Faculty Fellow
Kristoffer Shields
STEM to the State House
Fellowship Area: Public Engagement
Department: Eagleton Science and Politics Program
Bio
Kris Shields is the director of the Eagleton Science and Politics Program. He runs the Eagleton Science and Politics Fellowship Program, which places Ph.D. level scientists in New Jersey state government offices for a one year fellowship experience. Shields also runs a variety of science policy education programs and workshops and is on the leadership team of the Science Policy Collaborative.
In addition to his work in science policy, Shields is an historian and archivist at the Eagleton Center on the American Governor (CAG). He helps build and maintain the Center’s archives on New Jersey governors and researches and analyzes the office of the governor in a national context. He frequently writes for the Center’s website and is co-author of From Candidate to Governor-Elect: Recommendations for Gubernatorial Transitions. Read more here.
Fellowship Project
Under RDL's Faculty and Staff Democracy Fellowship, Kris and his colleague Shannon Erwin plan to launch STEM to the State House, a new student cohort under The Eagleton Science and Politics Program which has long been New Jersey's trusted nonpartisan bridge between researchers and state government.
STEM to the State House will build a cohort of Rutgers graduate students and advanced undergraduates (seniors and exceptional juniors with relevant coursework or research experience), whose course of study is in science, engineering, or the health professions. Building off ESPP's Civic Fluency curriculum, students will identify one or two live bills in their fields, analyze the open technical questions, and travel to Trenton to meet the bills' sponsors or other interested decision-makers, listening first, then offering feedback grounded in their scientific and civic training. The year closes with a public event where the cohort shares what they heard and contributed.