DETROIT – The new Invest Again campaign is driven by scientists and entrepreneurs to protect and promote increased federal funding for the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. The campaign will put scientists front and center in national media to explain the most important issues facing our nation, and how to move the United States ahead with an inspirational vision for the future.
?We launched Invest Again because it?s time to reassert our global leadership and dedication to innovation, so that our children are inspired by science and our economy can benefit from advancements in STEM fields,? said Eleiza Braun, co-director of Invest Again. ?There?s a reason that NASA generated seven dollars of economic output for every dollar the agency spent. Exploration is good for morale and innovation is good for the bottom line.?
Federal funding for basic research and development has been cut to historic lows and has decreased by 16 percent since 2010, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. An additional $95 billion is at risk in the upcoming round of sequestration debates.
?We need to refocus people?s attention on the important challenges and discoveries in science. New discoveries fundamentally change the sociology of working applications and federal funding has always been the lifeblood of those catalytic discoveries,? said Joseph Budnick, Professor of Condensed Matter Physics and member of the Connecticut Academy of Engineering and Sciences. ?As a lifelong educator and researcher, it is critical that we incubate our next generation of explorers.?
Invest Again will use contemporary and past successes in science and innovation to spark public awareness and support for federal investment in the sciences, and to hold elected leaders accountable for protecting and prioritizing innovation in national budgets. A rededication to scientific innovation creates a massive opportunity for job creation and economic resurgence, while also preparing and inspiring Americans for the jobs and fields that will sustain the world’s economic future.
?Ingenuity has always been the lifeblood of our economy, from inventors like Louie Lattimer to Elon Musk,? said Lisa Jones Johnson, CEO of the NextGen Media Group, which has launched ReportN, a peer-to-peer news and information social media platform. ?Invest Again is a campaign to spark and support a new wave of American innovation.? Invest Again co-director Rory McCarron stated, ?We need continued political accountability for science. Science is not a zero-sum game; instead research is an economic engine. We need to think smartly about what legacy we leave our kids. The way we fast forward our economy is by investing in new innovations.?
Invest Again, a brainchild from the leading minds behind game-changing electoral and issue campaigns, is co-directed by Rory McCarron, Eleiza Braun, and Caroline Fan, with strategic guidance from leaders in STEM fields nationwide.
More information can be found at InvestAgain.Org
Associate Editor Nicole Johnson leads MITechNews.Com?s efforts to foster STEM education, as well as provide coverage for her fellow women in computing. If you have a story idea for Nicole, email [email protected]
