FLICKR, DCJOHNOn April 22, people will enter the public square to celebrate science and voice their support for the research enterprise in what’s expected to be unprecedented numbers. The March for Science comprises events planned across the globe, from Berlin to Chicago to Hong Kong. But the epicenter of the movement will be Washington, DC. This is, in part, because the march and the sentiment surrounding it were precipitated by the election of Donald Trump to the US presidency.
Although each new administration has a different take on science policy, professional science advocates are largely left scratching their heads as to where Trump stands on issues important to their members. “There’s no one, it appears to me, at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue that particularly cares about science anymore. And that’s a different environment for us,” said Benjamin Corb, public affairs director at the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB). “It’s not unique. It’s not as if it’s the first time we’ve had to deal with this, but it’s different from where we had been for eight years. [Former President Barrack] Obama was, at a minimum, curious about science.”
Trump’s opacity with regard to his positions on science has propelled science advocacy to a ...
