By Vincent DiFonzo, Staff Writer
On Thursday, the Eisenhower Institute hosted Neal Orringer for an event entitled “Lunch and Learn: Smart STEM Policies.” Attendees learned about how STEM fields intertwine with public policy and can be used to create smart and effective government policy.
The event began with a brief introduction of the event from Tracie Potts, Executive Director of the Eisenhower Institute. As part of the Eisenhower Institute’s series called “Lunch and Learn,” the event served as an informal opportunity for participants to interact and ask the guest lecturer questions with lunch provided by the Institute.
Orringer is CEO of the Applied Science & Technology Research Organization of America (ASTRO America), a nonprofit think tank dedicated to “advancing public interest through manufacturing technology and policy,” according to their website. Orringer also holds experience as the Director of Manufacturing in the Department of Defense and also advised multiple U.S. Senators and presidential Cabinet members on manufacturing policy.
Potts continued, explaining the important connection between public policy and STEM. Then, Orringer began talking about his past and how he got into his field.
In high school, Orringer loved physics and economics, and ended up double majoring in political science and economics at Brandeis University. After graduation, his career took him to Capitol Hill, where he worked as a legislative aide for Senator Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and later for Senator Chris Dodds of Connecticut.
Orringer then explained how he ended up working in the Department of Defense. Under the Obama Administration, a new role called the Director of Manufacturing was created. Orringer had the opportunity to serve in this role.
In this role, Orringer explained the challenges he faced, including a need to innovate to “advance U.S. competitiveness.”
“I got to play around with all these new technologies,” said Orringer on the role.
With this experience with advancing technology in the Pentagon, Orringer asked the audience if the United States are “using science to have an overall positive impact on the economy.”
Next, he expressed hope in the Obama and Biden Administrations’ initiatives in advancing climate and energy science, two issues he described as very important.
Orringer recognized what he perceives to be the apolitical nature of STEM fields.
He stated, “People didn’t view what we did through an ideological lens, and that’s why I love science.”
Continuing the event, Potts briefly introduced the X-SIG program to the audience, which she described as a “summer science” program that promotes various STEM fields out of the classroom.
Potts described how the X-SIG program related to the event’s topic, believing it to be an important way to intertwine STEM and policy issues.
Next, Potts asked Orringer about the founding of his organization ASTRO America.
Orringer was inspired by multiple events, including his work with former Secretary of Commerce Becky Blank and his worries about American technology falling behind.
In his time in the Pentagon, Orringer explained that he overheard coworkers discussing the recent trend of falling behind Russia and China with technology.
Orringer founded ASTRO America to “build an ecosystem” and improve the nation’s supply chain in order to promote the growth of technology. A sustainable ecosystem and alternatives to traditional government contractors—such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing—to Orringer, are essential to advancing American technological capabilities.
Orringer then took questions from the audience.
After a question from the audience, Orrigner explained that he believes COVID-19 and its consequences comprise the most important STEM policy concerns facing the nation.
The effects the pandemic has had on the education system has “really set us back,” said Orringer.
He then sent the question back to the audience, asking how the pandemic affected students’ experiences with learning. Multiple students chimed in, describing the ways in which the pandemic made learning much more difficult, especially in STEM courses.
Orringer also described a challenge “stimulating interest” in key sciences in the aftermath of the pandemic.
Potts asked the concluding question about Orringer’s experience working in Guam and the 3D printing industry.
Guam is a U.S. territory located in the Pacific Ocean. Though its geographic proximity to East Asia makes it a geopolitically valuable island for the military, it is extremely isolated. As a result, shipping is a long and expensive process. This is where Orringer described how his work fixed this problem.
Orringer promoted 3D printing of manufacturing parts instead of the long expensive process of importing the parts. This solution has greatly reduced costs on the island.
The event concluded with closing remarks from Potts, thanking Orringer for his time and students for attending the event.
