Recent Geosciences Ph.D. Grad Receives Prestigious AAAS Fellowship

Stony Brook, N.Y. – Corey Cohn (Ph.D., ’06) has received a Science and Technology Policy Fellowship from AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He will be placed in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of the Deputy Director of Science Programs, which oversees 10 of the 17 National Science Laboratories.

Corey had just finished a postdoctoral Fellowship in Denmark and was looking for academic positions, but having little luck.

“While I did get a few phone interviews and an on-site interview, it was apparent, especially with the recession causing hiring-freezes, that landing one of these faculty positions would take some time.”

Corey Cohn

During the course of Corey’s attempts to find an academic position, he came across the AAAS Fellowship. The Fellowship is designed to train scientists as advisors to policymakers and to be involved eventually in the process of policy work. It is also intended to increase the involvement and visibility of scientists and engineers in the public policy realm.

“Not only would I learn how science funding decisions are made and how policy-making works, I would use my background in science to help shape policy and even work on the develop of science,” said Corey when asked what intrigued him about the Fellowship.

Corey originally envisioned himself as a traditional academic. His postdoctoral work in Denmark involved studying nano-materials and their impact on people’s health. “It didn’t really occur to me that my scientific background could be useful outside academia or private sector research. My background, however, has focused on issues relevant to decisions made in Washington D.C.”

“As an AAAS Fellow in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, I hope to learn about the policy-making process, use my scientific background to support and advance scientific research, and maybe even help shape the future of our energy production and use.”

According to Corey, AAAS fellows can find work in most of the Executive branch agencies or on Capitol Hill. He chose to work at the Department of Energy since they deal with issues that are tangential to his past research, namely earth science and toxicology. More generally, the DOE has an impact on the U.S. economy, the environment, and international policy.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (or AAAS) promotes "cooperation between scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the betterment of all humanity." (Wikipedia) The AAAS publishes the well-known scientific journal Science.

For more information about AAAS Fellowships, visit the website at http://fellowships.aaas.org