Signs and portents abound in rhetoric from the current executive branch of the United States. Science, the only known way of establishing reliable information about the natural world, should be essential as a part of policy decision making. I try to highlight places where science and science-related agencies in the […]
The last couple of weeks have been quite a mix, with the first one being not-so-interesting (just another week at work in Dallas) and the second one being overly exciting (travel to Connecticut, visits to my old public high school, and a concert in Boston. I don’t handle lack of […]
The US President still has selected no science adviser, leaving scientific information assessment and scientific findings absent from policy making in the White House. The blindness and deafness to scientists and scientific assessment has re-emboldened science denialism in the U.S., evidenced by recent events. Scientific information relating to climate, energy, […]
The assault by the Executive Branch of the US government continues on basic scientific research and sound policy based on science. Here is a reading list covering some key issues from the last couple of weeks: Perspective: “In Trump’s budget: The unwisest cut“, by NYU President Andrew Hamilton. (Washington Post) […]
I reached into the freezer to grab one of the waffles. It compressed under the touch of my fingers. Frozen waffles aren’t supposed to do that. Frozen beets aren’t supposed to leak juice out of their sealed bags. Frozen mugs aren’t supposed to be half-liquid. An application of a thermometer revealed […]
I spent a number of years in the early 2000s participating in yearly science advocacy efforts on Capitol Hill. As part of a team of high-energy physicists who would visit the Hill for two days, walking from building to building to meet with Members of Congress, I learned a few […]
This was quite a week! After last week’s near-exhausting onslaught of post-CERN jet lag and my student, J’s, PhD thesis defense (as well as a number of home repair and other such chores), this week I had something of a break to look forward to. Jodi and I are both […]
Part 1 – What he said CNBC’s program “Squawk Box” recently interviewed the new EPA chief, Scott Pruitt. In an exchange about the shape of the earth, Pruitt said this: I think that measuring with precision the shape of the earth is something very challenging to do and there’s tremendous […]
The Environmental Protection Agency is home to a large number of scientists who have tried to contribute to the understanding of many issues affecting Americans: the health and safety of water sources and supplies, the contamination of air and its effects on our quality of life, and the changing of […]
This was quite a week. I touched down in Dallas on Saturday night after a very long set of flights from Geneva. It had been an excellent two weeks at CERN (my small cold aside), but I was relieved to be home. We even landed early… but in air travel, […]
On Tuesday, February 28, President Donald Trump gave his first address to a bicameral meeting of Congress. While not a “State of the Union” address – a President in office only 5 weeks is in no shape to discuss the state of the union over which they preside – this […]
This past week was my last week at CERN during my two-week trip to the laboratory. It was a week filled with many activities: we has an awesome group dinner; I got a tour of the ATLAS Fast TracKer laboratory; I got involved in a short-fuse project to study CPU […]