From CERN to Science Policy Making - Spotlight on Jacob Pasner

We interviewed Jake in the midst of the Covid pandemic.
Since then his career has progressed so we caught up with him in September 2022 to find out more about what he has been working on and what the future holds for him.

During Jake’s AAAS Congressional fellowship he drafted and negotiated multiple pieces of legislation for Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). His efforts led to the bi-partisan introduction of the Secure Research Data Network Act which was wrapped into the National Secure Data Service Act and enacted in the CHIPS+ Act. The $45 million project will be the United States' first federal data interoperability pilot and is a big step towards data based decision making in America. Jake also helped Senator Wyden introduce the State and Local Digital Services Act which would support the widespread adoption of accessible digital services that focus on user experience.

After his fellowship, Jake looked for ways to implement the policies he supported in the Senate and joined the Data Governance Team at California’s State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). His team is building the UPWARD platform which will modernise water rights data in California and strengthen the organisation’s data-based decision-making capabilities. Jake’s physics experience gave him the tools he needs to address the challenges their data system faces. Tools like GitHub management, organisational coding best practices, cloud-based data warehousing, and extensive data cleaning and visualisation expertise have made him a perfect fit for government data modernisation projects. Furthermore, Jake’s experience in the large and sometimes political ATLAS collaboration turns out to have been great practice for negotiating the hot topic of water policy in drought-stricken California.

Jake seems to love the challenge of bringing new data tools to the hard-working staff at his new job: “We’re at this critical moment where all the pieces are in the right place for data to revolutionise the way our government functions and empower the people. I love my job!”
While Jake’s excitement is clear, he points out that there is a lot more work that needs to be done: “We just don’t have enough people right now, we need data experts to get into the game and make this change happen.” He encouraged anyone interested in following a similar path to reach out or join one of his group’s Water Data Challenge events. If you’re interested in talking with Jake, you can reach him via his CERN alumni account.

When asked to give advice for CERN alumni considering a similar career trajectory he recommended they start by getting involved with their local government: “My internship in Congressman Jimmy Panetta’s office was where I realised how much I enjoy helping people. I discovered my passion for service there.” He also encouraged physicists to check out groups like the United States LHC Users Association at FermiLab where scientists can learn how to advocate for their experiment in the US Congress. Finally, he encouraged everyone to check out Engineers & Scientists Acting Locally, a non-profit Jake supports as Technology Director.

Looking towards the future Jake has his ambitions set high: “My goal is to build a future where government information is easy to access, fair to all people, and informative for decision makers.”

If you’re interested in this type of work, feel free to reach out to Jake through the CERN alumni network or check out the following groups he recommends:

• American Academy for the Advancement of Science - Science and Technology Policy Fellowships - link
• The Presidential Innovation Fellowship - link
• Tech Congress: A Congressional Innovation Fellowship - link
• The Christine Mirzayan Science Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship - link
• The National Science Policy Network - link 
• Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally (ESAL) - link
• United States Large Hadron Collider Users Association - link