APS Action Center

Make your voice heard.
Choose an issue and take action!

Noyce Scholars Program

100+ Advocates

Last year, we continued our advocacy to expand and improve the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Noyce Scholars Program - key to solving the nationwide deficit of skilled K-12 STEM teachers. Dozens of APS members sent letters and met with Congress, advocating for improvements to this program.

Building on this momentum, APS worked closely with the offices of Sen. Peters and Rep. Lucas to encourage NSF to investigate the impact that low stipends and loan repayment conditions have on recruitment and retention of K-12 teacher trainees. We even drafted legislation with the long-term goal of expanding a fine-tuned version of the program. As a result, NSF has decided to start a third-party assessment of the Noyce Scholars program, the first since the program’s inception. Both Sen. Peters’ office, Rep. Lucas’ office, and APS are monitoring NSF’s progress, and will continue to partner to support and enhance the NSF Noyce program.

Methane Leak Data Repository Established

150+ Advocates

Since its 2022 publication, we’ve made significant progress towards the policy recommendations of the joint APS/Optica report titled “Monitoring Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Operations”, which are vital to addressing climate change. APS members made hundreds of connections with Congress to advocate for policies to reduce emissions of this high-impact greenhouse gas.

In 2023, APS staff held briefings with congressional staff and submitted public comments to the EPA to advance the report’s recommendations. Thanks to these cumulative efforts, the 2023 EPA's Final Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operation addresses four of the report, including the critical step of establishing a centralized repository of methane observations. Furthermore, APS staff worked closely with Rep. Casten (IL) office to draft legislation that will address two of the remaining recommendations of the report, bringing us even closer to full enactment.

LGBTQI+ Data Collection Tested at NSF

300+ Advocates

In 2023, more than three hundred APS members wrote to Congress in support of the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act, which would mandate important first steps towards advancing LGBTQ+ representation in physics. This bill takes action on one of the goals of the 2016 LGBT Climate in Physics report: including LGBT demographics in federal surveys. However, this change doesn’t require legislation; federal agencies could also decide to directly implement this policy. Behind the scenes, APS staff both advocated for legislative solutions and direct actions from federal science agencies. In a first indicator of progress, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has agreed to trial anonymous LGBTQI+ data collection in some of their surveys.

View the Advocacy Wins from 2022, 2021, and 2020