Washington

George Atkinson's office window at the Department of State in Washington DC looks across the street to the National Academies, which advise the US government on scientific matters. But bringing the right technical expertise into the state department has been a perennial problem. As newly appointed science and technology adviser to the secretary of state, Atkinson is setting out to fix it.

He will take a small step towards that goal this week, when the department announces funding from the MacArthur Foundation, the Carnegie Foundation and a group of universities for a beefed-up scholarship programme that will pluck seasoned researchers from universities. After a year at the department, they will return to their jobs while also continuing as consultants with the state department for a further five years. Atkinson himself is a chemist on secondment from the University of Arizona at Tucson.

George Atkinson says a lack of science expertise is potentially dangerous. Credit: M. LYNN/UNIV. ARIZONA

Atkinson took up his position on 23 September, succeeding Norman Neureiter, a chemist and former manager at Texas Instruments. The post was created three years ago by then secretary of state Madeleine Albright, in response to a 1998 report from the National Academy of Sciences. The report noted that science and technology were “not receiving adequate attention within the department” (see Nature 395, 313; 199810.1038/26307).

Despite a small increase since then in the number of scientists working with the department, Atkinson believes that lack of scientific expertise is still a “potentially dangerous situation”. Many scientific issues, from carbon emissions to visa rulings for incoming researchers, fall in its remit.

The new funding will support 15 fellows over the next three years, Atkinson says. Besides increasing fellowship numbers, he also hopes to devise more ways for researchers to act as consultants to the department when their fellowships are over. His office also plans to hold quarterly briefings for senior department officials on the latest developments in science and technology.

Atkinson faces a busy time both at home and abroad, says Irving Lerch, head of international affairs at the American Physical Society. As well as dealing with domestic issues such as delays to visiting researchers' visa applications, Atkinson is expected to help rebuild Iraq's scientific infrastructure. The country's fledgling science agency has so far had little interaction with US scientists, says Lerch. “I think that George is faced with a serious problem there.”

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