Author: Kenneth Evans, Scholar in Science and Technology Policy, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Rice University

Presidents need science advice. From climate change and pandemics to the governance of AI and the country’s nuclear arsenal, science sits at the center of a range of foreign and domestic policy challenges that reach the president’s desk. Thankfully for the president – and the nation – the Office of Science and Technology Policy, known as OSTP, is just across the White House South Lawn in the Executive Office of the President. Led by the president’s science adviser, OSTP serves as a one-stop shop for everything science and innovation inside the White House. The Office of Science and Technology Policy…

For the first time in American history, quantum computing was mentioned by a candidate during a presidential debate, on Sept. 10, 2024. After Vice President Kamala Harris brought up quantum technology, she and former President Donald Trump went on to have a heated back-and-forth about American chipmaking and China’s rise in semiconductor manufacturing. Science and technology policy usually takes a back seat to issues such as immigration, the economy and health care during election season. What’s changed for 2024? From COVID-19 to climate change, ChatGPT to, yes, quantum computers, science-related issues are on the minds of American policymakers and voters…