost for science and technology, and professor of physics and applied physics, and Michael Donoghue, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, are available to provide an overview of science and policy issues, including the current state of scientific research and the importance of scientific funding.

Robert Alpern, dean of the Yale School of Medicine, is an expert on science education and is intimately familiar with the importance of federal funding for basic research.

Haifan Lin, professor of cell biology and director of the Yale Stem Cell Center, is available to comment on the impact of proposed changes to regulations governing the use of stem cells in research and on the promise of such research.

Daniel Esty, director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and of the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale, has extensive media experience and is an expert on a wide range of environmental and policy issues, including climate change, clean energy, globalization and the environment, the economic implications of environmental policies and regulation, and scientific integrity in policymaking. A member of Obama’s transition team, Esty previously served in a variety of senior positions at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is the author or editor of nine books on environmental policy and the economy.

Bryan Garcia, program director for the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale, is available to speak about clean energy and market-based solutions to climate change. Garcia previously served as director of energy market initiatives at the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund and as the climate change coordinator for the Governor’s Steering Committee on Climate Change.