{"651594":{"#nid":"651594","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Alumni Spotlight: Emily Gibson Blevins","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EName:\u003C\/strong\u003E\u0026nbsp;Emily Gibson Blevins\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EDegree(s):\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003EM.S. and Ph.D. in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/graduate\/phd-program\u0022\u003EHistory and Sociology of Technology and Science\u003C\/a\u003E, 2017\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EJob Title \/ Employer: \u003C\/strong\u003EScience Policy Analyst at the\u003Cstrong\u003E \u003C\/strong\u003ENational Science Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E1. What do you do?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI currently work as a Science Policy Analyst at the National Science Foundation. I conduct research, analyze, and write articles, op-eds, speeches, and other materials related to national science and engineering policy.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI recently accepted a position with the Library of Congress\u2019s Congressional Research Service (CRS) as a Technology and Innovation Policy Analyst, which I\u2019ll begin in February. CRS provides confidential and authoritative policy analysis to Congress to guide policymaking.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E2. What\u2019s the coolest part of your job?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHaving a front-row seat to some of the most exciting scientific discoveries of our time. My job requires constantly learning about new science and engineering research, which I find incredibly engaging. I love meeting scientists and engineers and discussing their work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E3. Why are you passionate about this work?\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EScience and technology policy is an incredibly rich field where basic questions about the value of science to society and how best to organize and fund research are constantly being considered and addressed.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHistorians of science and technology have a unique perspective to contribute to these discussions. I\u2019m passionate about making sure lessons from the past are considered when planning for the future.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E4. How did you find your job\/what\u2019s the best resource for jobs or networking you\u2019ve found?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI learned about a position at the National Science Foundation while in DC on a research fellowship. Thanks to networking with other historians at conferences like the \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.historyoftechnology.org\/\u0022\u003ESociety for the History of Technology\u003C\/a\u003E and the History of Science Society I was contacted about the job.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn addition to networking at academic conferences, if you are interested in pursuing a career in the federal government, I\u2019d recommend regularly perusing USAJobs.gov and joining a group like the Society for History in the Federal Government.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E5. What\u2019s the most surprising detour you\u2019ve taken from your career path? What did you learn from it?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI didn\u2019t really set out to pursue a career outside of academia but quickly developed an appreciation for the important role that the history of science and technology can play in informing current policymaking. Working as a historian in a federal agency gave me the opportunity to apply my historical research and analysis to inform decisions about the present and future of science and engineering research in the United States.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOnce I discovered this path, I positioned myself to be more directly involved in policy work. It was a great lesson in being open to new opportunities and actively pursuing what interests you most \u2014 even if that lies outside of the scope of what you\u2019d initially planned on doing.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E6. What\u2019s the greatest challenge you\u2019ve faced since graduating, and how did you overcome it?\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EI didn\u2019t have the foresight to take public policy courses while at Tech because it wasn\u2019t yet an interest of mine. After graduating, however, I realized that I needed to gain a better understanding of the federal science policy-making process. I had to do a good amount of research and reading to gain this new framework through which to apply my work.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ELuckily, through my history and sociology studies, I had learned\u0026nbsp; how to think critically and quickly distill large amounts of information into relevant bits, which served me well in overcoming this challenge.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E7. What\u2019s your #1 tip for students and alumni interested in your field?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThere are comparatively few jobs outside of academia that come with the\u0026nbsp;title of \u201chistorian\u201d or \u201csociologist,\u201d but the skills you hone through an history and sociology degree are incredibly valuable in a number of different roles. Be creative in your job searches and a strong advocate for how the core skills you acquire in your education \u2014 research, analysis, writing \u2014 will serve your future employer.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E8. Can students and alum contact you if they\u2019re interested in following in your footsteps?\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAbsolutely. I can speak about navigating the federal hiring process; how to leverage your history\/STS degree for a career outside of academia (especially in the federal government); contact me at: \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:emilykatherinegibson@gmail.com\u0022\u003Eemilykatherinegibson@gmail.com\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EMeet more \u003C\/em\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/hsoc.gatech.edu\/alumni\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003Efeatured alumni\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cem\u003E in the School of History and Sociology!\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EBlevins says the coolest part of her job is \u0022having a front-row seat to some of the most exciting scientific discoveries of our time.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Blevins says the coolest part of her job is \u0022having a front-row seat to some of the most exciting scientific discoveries of our time.\u0022"}],"uid":"35766","created_gmt":"2021-10-12 12:52:58","changed_gmt":"2025-01-14 18:23:14","author":"dminardi3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2021-10-12T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2021-10-12T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"676021":{"id":"676021","type":"image","title":"1600 x 900 (10).jpg","body":null,"created":"1736878970","gmt_created":"2025-01-14 18:22:50","changed":"1736878970","gmt_changed":"2025-01-14 18:22:50","alt":"Emily Gibson Blevins","file":{"fid":"259723","name":"1600 x 900 (10).jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/14\/1600%20x%20900%20%2810%29.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/01\/14\/1600%20x%20900%20%2810%29.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":633113,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/01\/14\/1600%20x%20900%20%2810%29.jpg?itok=Bb3ztyv5"}}},"media_ids":["676021"],"groups":[{"id":"1288","name":"School of History and Sociology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EDi Minardi\u003Cbr\u003Edi.minardi@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["dminardi3@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}