"The presidents' guide to science"

Source: James van der Pool, BBC Horizon, September 16, 2008.

Mr McCain went to naval academy, while Mr Obama graduated in political science before training as a lawyer. Whichever is elected president will face issues which demand scientific and technological understanding.

• Climate change requires understanding of atmospheric systems and the generation of greenhouse gases. This administration has caused grave problems by failing to understand that the rapid introduction of subsidies for the production of biofuels would result in dramatic increases in food prices.
• The energy crisis has complex economic causes, requires understanding of the projection of energy demands, requires understanding of the potential for making the economy more energy efficient through technological change, and requires understanding of oil reserves and the environmental implications of their exploitation by alternative means.
• The biotechnology revolution involves weighing ideological issues against medical risks and scientific potentials. The Bush administration has restricted government funding to only a few lines of stem cells which are aging and losing their utility, while it has been discovered that stem cell research is not only potentially important for development of treatments of degenerative diseases but also may hold the key to cures for cancer.
• The United States depends for its future economic health on maintaining a rapid rate of technological innovation, and for that purpose depends on maintaining a strong cadre of entrepreneurial scientific and technological manpower.
• National security also involves complex scientific and technological issues. The Bush administration is currently struggling to understand how much of a threat the processing of nuclear materials poses, whether dual use technologies are efficient for that processing, and how quickly a mid income country could prepare a nuclear weapon. Missile warfare also involves judgments of technical feasibility, and indeed the social scientist views should be brought to the table in discussing the roots of terrorism and the likely success of alternative policies to uproot terrorism.
• Other challenges are likely to arise during the administration. Think about the anthrax attacks and the follow up investigation, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the SARS epidemic. The fundamental point is that over a four year period, unforeseen crises are almost certain to arise.
  

Thus it is important that the president receive good scientific and technological advice, helping him to understand the more abstruse scientific and technological aspects of these and other problems. The advice coming through tne Domestic Policy Council, the Council of Economic Advisors, and the National Security Council should be complemented by advice coming through the Office of Science and Technology Policy, headed by the president's Science Adviser and complementary advisory bodies.

The most important job of the Science Adviser and his office is to manage the interface between the expertise embodied in the scientific and technological community and the presidency, seeking to assure that presidential decisions are adequately informed by scientific and technological knowledge. The Office also serves as an advocate for the scientific and technological subsystems of the federal government, and attempts to achieve some coordination among these subsystems. The Office, and especially the Science Adviser serves also as a spokesperson for the Administration on matters of science and technology policy and to the science and technology policy community, as well as a liaison with the Congress on scientific issues.

The Science Adviser should have not only be prepared by background and experience to fulfill these functions, but have sufficient prestige within the scientific and/or technological community to have face validity in the post. While it may be tempting to select the Adviser for his/her personal expertise in an area of special interest to the president, the person should have wide understanding of science and technology policy, and the ability not only to deal with a wide range of issues, but also to respond to unforeseen crises.

The choice of the Science Adviser is one of the more important ones for an incoming administration, albeit one that has seldom been so recognized. Indeed, the top level of officials in his office are sufficiently important to warrant Congressional approval. We must hope that the candidate elected in November selects a good one.