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What does it mean to serve as a “science ambassador”? James L. Olds, Distinguished University Professor of Neuroscience and Public Policy at George Mason University’s Schar School of Policy and Government, provides a vivid answer to that question in his new book, How to Be a Science Ambassador: The Scientist as Public Intellectual (Edward Elgar Publishing).
The volume, Olds said, “offers a substantive examination of how scientists may extend their professional trajectories beyond the laboratory to assume roles as public intellectuals.”
It’s an idea born of experience: “My three decades in the Washington, D.C., region, working around the science and technology ecosystem in one way or another” provided the inspiration, he said.
Before joining George Mason in 1998 as the director and chief academic unit officer of the Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study, Olds held senior leadership positions at the National Science Foundation (NSF), where he managed the $750 million Biological Sciences Directorate, and at the White House, where he oversaw President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative and served as deputy lead for NSF on Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot program.
As a neuroscientist, Olds knows well the view from inside the lab as well as within the policy circles of Washington, D.C., and his book reflects that dual perspective. He calls it a “rigorous and reflective account of the skills and strategies essential for effective scientific advocacy,” drawn from years of engagement both nationally and internationally.
At a time when science and scientists are often under attack rather than applauded—even by its own funding institutions—the need for science ambassadors has never been greater.
In 154 pages, Olds’s book makes the case for a new generation of scientists to step forward as advocates, educators, and bridge-builders between science and the public.
“The role of a science ambassador is to build trust with stakeholder communities,” he said. “I’m hoping more working scientists build professional careers in the policy arena.”