Katie Futrowsky, 2022 AIP Mather Policy Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: University of Maryland-College Park

Hello, everyone! My name is Katie Futrowsky (she/her), and I am a recent graduate of the University of Maryland where I obtained dual degrees in Physics and Astronomy. At UMD, I was also apart of the College Park Scholars Science, Discovery, and the Universe and the Global Fellows programs. I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and have called the DMV my home for my whole life. This summer, I am working with the Society of Physics Students as a Mather Public Policy Intern on Capitol Hill!

I have worked at UMD’s off-campus observatory since my freshman year of college and have loved mentoring and tutoring my peers and participating in astronomy outreach. In my free time, I love to read, explore nature and new places, and do astrophotography. I am also very interested in the intersection of science and policy. This fall, I will be starting a Physics Ph.D. program at Georgia Tech studying supermassive black holes - my favorite cosmic objects - and hope to also pursue a Master of Public Policy program while I am there. I’m quite excited to be working with fellow budding physicists and those involved with science policy this summer!

Internship

Host: U.S. Senate

Project

Abstract

Anthropogenic climate change is among the most troublesome threats to humanity and our precious planet. Scientists have warned for decades that without serious and immediate reductions in global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the globe will warm beyond 1.5°C, leading to severe and potentially irreversible impacts on people and ecosystems. Pathways exist to reduce CO2 emissions to levels required to prevent warming beyond 1.5°C, but governments are responsible for implementing them via policies and legislation. The United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases worldwide and is therefore among the countries most responsible for taking action to reduce them. I show how federal legislation and policies aiming to curb such emissions are struggling to come to fruition because of the organizational structure and interplay of the three branches of the U.S. government and certain government officials within them.

Final Presentation

Internship Blog

Week 1: City Living, a Stinky Flower, and Floating on Waves

Our first week in DC has concluded in an astonishingly short amount of time - although this isn’t truly my first week in DC. I grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and went to college in College Park, Maryland, so DC has alwasy been seemingly (and nearly literally) around the corner. However, in the five days that I have called Foggy Bottom my home, I have experienced quite a lot of the city that I hadn’t before - primariily things that I would expect to experience living in any city, but with a unique DC experience mixed in. Most notably, this includes purchasing more groceries than I could reasonably carry and taking quick breaks at every half-block on the one mile trek home. I would say I won’t be making that mistake again, but in reality, I most definitely will, again and again and again...

As I was making my first journey to the Rayburn House Office Building, where I will be working this summer in Congressman Bill Foster’s office, I walked past the US Botanic Garden. Of course, I had to peak inside, and discovered that the conservatory’s corpse flower - Arum titan - was about to bloom! This is a rare event. The corpse flower bloom is named for its ~unpleasant~ smell, similar to that of a rotting corpse, meant to attract pollinators. So, naturally, I gathered a group of fellow interns and we went to the garden on Saturday and observed the brief, huge, stinky bloom in all its glory. It took a couple of minutes for the horrific smell to hit us, and once it did, we took the opportunity to explore the other beautiful parts of the garden. We finished the week by going to a somewhat local (a 20 minute drive away) water park where we partook in swimming and floating in a wave pool and playing mini golf. As expected, I lost at mini golf, but had immense fun in doing so.

Now, I haven’t mentioned anything relating to the actual internship itself yet. That part of the week was also very fun and quite informative, but I have decided to focus this post on the other fun aspects of this program that I wasn’t expecting. Here’s to more riding the (aritificial) waves and existing in the presence of the corpse flower or other awesome plants at the Botanic Garden. I expect to have more interesting things to share about working on the Hill as the weeks progress, as this past week consisted of setting up our tech and drafting some constituent letters.

Until next time!

Week 2: Controlled Chaos on the Hill

Our second week came with my first in Representative Foster’s physical office, and my gosh - what a change that is from teleworking! After commuting to Rayburn House Office Building on the metro in a sea of other hillterns, and after going through security, the busy day begins! In the office, we work on the same things we would teleworking: writing constituent letters and memos, answering phone calls, skimming through local and national news stories of the day and those involving the Congressman However, in the office, there is so much more that goes with the job! This includes giving tours (for which we completed training this past week), exploring the other House and Senate office buildings and the Capitol, possibly attending hearings, watching votes and congressmen speaking on the floor via the office TV turned to C-SPAN, and likely other activities that I am currently forgetting. Having multiple, varying tasks to complete is exciting, and I am grateful to be doing something a bit different than theoretical astrophysics research as six years of graduate school in the subject is on the horizon.

Adjusting to the 9 to 5 plus the morning and evening commutes was a bit exhausting, but fortunately, I still had time for fun with the other interns and in the DC area. On Friday, we attended a Nationals game, which was quite enjoyable despite the ~$30 cost of dinner (the burger was worth it, though). On Saturday, I had the chance to visit a plant nursery with some rare plants about an hour away, and got to visit my family as I am local to DC. [Note: plants are likely to be a running theme in my blog posts... they bring me such joy!] On Sunday, I visited the Spy Museum with Valeria, Div, Justin, and Saksham, and it was a blast. Surprisingly, I had never been despite growing up in the DC area, and I honestly don’t think that I will go again, but it was a fantastic one-time experience. The idea of being a spy is intriguing on its own, but my gosh, the various technologies and gadgets - many made possible by physics - were both a bit terrifying and riveting. There were a few things that made me question the family friendliness of this museum, but after all, I enjoyed it thoroughly. I am now fascinated by microdots. Look them up! And code breaking of course. Go Alan Turing, especially during pride!

There are more exciting activities to come in the week ahead. The January 6 insurrection hearings have just begun, and being in the complex where they’re taking place is beyond exciting and feels as though I am part of history. I am giving my first tour this week and am looking forward to getting to walk around during the day and sharing personal stories along with learned facts about various parts of the Capitol. It will be a good week!

Week 3: Settling In as a Hilltern

It was during this past week when I finally felt confident as a hilltern. That is, confident in my work and in my ability to make mistakes and learn from them. I have historically been hard on myself in virtually every aspect of my life, which made making mistakes, and being okay with making them, quite difficult. I have been working on becoming a bit less of a perfectionist and giving myself the go-ahead to do my best work, and if it’s not exactly ~correct~, improving upon it. This week, I confronted my difficulties doing these things, as a few minor mistakes, or simply things that needed some tweaking, seemed to pile on each other. However, with a brief pep talk from Aidan, I was able to recognize such things as minor indeed, figure out ways to do better in the future, and most importantly, move on to other pressing matters instead of dwelling on such things. I am proud of myself for the work that I’ve completed and my changing, imrpoving mindset of the learning process.

I have found my work as a Congressional intern to be both fun and meaningful. I’ve learned so much about various issues that I was previously unaware of just by writing memos about them, or reading related bill summaries. The historic nature of working in Congress, and in the Capitol building, has truly started to dawn on me. I frequently take an elevator with a Congress member, or find myself waiting in the cafeteria line with them. Althiugh this has helped me realize that Congressmen are indeed regular people, it’s a special feeling interacting with those who have such an impact on society every day. This week, I gave my first tour, and being a DC native, I believe I took being so close to so many historic places for granted. Giving my first tour of the Capitol helped me appreciate just how significant and special my internship host really is; standing in the very same spot where Lincoln sat as a Congressman, and being in the room where Thomas Jefferson was inaugurated, and another where Plessy v. Ferguson was decided... just, my gosh. It’s a unique, awe-inspiring feeling that I can’t truly describe with words.

This is a bit all over the place, but coming into my own as a hilltern has enabled me to enjoy my time outside of Rayburn even more. I have a lovely dinner routine and get to bed early, and have my fun on the weekends. I danced the night away on Friday, and that in combination with appreciating my small role in Congress made my week quite special. Til next time!

Long Time No See!

Hello again, world! I unfortunately contracted covid after a long 2+ years of managing to evade it, and it very much sucked. But, now, I am back to work as normal - except that the Congressman currently has covid, so maybe not ~completely~ normal. In my 7 weeks on the Hill, I have determined that Congress isn’t for me. But that’s not a bad thing; indeed, it’s quite the opposite, as knowing what you don’t like is just as important as knowing what you do!

Now, this isn’t to say that I haven’t enjoyed this internship - I have, immensely. I thoroughly enjoy most of the work that I complete on the Hill and the wonderful opportunities that working there has given me. It’s the atmosphere that I don’t love, and the enormity of having to confront just about every societal issue, and having to handle what I believe to be common sense bills being shot down by single individuals, and having to reassure people that their voice is heard when I can’t guarantee that, and other things that have solidified Congress as a place of employment to which I do not wish to return. The experiences that I have gotten, though - fantastic experiences unique to working on the Hill in a representative’s office - are like a fever dream, and I will be forever grateful for them. I had the opportunity to attend a reception celebrating the release of JWST’s first images, and in a small room in the Rayburn House Office Building, I had the opportunity to speak with some of the astrophysicists, engineers, and policymakers who made Webb happen. I had a great conversation with someone in an administrative role at Northrop Grumman in particular, and hope to develop a wonderful professional relationship with them.

This internship, so far, has been all that I could have hoped for and more. I am excited for our remaining three weeks! And especially this week. If all goes as planned, I will get to attend lectures by Senator Ben Cardin, my Senator from Maryland, Representative Jackie Speier, and Speaker Pelosi, and I’ll be going on a tour of the White House this Friday. I have lunch with Representative Foster and the Congressional baseball game to look forward to in the coming weeks! And finally, my project is coming together! Til next time, which should be this coming week!