Dr. Jeff Gaffney, chair of UALR’s Department of Chemistry, is in Washington this week as a member of a delegation from the scientific community hoping to convince President-elect Obama’s administration to make his special assistant for science and technology policy a cabinet-level position.

Gaffney, an international expert on atmospheric chemistry and climate change, said the delegation would be discussing the industry’s needs with officials of the Department of Energy, the National Institute of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Agriculture as well as a tentatively scheduled meeting with members of the Obama transition team.

Toward the end of the presidential election, the leading chemical associations asked Obama to elevate the science and technology policy special assistant and the Office of Science and Technology Policy a cabinet-level position.

The presidents of three chemistry associations – The American Chemical Society, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and Council for Chemical Research – wrote to Obama urging him to help restore America’s sagging position in the world of science and technology.

“Ensuring that our nation is able to respond to a host of issues, including how the U.S. is strategically positioned in an interconnected, highly competitive world, will require a coordinated national strategy that marshals the scientific and technical resources at our disposal,” the letter said.

Gaffney, lead scientist for the Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Megacity Aerosol Experiment, said he was hopeful that the new president would dramatically increase the nation’s attention to scientific endeavors, not just for the pure discovery of knowledge, but to simulate the economy and create jobs.

“There is a lot of hope in the scientific community that Obama administration will breathe new life in areas of research that has allowed to stagnate,” Gaffney said.

Science and technology has been responsible for half of the growth of the American economy since World War II, statistics show, but the competition for knowledge and productivity has changed. China, India, and other countries are increasing their investments in science and engineering dramatically.