Jennifer Hess
is the 1st GSA Congressional Science Fellow. She worked on the Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works / Subcommittee on Toxic Substance, Environmental Oversight, Research and Development from September 1986 through August 1987.

Jennifer Hess earned her B.S. (summa cum laude) in marine science and her M.S. in geology at the University of South Carolina. where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, She has worked on projects funded by the National Science Foundation, involving the impact of coastal development, growth rate of manganese nodules, and chemistry and geology of the oceans over geologic time. She has served on and chaired committees charged with evaluating and directing the educational and institutional. policies of the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography, where she is currently a research assistant and is working toward completion of her Ph.D. She has participated in scientific cruises in the California borderland basins, the eastern equatorial Pacific, and the South Atlantic bight.,

"I find myself torn between wanting to work on issues with which I have familiarity, such as environmental conservation and climatic research, and those with which I have had less experience, such as disposal of nuclear wastes and hazardous materials," Hess said in her letter of application for the fellowship. "I am also keenly interested in congressional policy as it relates to education in America and to investment in basic research."

As a Congressional Science Fellow, Hess served as a staff assistant to Senator Max Bacaus of Montana and as an aide to the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. In that Sen. Bacaus chaired the Subcommittee on Toxic Wastes and Hazardous Substances, much of her attention was focused in this important area. Hess is an outspoken advocate for greater involvement of geoscientists in formulating public policy. She is the author of "Guide to USA Legislative Information and Contacts," published under the auspices of CGPP.

Hess is currently working as a staff scientist to the full Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, chaired by Sen. Quentin Burdick (ND). She is deeply involved in revisions to the Clean Air Act and on new legislation addressing stratospheric ozone depletion and global warming.