Francis Slakey

Francis Slakey, Ph.D., is the chief external affairs officer of the American Physical Society, where he oversees Government Affairs, International Affairs, Public Engagement, and Development.

He received his Ph.D. in physics in 1992 from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. In addition to his technical publications, he has published widely in the popular press, including The New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, and Scientific American. He has given more than 150 invited talks including to the National Academy of Sciences, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, West Point, the Library of Congress, TEDx, and Microsoft. He has also served in advisory positions for a diverse set of organizations, including the National Geographic, the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Panel on Solutions to Sustainability, and the Center for Strategic and International Studies. He served as the Upjohn Lecturer on Science and Public Policy at Georgetown University (GU), where he founded the GU Program on Science in the Public Interest.