Science Policy Fellows Program

In the Science Policy Fellows Program, selected fellows are paired with a GPS faculty member with expertise in the relevant public policy sector. These GPS faculty mentors join their fellows for program events during the academic year and are available for research consultation, meeting on average once a month.

Fellows are expected to produce an end-of-year presentation on the policy implications of their research; other deliverables could potentially include a publication co-authored with the GPS advisor, a submitted policy brief, or a new dissertation chapter. The fellowship is one year, with the possibility of renewal for a second year depending on the project.

The Science Policy Fellows Program includes the opportunity to attend relevant events, programs, and meetings through the course of the year. Fellows will receive the benefit of one-on-one mentorship, the opportunity to take select policy courses with GPS faculty, a $1,000 stipend for policy-relevant research/travel expenses, and a certificate of completion.

There are three signature events associated with the program:

Science Policy Roundtable (Fall quarter)
Using research currently being conducted by GPS or other UC San Diego faculty, this roundtable explores the intersection of science and policy with real world situations.

• 2018 Roundtable on “Science and Politics” with speakers Scott Peters, Amber Mace, Margaret Leinen, Christa Trexler and Allison Hutchings
• 2017 Roundtable on “Living with Wildfires” with speakers Ilkay Altintas, Judd (Judson) Boomhower, Brian Fennessy, Frank Vernon and Teevrat Garg (download event flyer)
• 2016 Roundtable on "Water in the West" with speakers Sandra Kerl, Jennifer Burney and Daniel Cayan, moderated by Marty Ralph (download event flyer)
• 2014 Roundtable on "China’s Pending Airpocolypse: How can science and policy forestall the inevitable?" with speakers Junjie Zhang and Deborah Seligsohn, with remarks by Barry Naughton (download event flyer)

Careers at the Nexus of Science and Policy (Winter quarter)
Bringing together top practitioners who work with both policy and science, this panel discussion explores career opportunities for students. 

• 2019 speakers included Shara Fisler, Susan Freedman, Jason Giffen, Nicola Hedge and Ute Zischka
• 2016 speakers included Elizabeth Baker, Sally Howard, Michael Kleeman and Nate Turnbull
• 2015 speakers included Robert Friedman, Sandy Lakoff, Lisa Shaffer and John Watson (download event flyer)

Fellows' Research Presentations (Spring quarter)
The public is invited to hear the fellows present on their findings.

In addition, fellows are invited to sit in on policy-related seminars, workshops and courses, suggested by their mentor.

2022-24

Iman Adibnazari
Topic: "Protecting Consumer Privacy in the Emerging Market of Domestic Social Robots"
GPS Mentor: Liz Lyons

Orion McCarthy
Topic: "Climate change impact on coral reef communities in the Hawaiian Islands"
GPS Mentor: Kate Ricke

Taylor McKie
Topic: "Climate Change Impacts on Small-Scale Dynamics and Policy Implications for Marine Protected Areas"
GPS Mentor: Kate Ricke

2020-22

Austin Barnes
Topic: "Political Economy of Sea Level Rise Coastal Impacts Exploration"
GPS Mentor: David Victor

Jennifer Chien
Topic: "Exploring Causal Recourse in a Strategic Environment"
GPS Mentors: John Ahlquist, Brian Libgober

Mia Rosenfeld
Topic: "Investigating policy implications of genomic data privacy laws in relation to bioethics and scientific accessibility"
GPS Mentor: Liz Lyons

Ross E. Turner
Topic: "Defining Directed Energy Systems for a Future in Space"
GPS Mentors: Robert L. Thomas, Tai Ming Cheung

Rachel Astete Vasquez
Topic: "The Waterless Flush: Enhanced Performance of a Wet Onsite Sanitation System for Unhoused and Underserved Communities"
GPS Mentor: Teevrat Garg

Vanessa ZoBell
Topic: "Identifying Standards for the Protection of Great Whales from Commercial Shipping Noise"
GPS Mentor: John Ahlquist

2019-20

Paul Glick
Topic: "Pathways to Flight – The Impact of NASA’s Small Satellite and Technology Demonstration Missions on Long-term Technology Infusion"
GPS Mentors: Liz Lyons, Michael Davidson

Mike Sierks
Topic: "Assessing the Adequacy of Rule Curve-Based Reservoir Operations in Historically Snowmelt Driven Basins of California Under Future Climate"
GPS Mentor: Kate Ricke

Kara Voss
Topic: "The Role of Research Institutions in Community Resilience to Extreme Weather Events"
GPS Mentor: Kate Ricke

2018-19

Meredith Fish, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: atmospheric rivers
GPS Mentors: Kate Ricke, Jennifer Burney

Jennifer Le, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: deep-sea ecosystems
GPS Mentors: Liz Lyons, Kate Ricke

Kaitlyn Lowder, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: Ocean acidification and lobster fisheries
GPS Mentors: Gordon McCord, Kate Ricke

Karcher Morris, Jacobs School of Engineering
Topic: 3-D printing of medical devices
GPS Mentors: Liz Lyons, Roger Bohn

Mike Sierks, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: hydroclimate of the American west
GPS Mentors: Kate Ricke, Jennifer Burney

Kara Voss, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: the role of research institutions in community resilience to extreme weather events
GPS Mentors: Kate Ricke, Jennifer Burney

2017-18

Meredith Fish, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: atmospheric rivers
GPS Mentors: Kate Ricke, Jennifer Burney

Kaitlyn Lowder, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: Ocean acidification and lobster fisheries
GPS Mentors: Gordon McCord, Kate Ricke

Karcher Morris, Jacobs School of Engineering
Topic: 3-D printing of medical devices
GPS Mentors: Liz Lyons, Roger Bohn

Osinachi Ajoku, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Second year of fellowship; topic: Biomass burning in Sub-Saharan Africa
GPS Mentor: Jennifer Burney

2016-17

Osinachi Ajoku, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: Biomass burning in Sub-Saharan Africa
GPS Mentor: Jennifer Burney

Mridu Sinha, Jacobs School of Engineering
Topic: Healthcare decision support tool adoption
GPS Mentor: Roger Bohn

Devesh Vashishtha, School of Medicine
Topic: Health implications of heat waves
GPS Mentor: Gordon McCord 

2015-16

Gavin Cornwell, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Topic: boundary layer geo-engineering
GPS Mentor: John Ahlquist

Claudia Rafful, School of Medicine
Topic: Human rights implications of involuntary drug treatment
GPS Mentor: Emilie Hafner Burton

Naila Seale, Jacobs School of Engineering
Topic: regulation of disruptive healthcare therapies
GPS Mentors: Liz Lyons, Joshua Graff Zivin, Roger Bohn

Lynn Waterhouse, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Topic: Fisheries stock assessments
GPS Mentor: John Ahlquist 

2014-15

Negin Nazarian, Jacobs School of Engineering
Topic: urban climate modeling
GPS Mentor: David Victor 

Hermes Taylor-Weiner, Jacobs School of Engineering
Topic: regenerative medicine regulation
GPS Mentor: Joshua Graff Zivin

Eligibility

Candidates must be a PhD student in a STEM field at UC San Diego. Candidates must secure the approval of their departmental advisor.

Application

Prior to applying, please identify the GPS faculty member(s) with whom you are potentially interested in working. GPS faculty information can be found here.

Applications are due Sept. 29, 2024. Applicants will be notified of selection results shortly after the deadline.

Apply to 2024/25 SPF

If you have any questions, please contact Assistant Dean Meredith D’Angelo at mdangelo@ucsd.edu.

The Disruptive Economics of Artificial Intelligence
March 6, 2025
Avi Goldfarb presented a synthesis of his research on the impact of AI on business, government, and society. AI may be the next general-purpose technology. General purpose technologies, such as the steam engine and computers, can have an outsized impact on productivity through a positive feedback loop between producing and application industries. Along with AI’s potential to improve productivity comes a number of policy concerns related to its potential to automate jobs and to create existential risk for humanity. Goldfarb’s talk highlighted reasons to be optimistic about the long-run impact of AI while underscoring short-run risks.

Climate Risk Management Under Conditions of Deep Uncertainty
June 2, 2023
This talk featuring Robert Lempert described the application of deep uncertainty methods to climate risk management, drawing on recent advances, applications, and the use of deep uncertainty approaches in the recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.

Future Shaping and Future Proofing: Applying Evidence-Based Analysis
June 1, 2023
This talk featuring Robert Lempert described how approaches for decision-making under deep uncertainty, focused on enabling good decisions without good predictions, can help society shape the future more successfully, inclusively and democratically.

Natural Variability, Trends and the Future of Western U.S. Aridity and Forest Fires
March 17, 2023
On March 17, we welcomed David Battisti, who studies natural and forced variability in the climate system, to deliver the inaugural lecture in GPS's new Science & Policy speaker series. In this candid conversation, Battisti discussed his research on how the interactions between the ocean, atmosphere, land and sea ice lead to variability in climate on time scales from seasonal to decades, plus how climate change (including El Nino) affects food production.

Decarbonizing the U.S. Energy System: A Science Policy Fellows Event
Dec. 4, 2019
At UC San Diego, we are tackling the interrelated policy and technology challenges that must be addressed to get to zero global carbon emissions in a world where costs matter. What will it take, and how do we get there? Can the U.S. be a global leader, paving the way for other developed economies to follow? A panel of School of Global Policy and Strategy professors discussed the feasibility of the U.S. removing carbon from its energy system, as well as explored what strategies and organizational infrastructure needs to be in place.

• Michael Davidson, Assistant Professor, GPS and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department
• Gordon McCord, Associate Teaching Professor, GPS
• David Victor, Professor and Center for Global Transformation Endowed Chair in Innovation and Public Policy, GPS
• Moderated by Kate Ricke, Assistant Professor, GPS and Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Science and Politics: A GPS Science Policy Fellows Roundtable Event
Oct. 30, 2018
Should scientists try and influence policy? Should policymakers and elected officials be required to share their science platform during their campaigns? How can science really make the most impact on policy outcomes? Join us as we bring together scientists and policymakers to discuss these questions and more.

• Scott Peters, Congressman, California’s 52nd District
• Christa Trexler and Allison Hutchings, 500 Women Scientists
• Amber Mace, Executive Director, California Council on Science & Technology
• Margaret Leinen, Director, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
• Moderated by Peter Cowhey, Dean, GPS UC San Diego

Fighting wildfires with web based imagery
Dec. 6, 2017
Ten of the top 20 most destructive California wildfires, according to Cal Fire, have occurred in the last decade. Are wildfires on the rise? What’s being done to prevent wildfires? What can we do to protect ourselves? An interdisciplinary expert panel of UC San Diego researchers and county officials explored answers to these critical questions.

• Ilkay Altintas, Chief Data Science Officer, San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego
• Judd (Judson) Boomhower, Assistant Professor, Department of Economics, UC San Diego
• Brian Fennessy, Fire Chief, City of San Diego
• Frank Vernon, Researcher, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego
• Moderated by Teevrat Garg, Assistant Professor, GPS, UC San Diego

Water in the West: A Science Policy Roundtable
Dec. 8, 2016
Presented by the School of Global Policy and Strategy’s Science Policy Fellows Program and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s Science Policy Discussion Group, this roundtable explored the sources of California’s water supply, how it is used throughout the state and best practices for optimal regulation of its use.

• Daniel Cayan, Director, California Applications Program and Research Meteorologist, Scripps Oceanography
• Marty Ralph, Director, Center for Western Weather and Water Extremes, Scripps Oceanography
• Jennifer Burney, Assistant Professor, GPS
• Sandra Kerl, Deputy General Manager, San Diego County Water Authority

Listen to Jennifer Burney and Marty Ralph featured Dec. 8, 2016 on KPBS, “San Diego Climate Scientists Strive To Better Impact Public Policy” (audio)

Read a recap of the event "Variability biggest bane of water in the West"

Watch the video