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A team of Bentley University undergraduate students traveled to Washington D.C. this spring to help raise awareness about the economic impacts of geoscience research. Under the direction of Bentley professor, David Szymanski — a former congressional fellow and science policy advisor to US Senator Jon Tester — students partnered with the American Geosciences Institute (AGI), a nonprofit that represents more than 250,000 earth scientists. As part of a fourth-credit service learning option for the environmental sustainability Science in Environmental Policy course at Bentley, students researched and analyzed how policymakers access and use geoscience information to write policy. The group acted as consultants to help improve AGI’s web presence and user experience in order for the organization to be a more effective resource for policymakers.

While in D.C., students met with Congresswoman Katherine Clark of Massachusetts’ Fifth District, the district in which Bentley resides, to present their research findings and discuss the long-term economic benefits of U.S. investment in geoscience research. As such, students recommended that Rep. Clark fight to maintain funding levels from the administration’s fiscal year 2016 budget for geoscience programs, specifically for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), to ensure access to impartial and reliable geoscience information for decision-making.

The Bentley team included Graduate Student Project Manager Aaron Pinet, Junior Mari Muraoka, Senior Lexi Kacoyannakis, Junior Maggie Buchanan, Senior Terrance Balkaran, Senior Ryan Smith, Senior Bobby Mercer, and Senior Sophia Sirage.

“By researching how policymakers at the local, state and federal levels access geoscience information, the group applied their knowledge of science, policy and business to advocate for a truly science-based U.S. investment strategy,” Szymanski noted.

The team’s timing was impeccable as the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science) Act is up for reauthorization, bringing this subject to the top of some Congress members’ minds. The students made such a convincing argument for geoscience funding that Rep. Clark cited their work in a speech she made on the House floor during debate on the House version of the reauthorization bill on Wednesday, May 20.

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