Pelosi, Holt, and Tilghman convene science roundtable
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Ca., joined more than 20 leaders from government, industry, and academia to discuss America's commitment to research in the physical sciences and energy at a Dec. 15 roundtable in Princeton's Chancellor Green. The meeting was organized by Pelosi, President Tilghman, and Rep. Rush Holt, D-N.J.
In a statement delivered afterward, Tilghman said the United States has reached an important time to "make a very serious investment in the kind of innovation and creativity that has always fueled this country and its economy."
Pelosi agreed, promising that the incoming Congress would focus on science in many forms: "The science to protect and defend America, the science to grow our economy through innovation and education, the science and engineering to rebuild our infrastructure in America ... , the science to make America healthy, and the science to preserve our planet by reversing global warming and declaring our energy independence -- they are all related," she said.
Participant Norman Augustine ’57 *59, a former president and CEO of Lockheed Martin, chaired a 2005 National Academies committee that found America's funding for research and science education was severely lacking. As a nation, he said, "We're in a relatively strong position today, but I think it's widely agreed that we're losing that position, and we're losing that position rapidly."
Augustine told PAW that in the Chancellor Green meeting, which was not open to the public or the press, participants had "near-total agreement" about the improvements needed for science education and research. "People agree what the problem is, [and] we agree what has to be done," he said. "We just have to do it."
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