Sciammarella on Science 2034

Everyday, the science world is evolving and transforming.  Not many years ago, touch screens and video calling were simply futuristic ideas from “The Jetsons”.  Today, both of those features and much more are normal parts of our daily routines, which raises the question: what does the future of science hold?
Dr. Federico Sciammarella, Associate Professor in our Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been able to take his science predictions to the national scale.  Dr. Sciammarella was chosen as one of six panelists from around the country to be a part of a project by The Science Coalition called Science 2034 to look at what the world of science might look like in the year 2034.
“Science Coalition’s main issue is to keep people aware, they don’t really lobby,” Sciammarella said.   “They like to put out information, so the thought of this project was ‘hey, let’s bring together leading scientists who are doing cutting edge research in their different areas and let them kind of tell what they predict the future to be in 30 years’.”
 

Dr. Federico Sciammarella (far left) with
his fellow Science 2034 panelists
Each panelist came from different areas of expertise ranging from the health sector to solar power, with Sciammarella discussing manufacturing impacts.  The panel released a podcast of their talks and were invited to Washington D.C., in June to personally share their predictions with politicians. 
“It went well, obviously to be in congress and talk to some of the staffers it was just exciting to see that regardless of party, people are genuinely interested in supporting the sciences, so that’s always cool,” Sciammarella said.  “To have the platform and be able to talk about your research but also the importance of supporting not just research but students and the impact that has on the economy was pretty unique and definitely well received.” 
Moving forward, Sciammarella wants to make sure he still stays active in his research regarding Science 2034.  He said that scientists are sometimes hesitant to get involved in politics because of their messy reputation, but Sciammarella believes that nothing but good things can come from getting research out there to the nation’s capitol. 
“I think it would be incumbent upon myself to maybe reach out to our local representatives and say ‘hey look what we’re doing’; it may take some effort but I think it goes a long way and would be well received,” Sciammarella said.  “At the end of the day, they want to know what’s going on in their district and if we’re making a difference, helping companies, or helping students find jobs then that’s something good for them.”
 Click here to read Dr. Sciammarella’s predictions about the year 2034. 

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