Simply Statistics A statistics blog by Rafa Irizarry, Roger Peng, and Jeff Leek

AAAS S&T Fellows for Big Data and Analytics

Thanks to Steve Pierson of the ASA for letting us know that the AAAS Science and Technology Fellowship program has a new category for “Big Data and Analytics”. For those not familiar, AAAS organizes the S&T Fellowship program to get scientists involved in the policy-making process in Washington and at the federal agencies. In general, the requirements for the program are

Applicants must have a PhD or an equivalent doctoral-level degree at the time of application. Individuals with a master’s degree in engineering and at least three years of post-degree professional experience also may apply. Some programs require additional experience. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Federal employees are not eligible for the fellowships.

Further details are on the AAAS web site.

I’ve met a number of current and former AAAS fellows working on Capitol Hill and at the various agencies and I have to say I’ve been universally impressed. I personally think getting more scientists into the federal government and involved with the policy-making process is a Good Thing. If you’re a statistician looking to have a different kind of impact, this might be for you.