Making an impact on government policy through scientifically grounded research in public policy organizations

I will give an overview of the many different types of research and consulting organizations that hire expert scientific and engineering talent to advise the U.S. government on policy-relevant issues related to science and technology. Then, I will discuss my own career at the RAND Corporation, a large public policy research organization that conducts peer-reviewed (and mostly publicly available) research on a wide range of policy issues, including science and technology. Since coming to RAND after completing my PhD in theoretical hard condensed-matter physics, I have worked on a range of research topics related to emerging technologies. Most (but not all) of my work has related to quantum technology and its relevance for national security, and I have testified before a Congressional Commission on how the U.S. and Chinese governments are deploying quantum technologies in military settings. I will discuss how the technical skills that one acquires during a physics PhD can transfer over to policy research, but also how policy research (with a goal of concrete policy impact) differs from academic science research.