At the 6th White House Science Fair in April, President Obama met nine-year-old inventor Jacob Leggette, who, with the help of a 3D printer, has created everything from a bubble-blowing wand to a mini model of the White House.
When he was talking to President Obama, Jacob also made a recommendation: that the President should have a kid science advisor. The President loved the idea, and suggested that we bring together a group of kids to share their thoughts on what they think is important in science, technology, and innovation. Kids know first-hand what’s working inside and outside of their classrooms and how to better engage students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields.
So now President Obama wants to hear from YOU – kid scientists and innovators across the country – about what we can do to help shape the future of science, discovery, and exploration. Whether you care about tackling climate change, finding a cure to cancer, using technology to help make people’s lives better, or getting a human to Mars, we can’t wait to get your input!
The President has been a champion for engaging young people in science and technology since he first took office because he recognizes that the future of our country depends on the innovations and advances of today’s students. As he said at this year’s Science Fair:
“One of the things I find so inspiring about these young thinkers is that they look at all these seemingly intractable problems as something that we can solve. There is a confidence when you are pursuing science. They don’t consider age a barrier. They don’t think, well, that’s just the way things are. They’re not afraid to try things and ask tough questions.”
So let us know your ideas below: what you’ve tried, what’s worked and tough questions you’ve asked! And stay tuned for more ways to share your input with the White House!
Please submit form by Friday, June 17, 2016 at 11:59 pm ET.
Understanding the rapid changes that are affecting the Arctic—as well as the impacts of these changes on the rest of the world—requires a cooperative, global approach based on research partnerships involving participants from Arctic and non-Arctic nations, including, of course, the people who call the Arctic home. That’s why, on September 28, 2016—just after the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s historic trip to Alaska—the Administration will host the first-ever Arctic Science Ministerial.
The White House Arctic Science Ministerial will bring together ministers of science, chief science advisors, and other high-level officials from countries around the world, as well as representatives from indigenous groups, to expand joint collaborations focused on Arctic science, research, observations, monitoring, and data-sharing. The goals of the event are to advance promising, near-term science initiatives and create a context for increased international scientific collaboration on the Arctic over the longer term.
Specifically, the Ministerial will focus on four key themes:
Arctic Science Challenges and their Regional and Global Implications. Considerable investment by countries, organizations, and universities in recent years has led to significant advances in our understanding of all aspects of environmental change in the Arctic. There is still a need for additional international scientific collaboration in this area, however, particularly around gathering, synthesizing, and sharing information related to environmental changes in the Arctic and their regional and global implications.
Strengthening and Integrating Arctic Observations and Data Sharing. Improved monitoring of environmental changes in the Arctic is essential for increasing understanding of those changes and improving quantitative predictions of future change both inside and outside the Arctic region. Current monitoring capabilities in the Arctic, while impressive, fall short of what is needed in areas such as integrating global observing programs, expanding community-based observing efforts, and increasing integration of indigenous peoples’ knowledge.
Applying Expanded Scientific Understanding of the Arctic to Build Regional Resilience and Shape Global Responses. Arctic peoples have faced long-standing challenges that are now being compounded by the social, economic, and climatic changes facing the region. International collaboration is needed to better understand how climate change is affecting—and is projected to affect—the Arctic so that strategies can be developed that both meet the basic needs of Arctic people and build capabilities to enhance resilience to future change.
Arctic Science as a Vehicle for STEM Education and Citizen Empowerment. Engaging and educating citizens is key to sustainable development in the Arctic and for preparing the next generation of Arctic communities to face tomorrow’s challenges. The challenges of educating young people in the Arctic must be addressed in order to empower Arctic citizens to participate fully in decision making, and to ensure that they are prepared for the future.
To learn more and receive updates about the White House Arctic Science Ministerial and ways in which the United States is staying engaged in the Arctic, click here.
John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Chair of the interagency Arctic Executive Steering Committee.
This week, President Obama is visiting Alaska to experience firsthand how climate change is affecting Alaska and the greater Arctic, and to meet with Alaskans across the state – in locations as diverse as Anchorage, Seward, Dillingham, and Kotzebue – who are dealing with the consequences of climate change.
In support of the President’s trip, I spent the past weekend making my own stops in Alaska to learn more about how climate change is already affecting local communities and ecosystems, and to engage with Alaskans working to tackle climate-related challenges.
I was joined on the trip by three other senior officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP): Tamara Dickinson, the leader of OSTP’s Environment & Energy division; Ambassador Mark Brzezinski, Executive Director of the U.S. Government’s Arctic Executive Steering Committee and former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden; and Beth Kerttula, Director of the National Ocean Council, as well as a native Alaskan and former minority leader in the Alaska state legislature. I wanted to share a few observations with you about what we saw.
On Saturday, we visited the Cold Climate Housing Research Center, a nonprofit corporation that develops sustainable, cost-effective building technologies tailored to Alaska and other polar regions. We also toured the Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility. Studies conducted at this underground laboratory (one of only two permafrost tunnels in the world!) help us better understand how climate change is accelerating permafrost thaw, and the associated impacts on communities and ecosystems.
We kicked off Sunday by hearing from participants in the Fulbright Arctic Initiative about the research that Initiative scholars from the United States and other Arctic nations are doing on critical topics like energy, water, and health and infrastructure. In the afternoon, we met with scholars who are younger, but no less impressive: students in the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program, which supports science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for Alaska Natives from sixth grade all the way through college and graduate programs.
During our trip, we also participated in roundtable discussions with students and faculty at the University of Alaska(UAA) Fairbanks and UAA Anchorage, researchers who are working on the cutting edge of Arctic climate science. And we met with the mayors of Anchorage, Fairbanks, the Northwest Arctic Borough, and other Alaskan municipalities, as well as with officials of Federal departments and agencies with office in Alaska, to talk about their efforts to prepare for and adapt to climate change, and the ways in which the Federal government can best support them.
Alaska represents the frontlines of our fight against climate change. What my OSTP colleagues and I saw and heard over the weekend has powerfully augmented our understanding of the range of dramatic impacts that climate change is having on ecosystems and communities in the far North. I believe that the stops that President Obama is making in Alaska this week – including a historic visit to the Alaskan Arctic –will further underscore for the Nation the importance of taking strong action to combat climate change now.
So I encourage you to follow the President’s trip at WhiteHouse.gov/Alaska, and to join this Administration in working together to #ActOnClimate.
Dr. John P. Holdren is Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the Office of the Science and Technology Policy, and Chairman of the U.S. Arctic Executive Steering Committee.
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