CCST Newsroom

Register: Training Tomorrow’s Cybersecurity Workforce
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  Training Tomorrow’s Cybersecurity Workforce Wed. March 29 | 1pm PT via ZOOM Register Now   The cybersecurity workforce is facing a shortage of trained professionals as we become more computer, data-driven, and network-based society. How can we prepare California’s workforce for the cybersecurity and IT labor market needs of the future? Join us for a […]
CCST Hosts Workshops, Fellowship Booth at AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington DC
Photo from above of an exhibitor hall at AAAS 2023.
Washington, DC—The California Council on Science and Technology is attending the 2023 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, themed around “Science for Humanity.” Returning in person this year, CCST coordinated two workshops, a scientific session, and an exhibitor booth for the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship in partnership with other state science policy fellowship programs. CCST has […]
WATCH: CCST Science Day Symposium at the California Natural Resources Agency
View of an auditorium with an audience and a projector screen featuring Science Day branding with Dr. Amber Mace on stage.
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—At CCST’s Science Day symposium, CCST and the California Natural Resources Agency (CNRA) bring California’s natural resource policymakers and researchers together to proactively bridge emerging research activity and State policy needs. This event provides an opportunity to forge new collaborations between academic and state partners. Facing an ever-growing set of natural resource challenges, California […]
WATCH: Innovations in Desalination
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  What is the potential role for desalination in California’s water portfolio? Watch this CCST Expert Briefing, held during CCST S&T Week 2023, for a discussion on innovations in desalination research and opportunities to resolve challenges related to energy intensity and brine disposal. Featuring experts from the UCLA, Cal Poly Pomona, UC Irvine, Stanford University, and […]
Deadline Extended: Seeking Applications for CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship in Sacramento, California
A photo of the 2022 Fellows with a blue banner below highlighting that applications are now open with CCST's logo and the California State Capitol.
CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellowship Program Places PhD Scientists into Policy Careers Apply to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. START YOUR APPLICATION  |  Download Fellowship Flyer  |  Download Fellowship Poster Update 2/16: The application period had been extended by one month to March 31st. SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California Council […]
Announcing the 2023 “CCST Science in Public Service Award” Recipients
Side by side photos of Liane Randolph and John Laird with a blue lower third banner saying Science in Public Service Award
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is proud to announce California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph and California State Senator John Laird as the recipients of the 2023 CCST Leadership Awards for Science in Public Service. The CCST Science in Public Service Award is given to public servants who have clear track records of championing science and technology issues, […]
The Many California Experiences
A photo of Agnes Varghese, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of her blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
  In January of 2022, I took my very first work trip as a CCST S&T Policy Fellow at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) to observe a wildfire-impacted disaster site. After a three-hour drive—weaving through winding roads toward the Sierra Nevada mountains—I stepped out of the car in my uniform (a […]
Introducing the 2023 Class of CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows
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SACRAMENTO, CA—We are excited to introduce the 2023 Class of CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows. Now celebrating its 14th year, the program places PhD level scientists, engineers, and social scientists in Legislative and Executive Branch offices, training them for careers in public policy while helping to equip California’s decision makers with science-savvy staff. APPLY NOW: We are currently […]
WATCH: Navigating the CCST Fellowship Application & Interview Process
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CCST S&T Policy Fellowship Alums to Discuss the Application and Interview Process Learn about an opportunity to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. Download Fellowship Flyer | Poster CCST employs a multi-step process to evaluate each candidate based on their potential success in the Fellowship. Watch this webinar to hear […]
Plugging In: Finding My Space in California Energy and Utilities Policy
A photo of Natalie Seitzman, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of her blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
Tick tock, tick tock. It’s been a year since I moved to Sacramento from Colorado, eager to transform my career, bask in the mild winter of California, and somehow contribute to state policy. I was uncertain and nervous. Whereas many of the other CCST S&T Policy Fellows are from California or California institutions, I couldn’t […]
WATCH: Life as a CCST Fellow: What’s It Like? | Application Q&A
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CCST S&T Policy Fellowship Alums to Discuss the Day-to-Day Life of a Fellow Learn about an opportunity to transform your PhD expertise into an impactful science policy career in California. Download Fellowship Flyer Moving to Sacramento. Adjusting from lab to office. Working in policy. There’s a lot of new experiences and opportunities as a CCST […]
Update: Opportunities Open at CCST
Work at CCST California’s most pressing public policy issues require solutions that engage the State’s extraordinary research and innovation enterprise.  CCST is a nonpartisan nonprofit created via the California Legislature in 1988 to provide objective advice from California’s leading scientists and research institutions on policy issues involving science and technology (S&T). Despite California’s rich intellectual […]
Assessing Climate Risk – My Fellowship Year: Like An ‘Inverted Delta’
A photo of Kara Voss, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of her blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
As a flowing river runs into a larger, standing body of water like a lake or the sea, it deposits sediment into a triangular shaped wetland known as a delta—most often with a narrow tip at the river opening into the broader end of the open water. Occasionally, this formation can happen in the reverse, […]
CEO Amber Mace Appointed to San Francisco Estuary Institute Board of Directors
A graphic with a photo of CEO Amber Mace, CCST's logo, and her name and Board appointment in blue text on a white background
The San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) has announced the appointment of CCST’s CEO Amber Mace, PhD, to their Board of Directors. An environmental science research institute and a non-profit, non-advocacy environmental science consulting firm, SFEI provides independent, objective science and/or science tools or studies to support landscape-scale land use, water quality and environmental monitoring, planning or […]
WATCH: Why Choose the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship?
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Why Choose the CCST S&T Policy Fellowship? Held Mon. Oct. 3, 2022 In this first of three informational webinars, hear directly from current and former CCST S&T Policy Fellows about the ins and outs of the CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellows program, the impact that the program has had on their careers, and the […]
WATCH: Cultivating Data Security Practices in Precision Agriculture
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Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Cultivating Data Security Practices in Precision Agriculture To feed a growing population affordably and in a way that minimizes greenhouse gas production, the farming industry will need to rely on innovative technologies such as precision agriculture. Watch this Expert Briefing to broadly explore the benefits of precision agriculture and the […]
California’s 5th Climate Change Assessment Roundtables
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SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program at the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research in partnership with the California Council on Science & Technology (CCST) hosted a series of 6 public roundtables to discuss California-specific information and knowledge gaps that will help inform the scope of climate change research conducted as part of California’s Fifth Climate […]
From Biostatistics to Pesticide Policy: Q&A with Natalie Gasca
A photo of Natalie Gasca, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of her blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
What did you study in grad school and why did you decide to go into policy? As part of my biostatistics PhD program at the University of Washington, I investigated ways to use nutritional information from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis—designed to research predictors of cardiovascular disease—to identify heart-healthy diet patterns. I considered ways to […]
Watch: Decarbonizing Transportation with Hydrogen
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Toward a Disaster Resilient California: Decarbonizing Transportation with Hydrogen   How can hydrogen help to decarbonize long haul trucking and transit? Watch our CCST Expert Briefing to learn how hydrogen fuel cells work, how they are being improved, and how hydrogen safety is being evaluated for use in transportation. Held September 8, 2022. Moderator: Gia Vacin […]
Building Bridges: From Bioengineering to Science Policy
A photo of Stephen Cutie, PhD, a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow with the title of his blog post and CCST logo on a blue background
Stephen Cutie, PhD is a 2022 CCST Science & Technology Policy Fellow placed with the Office of Senator Richard Pan. He earned his PhD in Bioengineering from UC San Francisco and UC Berkeley studying the hormonal switches that regulate heart regeneration across evolution and development. From Miami, Florida, Stephen earned his BS in Biology from […]
Call for Experts: Designing Privacy Standards to Enable Data Sharing during Public Health Emergencies
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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) is seeking nominations for experts from across the public and private health sectors, as well as academia, who would be interested in participating in an interactive virtual workshop on overcoming the challenges to data sharing presented by stringent privacy standards. Participants will explore solutions for […]