In a conversation with Science before taking office, Potocnik stressed that research is an indispensable part of the Lisbon Strategy, a 10-year plan endorsed by European leaders in 2000 that calls for sustainable economic growth in balance with environmental protection and Europe's traditionally generous social policies.
Correcting the problems and inequities that bedevil postdocs will require changing the culture of labs and universities across the country, and the National Science Foundation can and should take steps to catalyze reform.
My Ph.D. project shows that mathematics, which may be perceived as one of the most abstract scientific fields, can be applied in the world of the arts.
Alexander, now a research associate and member of the theoretical physics group at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, searches for answers to big, long-standing questions in science, such as whether extra dimensions of space shape our universe.
"The biggest challenge was working hand-in-hand with artists, translating their requirements into our engineering requirements," says Tim Reedman, chief project engineer and director of research and development at MD Robotics.