Connie L. Hsueh

Science Policy

fun fact: I went to the same high school as Rep. Lofgren (not at the same time)

I pivoted from physics research to science policy in order to understand and improve how our federal scientific ecosystem supports scientific inquiry and translates discoveries into technology that improves lives and livelihoods.

As a 2023-2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) & American Institute of Physics Congressional Science Fellow, I served in the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology under Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (CA-18). The Committee has jurisdiction over non-defense science excluding biomedical science (totaling about $50B in annual R&D spending). I worked on legislation, reports, and congressional hearings in several topics including:

  • The National Quantum Initiative: reauthorizing up to $3.5B over 5 years to advance U.S. leadership in quantum information research, capacity building, and technology development
  • The National Windstorm Impact Reduction Program: reauthorizing up to $189M over 5 years to improve research into tornadoes, hurricanes, and other windstorms and to improve building codes and public awareness
  • The National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program: reauthorizing up to $877M over 5 years to improve seismological research and monitoring and to improve building codes and public awareness
  • Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) seed grants: federal agencies must allocate at least 3.65% of their extramural R&D budget as non-dilutive grants to small businesses to develop and commercialize technology
  • Artificial Intelligence: see my page on AI policy!

Aside: the AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellowship

I am fortunate that I could make the pivot into policy with support of the AAAS STPF program. The program places about 150 fellows (mostly PhD scientists) each year into the executive branch—at NIH, NSF, DOE, and other participating agencies—the legislative branch, and the judicial branch. It was an incredible opportunity to serve the government and understand how the federal science ecosystem operates. If you’re interested in learning more, please reach out! You can read my personal statement for the APS congressional application here. And as a humorous aside, I reapplied 6 months into my fellowship for the AAAS AI fellowship, and I think my application reflects how quickly my tune evolved!