NASA Astronaut Sally Ride- A Pioneer for Women

By Vanessa Guigon, Communications Department Intern

Sally Ride was a trailblazer for women when on June 18, 1983, 38 years ago, she became the first American woman in space, breaking the gender barrier. In 1983, she and her crewmates flew the Space Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-7. According to NASA, as of March 2021, 65 women have flown in space, demonstrating how the presence of more women in space highlights Ride’s legacy. In addition, female astronauts have been able to achieve higher ranks, with Peggy Whitson being the first female ISS Commander in April 2008. More recently, according to NASA, Jessica Meir and Christina Koch accomplished the first all-female spacewalk in 2019. On June 21, 2021, Col. Pam Melroy was sworn in as the NASA Deputy Administrator.

About a decade before her death, Sally Ride founded her own company, Sally Ride Science, in 2001 to encourage young children to pursue STEM fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. According to Sally Ride Science, Ride founded the company with her partner Tam O’Shaughnessy along with her colleagues Karen Flammer, Terry McEntee, and Alann Lopes. In addition, according to NASA, Ride wrote many science books geared towards children. One of her books, The Third Planet, won the American Institute of Physics Children's Science Writing Award in 1995.

Sally Ride was born on May 26, 1951 in Los Angeles, California. As she was finishing her Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University, Ride found a newspaper that had an ad calling for applications to be a NASA astronaut. Ride ended up applying for the job, and she was one of the 35 people, out of the total 8,000 applicants, selected to join. As a member of NASA in 1978, Ride went on to aid in the development of the space shuttle’s robotic arm. According to NASA, Ride was one of six women who joined NASA in 1978, and she was the first of them to fly in 1983. Another woman in the NASA class of 1978 was Dr. Kathryn Sullivan, a Senior Fellow and Board of Regents member of the Potomac Institute. Dr. Sullivan, in her NASA career, became the first American woman to walk in space in 1984 during the STS-41G mission, which was the first flight to include two women: Dr. Sullivan and Sally Ride. Dr. Sullivan went on to fly on three space shuttle missions, including the Hubble Space Telescope mission, before leaving NASA in 1993.

After Ride’s historic trip to space in 1983, as reported by NASA, Ride faced a significant amount of media attention. She was asked questions such as "Do you weep when things go wrong on the job?" To which, Ride replied, "one thing I probably share with everyone else in the astronaut office is composure." Ride eventually retired from NASA in 1987, when she then joined the Center for International Security and Arms Control at Stanford University as a science fellow. Then in 1989, according to NASA, she became a physics professor at the University of California- San Diego, and she became the director of the California Space Institute. In 2003, Ride was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. After Ride’s work with Sally Ride Science, authoring her own books, and accomplishing many other achievements, Ride died at the age of 61 on June 23, 2012 after about a year and a half long battle with pancreatic cancer.

As described by NASA, Sally Ride was a phenomenal woman who helped pave the way for future women in their space careers. With the anniversary of her celebrated flight in 1983, it is a reminder of the progress that has been made in the fight for equality but is also a call to continue the work that has been started.

Celebrate World Oceans Day- June 8th

By Vanessa Guigon, Communications Intern

World Oceans Day is celebrated across the world on June 8 to highlight the necessity of protecting our oceans. The sustainability of our oceans is incredibly important, given how the ocean makes up 70% of the Earth and produces around 50% of the Earth’s oxygen, according to the UN. However, according to the UN, the mistreatment of our oceans has led to 90% of big fish populations being diminished and 50% of the coral reefs being eliminated. Prioritizing the health and sustainability of our oceans will have a positive spillover effect across society, given the interconnectedness of oceans with humans, biodiversity, and the environment.

The theme for this year’s World Oceans Day 2021 is “The Ocean: Life and Livelihoods,” in which there will be a virtual celebration featuring celebrities, experts, and more according to the UN. World Oceans Day 2021 delves into the relationship between the oceans and the organisms on Earth, along with educating people on how to better support the sustainability of the oceans and respect the biodiversity that lives within the oceans. This year’s theme ties into the challenge of 2020 to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 14 by 2030, which looks to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources.” That decade challenge of 2020, UN Decade of Ocean Science and Sustainable Development, is dedicated to increasing international cooperation to create new technologies and fund new research that unite society with ocean sustainability, according to the UN.

The Declaration of Oceans Day was first announced on June 8, 1992 at a global event in Rio de Janeiro, according to UN World Oceans Day. The Declaration was influenced by another event on that same day called “Oceans Day At Global Forum- The Blue Planet,” which was organized by the Oceans Institute of Canada along with the Canadian government. That event hosted by the Canadians highlighted many experts worldwide regarding our oceans’ role in maintaining our Earth.

In December 2008, the United Nations officially recognized June 8 as World Oceans Day. According to UN World Oceans Day, World Oceans Day was created to expand the scope of Oceans Day and the implementation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. World Oceans Day incorporates a wide variety of areas including maritime space, marine science and technology, marine biological diversity, climate change, and more. Every year, the United Nations designates a theme relating to the ocean with which to draw public attention around. For instance, the theme for World Oceans Day 2019 was “Gender and the Ocean,” according to UN World Oceans Day. World Oceans Day 2019 looked to discuss ways in which gender plays a role in human relationships with the ocean, including aspects such as gender being related to sea migration and human trafficking along with gender impacting other areas like policy-making.

World Oceans Day provides a chance for people to become educated about the issues relating to our oceans, along with understanding the deep connection that oceans have to the health of our planet and life itself. Recognizing how human actions have negatively been impacting our oceans is vital so that changes can be made to protect and sustain them. Our oceans must be prioritized, and World Oceans Day provides the platform for just that.

Technological Competition with Asia Unites a Polarized Congress

By Stephanie Carr and Theodore Bennett, Communications Interns

On Tuesday, June 8, the Senate approved the Endless Frontier Act (S. 1260), a bill designed to boost domestic innovation and production in microelectronics, artificial intelligence, and quantum sciences. It creates a new directorate focused on quantum sciences and artificial intelligence under the National Science Foundation (NSF). The bill also states that the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will develop strategies designed to augment science, research, and innovation to improve national economic security. The bill allots $50 billion to the Department of Commerce to promote domestic semiconductor production. It establishes regional hubs of technology that will support country-wide technological innovation and award grants as incentives for further development and manufacturing.

One of the Endless Frontier Act’s focuses is improving microelectronics innovation in order to better compete with China. However, the 117th Congress is not the first to pass an act designed to strengthen America by advancing microelectronic capabilities. During Ronald Reagan’s presidency, Japan was recognizably the biggest threat to the American semiconductor industry. Congress passed a small bill called the Sematech Act of 1987 to revitalize the US microelectronics industry, making the US a more formidable competitor. Now that China has risen to be America’s premier rival in the microelectronics field, today’s Congress is responding in a similar fashion. Although the Sematech Act and the Endless Frontier Act are similar in goal, the latter is better funded and more pervasive throughout the entire industry. Unlike the Sematech Act, the Endless Frontier Act does not exclusively focus on microelectronics. The competition between the US and Japan in the 1980s was solely industrial. However, the competition between the US and China expands beyond industry and into the territory of economic and military competition. These additional realms of competition further incentivize China and the US to outdo one another. The challenge in microelectronics is not only coming from China, however, but also from Taiwan and South Korea. By 2030, 50% of global semiconductor production will come from Taiwan and China. The Endless Frontier Act aims to incentivize more semiconductor production in the US.

Although the US is competing with China, neither state is as strong in semiconductor fabrication capability as South Korea or Taiwan. The US is closely allied with South Korea and Taiwan, not with China, meaning that Chinese competition is more threatening than South Korean or Taiwanese competition. Congress seems less concerned with beating the giants in the semiconductor industry than it is with accelerating its technological capabilities faster than China. The bill recognizes that US national security will be strengthened through economic strength, not only through military strength. As mentioned previously, it allots $50 billion (out of its $110 billion budget) to the Department of Commerce, communicating the bill’s economic focus. Additionally, the newly proposed NSF directorate will take a much more proactive approach to research and innovation. While traditionally the NSF has focused on early stage academic research, this new directorate will be far more focused on technological development. Today, America is lagging behind Asia in fabricating semiconductors. The Vice President of Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, Dr. Michael Fritze, describes the economic playing field, saying, “If you take a snapshot today, South Korea and Taiwan are the dominant figures in the semiconductor fabrication industry.” Both America and China are both trying to play ‘catch up’ with Taiwan and South Korea’s fabrication capabilities.

The Endless Frontier Act enjoys broad bipartisan support, a rarity in this era of divisiveness in Congress. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) emphasizes the importance of the bill: “Whoever wins the race to the technologies of the future is going to be the global economic leader with profound consequences for foreign policy and national security as well.” While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is disappointed at the lack of Republican sponsored amendments in the bill, he nonetheless supports it, noting, “Needless to say, final passage of this legislation cannot be the Senate’s final word on our competition with China.” Despite the bill’s considerable support, there is a small group of GOP representatives concerned with the associated costs. Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) describes the bill as “nothing more than a big government response that will make our country weaker, not stronger.”

While the separation of powers is a pillar of democracy, it often puts democratic states, like the US, at a disadvantage to authoritarian ones; centralized governments can execute initiatives with little to no interference. Schumer described how authoritarian governments are weaponizing this function of their institution: “They believe that squabbling democracies like ours can’t come together and invest in national priorities the way a top-down, centralized and authoritarian government can. They are rooting for us to fail so they can grab the mantle of global economic leadership and own the innovations.” Autocratic states, like China, are simply waiting for the US government to fail its economy by neglecting to incite enough technological innovation. This is why the Endless Frontier Act homes in on economic power. Board of Regent Member at the Potomac Institute Al Shaffer explains how China is trying to improve their technological capabilities: “With their centralized system, China has been effective in focusing efforts, and has made technology independence a pillar of their 14th five year plan.” The Endless Frontier Act aims to nullify some of the harmful transaction costs of democracy. Its purpose is to place the US economically and scientifically ahead of the competition.

How this act will fare once put into action is undetermined. Shaffer notes, “How effective the US bill will be will depend largely on what this bill will do to protect [intellectual property], whether or not the bill is focused on capability or basic science, and how threatened the CCP feels, all of which are unknown.” The Endless Frontier Act’s new directorate focusing on quantum science and artificial intelligence will promote technological innovation, effectively broadening the initiative to include other forms of technology, not just microelectronics. The act will hopefully aid in securing the US’s first-place status in the race toward international technological dominance.

By Gabrielle Meyers, Potomac Institute Communications Intern

On May 14, 1796, Edward Jenner administered the first vaccine against smallpox.

Testing the correlation between surviving cowpox and being immune to smallpox, Jenner injected material from the cowpox lesions of a milkmaid named Sarah Nelms into eight-year-old James Phipps. Phipps did experience some side effects, including chills, mild fever and discomfort, and a loss of appetite, but he got better. A few months later, Jenner tested the efficacy of the vaccine by injecting Phipps with actual smallpox.

Though the vaccine proved successful, Jenner’s first paper was rejected by the Royal Society in 1797. He conducted more tests in the following years, leading him to publish An Inquiry into the Causes and Effects of the Variolae Vaccinae. Gradually, people began to support vaccination- by 1801, the Russian Empress was encouraging vaccination- and Jenner went on to receive worldwide recognition.

Despite this, Jenner was not technically the first person to discover vaccination, since Benjamin Jesty inoculated his family with cowpox more than twenty years earlier. However, Jenner was the first to treat it as a science and pursue its development scientifically, making him the “Father of Immunology.”

Since then, many vaccines have been developed. The first laboratory-developed vaccine, developed by Louis Pasteur, was created in 1879. Pasteur would also go on to develop the rabies vaccine in 1885. Frederick F. Russell developed the first typhoid vaccine in 1909. Max Theiler developed the yellow fever vaccine in 1936, winning him the 1951 Nobel Prize. Over twenty years after the devastating Spanish flu pandemic, the first flu vaccine was approved for military use in 1945 and civilian use in 1946. The first DTP (diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis) vaccine was made available in the US in 1948. Jonas Salk was able to vaccinate his family against polio using his vaccine in 1953, but public vaccine trials wouldn’t start for another year. Though the measles vaccine was licensed in 1963, the mumps vaccine was licensed in 1967, and the rubella vaccine was licensed in 1969, these would all be moot next to the development of the MMR vaccine, which was licensed in 1971. Furthermore, Maurice Hilleman, who developed the mumps vaccine, would also be responsible for the creation of the chickenpox vaccine, which was licensed in 1995. More recently, the HPV vaccine was licensed in 2006 and the Meningitis B vaccine was approved in 2014. The advent of the vaccines has changed the course of medical history, saving countless lives, and shaping how we view disease.

American politicians endorsed vaccination in its early stages. President Thomas Jefferson endorsed vaccination in 1806. In 1813, Congress passed An Act to Encourage Vaccination, which established the United States National Vaccine Agency. For decades, the government would even enforce compulsory vaccination to force the benefits of vaccination upon its citizens. Massachusetts, which in 1802 had been the first state to encourage vaccinating against smallpox, passed the first law mandating that schoolchildren be vaccinated in 1855. Since then, it has been common for schools and workplaces to have vaccine requirements rather than physically forcing people to get vaccinated. Unfortunately, not everyone accepts the science of vaccinations. In recent decades, the modern “anti-vax” movement has protested against such regulations, questioning the safety and efficacy of vaccines despite little to no evidence of danger.

Most recently, scientists have tested and have gotten emergency authorization for several COVID-19 vaccines. These vaccines were developed in record time due to the pressing need to reduce hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 with the help of research on other coronaviruses. Already, schools and other places have instilled a COVID vaccine requirement in order to participate in person. However, people have been hesitant about getting these new vaccines, making it difficult to reach herd immunity.

Vaccines have been one of the greatest advancements in medical history. 225 years later, several vaccines have been developed in record time to address the current COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the vaccine, smallpox has been eradicated. Perhaps one day, the COVID vaccines will eradicate COVID-19 as well.