What are the responsibilities and job description for the Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow position at Physics World?
Job Details
Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow
Public Engagement and Civic Science Across the Physical Sciences
Host organizations: American Physical Society (Public Engagement) and American Astronomical Society (Education)
Fellowship term: 18 months
Supervisors: Dr. Claudia Fracchiolla, Head of Public Engagement, APS; and Dr. Tom Rice, Director of Education Programs, AAS
Location: Remote, with possible hybrid arrangements for candidates located in the Washington, DC area
Anticipated start date: September, 2026
Position Summary
The American Physical Society (APS) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) seek a Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow to help build and strengthen a network of professional scientific societies committed to advancing civic science and evidence-based public engagement.
Public engagement is essential to public trust in science and to the ability of science to serve society. Yet in many scientific fields, it is still treated as optional rather than as a core part of scientific practice. APS and AAS are working to change that by supporting a culture in which public engagement is integrated, valued, rewarded, and resourced as part of what it means to be a scientist.
This is a collaborative fellowship. The Fellow will bring their own expertise, perspective, and professional goals to the role and will help shape the final work plan with APS, AAS, and participating organizations.
About The Project
The Fellow will help APS and AAS identify, convene, and coordinate a growing network of professional scientific societies. The network will share knowledge, identify gaps and opportunities, and develop practical frameworks that help scientists engage more meaningfully with communities, policymakers, educators, and publics.
The project is grounded in the belief that disciplinary societies are uniquely positioned to shift scientific culture. Scientists often look to their professional societies to set norms and expectations for their fields. By working through these societies, the Fellow will help advance public engagement not as a luxury or add-on, but as an essential practice of science.
Key Responsibilities
The Fellow will work with APS, AAS, and participating organizations to:
Who We Are Looking For
We encourage applications from candidates with a range of backgrounds, including public engagement, civic science, science communication, informal science education, science policy, community engagement, evaluation, sociology of science, science and technology studies, organizational change, or related fields.
We are especially interested in candidates who can bridge across disciplines, organizations, and communities.
Relevant Experience And Skills
A strong candidate may bring experience in several of the following areas:
The Fellow will be co-supervised by Dr. Claudia Fracchiolla at APS and Dr. Tom Rice at AAS. They will also work closely with members of the APS Public Engagement team, including Dr. Alexandra Lau and Dr. Jen Parsons, APS’s 2024–2025 Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow.
The Fellow will have opportunities to engage with APS and AAS members, committees, conferences, and partner organizations. APS and AAS are committed to supporting the Fellow’s professional growth, including opportunities to expand their network, develop leadership experience, and contribute to field-level strategy. The fellow will have no direct reports.
Commitment to Inclusive Recruitment
APS and AAS are committed to attracting candidates with a variety of experiences, expertise, and perspectives. We especially welcome candidates from backgrounds and communities historically underrepresented in science, public engagement, policy, and civic science.
The hiring process will emphasize relevant competencies and lived experience, not only traditional academic or professional credentials.
How To Apply
Applicants should submit:
About The Civic Science Fellows Program
The Civic Science Fellows program is building a network of leaders committed to ensuring that all people shape and benefit from science, technology, and innovation. The program brings together scientists, scholars, community leaders, journalists, educators, media producers, public-interest organizations, and funders to seed new collaborations between science, diverse communities, and civil society. Envisioned as a Civic Science Lab, Fellows and the organizations that host them carry out pioneering work to co-create pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and new ways of working. Fellows and partners engage as part of a network of learning and action that spans organizations, disciplines, and communities—a growing effort to catalyze civic science culture change.
Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow
Public Engagement and Civic Science Across the Physical Sciences
Host organizations: American Physical Society (Public Engagement) and American Astronomical Society (Education)
Fellowship term: 18 months
Supervisors: Dr. Claudia Fracchiolla, Head of Public Engagement, APS; and Dr. Tom Rice, Director of Education Programs, AAS
Location: Remote, with possible hybrid arrangements for candidates located in the Washington, DC area
Anticipated start date: September, 2026
Position Summary
The American Physical Society (APS) and the American Astronomical Society (AAS) seek a Rita Allen Foundation Civic Science Fellow to help build and strengthen a network of professional scientific societies committed to advancing civic science and evidence-based public engagement.
Public engagement is essential to public trust in science and to the ability of science to serve society. Yet in many scientific fields, it is still treated as optional rather than as a core part of scientific practice. APS and AAS are working to change that by supporting a culture in which public engagement is integrated, valued, rewarded, and resourced as part of what it means to be a scientist.
This is a collaborative fellowship. The Fellow will bring their own expertise, perspective, and professional goals to the role and will help shape the final work plan with APS, AAS, and participating organizations.
About The Project
The Fellow will help APS and AAS identify, convene, and coordinate a growing network of professional scientific societies. The network will share knowledge, identify gaps and opportunities, and develop practical frameworks that help scientists engage more meaningfully with communities, policymakers, educators, and publics.
The project is grounded in the belief that disciplinary societies are uniquely positioned to shift scientific culture. Scientists often look to their professional societies to set norms and expectations for their fields. By working through these societies, the Fellow will help advance public engagement not as a luxury or add-on, but as an essential practice of science.
Key Responsibilities
The Fellow will work with APS, AAS, and participating organizations to:
- Build and support a professional society network by convening staff and leaders, supporting communication across organizations, and helping define the network’s purpose, structure, and opportunities for collective action.
- Map the current landscape of public engagement and civic science across relevant professional societies, including existing programs, training models, policy statements, resources, evaluation approaches, and gaps.
- Develop shared resources and frameworks such as guiding principles, case studies, a field-facing report or white paper, practical tools, or recommendations for how societies can support, evaluate, recognize, and reward public engagement.
- Support civic science programming at APS and AAS, including helping to share learning from APS dialogue-based public engagement pilots and supporting AAS as it develops a sustainable, evidence-based, measurably impactful public engagement program for the astronomy community.
- Advance learning and evaluation by helping define success for the network, documenting lessons learned, and identifying approaches that combine qualitative and quantitative evidence of change.
Who We Are Looking For
We encourage applications from candidates with a range of backgrounds, including public engagement, civic science, science communication, informal science education, science policy, community engagement, evaluation, sociology of science, science and technology studies, organizational change, or related fields.
We are especially interested in candidates who can bridge across disciplines, organizations, and communities.
Relevant Experience And Skills
A strong candidate may bring experience in several of the following areas:
- Designing, supporting, or evaluating public engagement, civic science, community engagement, or science communication programs.
- Working with scientists, educators, community organizations, policymakers, professional societies, or other networks.
- Understanding dialogue-based, participatory, and/or community-centered approaches to public engagement.
- Coordinating multi-organization collaborations, coalitions, or communities of practice.
- Conducting landscape scans, interviews, needs assessments, qualitative research, or synthesis work.
- Writing clearly for multiple audiences, including practitioners, organizational leaders, funders, or scientific communities.
- Facilitating meetings, listening across diverse perspectives, and helping groups move toward shared goals.
- Commitment to equity, inclusion, and the idea that all people should be able to shape and benefit from science and technology.
- Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting qualitative and/or quantitative data to inform program learning, evaluation, and decision-making.
The Fellow will be co-supervised by Dr. Claudia Fracchiolla at APS and Dr. Tom Rice at AAS. They will also work closely with members of the APS Public Engagement team, including Dr. Alexandra Lau and Dr. Jen Parsons, APS’s 2024–2025 Rita Allen Civic Science Fellow.
The Fellow will have opportunities to engage with APS and AAS members, committees, conferences, and partner organizations. APS and AAS are committed to supporting the Fellow’s professional growth, including opportunities to expand their network, develop leadership experience, and contribute to field-level strategy. The fellow will have no direct reports.
Commitment to Inclusive Recruitment
APS and AAS are committed to attracting candidates with a variety of experiences, expertise, and perspectives. We especially welcome candidates from backgrounds and communities historically underrepresented in science, public engagement, policy, and civic science.
The hiring process will emphasize relevant competencies and lived experience, not only traditional academic or professional credentials.
How To Apply
Applicants should submit:
- A resume or CV.
- A cover letter describing their interest in the fellowship, relevant experience, and what they hope to learn or contribute.
- Email to public-engagement@aps.org
About The Civic Science Fellows Program
The Civic Science Fellows program is building a network of leaders committed to ensuring that all people shape and benefit from science, technology, and innovation. The program brings together scientists, scholars, community leaders, journalists, educators, media producers, public-interest organizations, and funders to seed new collaborations between science, diverse communities, and civil society. Envisioned as a Civic Science Lab, Fellows and the organizations that host them carry out pioneering work to co-create pilots, partnerships, knowledge, models, and new ways of working. Fellows and partners engage as part of a network of learning and action that spans organizations, disciplines, and communities—a growing effort to catalyze civic science culture change.