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Science 1 May 2009:
Vol. 324. no. 5927, p. 567
DOI: 10.1126/science.1174783
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Editorial

Science in the White House

John P. Holdren

The U.S. President's science advisor—officially, the Assistant to the President for Science and Technology (S&T)—has the daunting task of providing accurate and timely input to the president, the vice president, and their senior advisors on the full range of S&T topics that bear on the policy challenges facing the nation, from economic recovery to national security to environmental sustainability. Besides these "S&T for policy" responsibilities, moreover, "policy for S&T" must be attended to: helping craft the S&T budgets for the executive-branch departments and agencies that support much of the country's R&D; partnering with the Domestic Policy Council and the Department of Education in efforts to strengthen science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; enhancing the capabilities and diversity of the science and engineering workforce; ensuring coordination and cooperation among the numerous governmental S&T initiatives that involve multiple agencies; advancing appropriate forms of international S&T cooperation; promoting openness, transparency, and scientific integrity in the conduct of the nation's S&T business; and more.

John P. Holdren is President Obama's science advisor and until recently was a professor at Harvard University and director of the Woods Hole Research Center, Falmouth, MA.

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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)