(February 8, 1941 – July 28, 2011)
Early life
Marburger was born on Staten Island, New York, to Virginia Smith and John H. Marburger Jr., and grew up in Severna Park, Maryland. He attended Princeton University, graduating in 1962 with a B.A. in Physics, followed by a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University in 1967.[1][3]Academic career
After completing his education, he served as a professor of Physics and Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern California in 1966, specializing in the theoretical physics of nonlinear optics and quantum optics, and co-founded the Center for Laser Studies there. He rose to become chairman of the physics department in 1972, and then Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences in 1976. He was engaged as a public speaker on science, including hosting a series of educational television programs, and on campus issues, being designated the university's spokesperson during a scandal over preferential treatment of athletes.[3][4]In 1980, he left USC to become the third president of SUNY Stony Brook. At the time, state budget cuts were afflicting the university; he returned it to growth with increases in the university's science research funding from the federal government. He also presided over the founding of Stony Brook University Medical Center. In 1983, he was picked by New York Governor Mario Cuomo to chair a scientific fact-finding commission on the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant, a job that required him to find common ground between the many viewpoints represented on the commission. The commission eventually recommended the closure of the plant, a course he personally disagreed with. In 1988, Marburger chaired the organization that oversaw construction of the ill-fated Superconducting Super Collider, and this experience is credited with convincing him of the influence government had in how science is done. During this time he also served as a trustee of Princeton University. He stepped down as President of Stony Brook University in 1994, and began doing research again as a member of the faculty there.[1][3][4]
In January 1998, Marburger became president of Brookhaven Science Associates, which subsequently won a bid to operate Brookhaven National Laboratory for the federal government, and Marburger became the director of the lab. He took office after a highly publicized scandal in which tritium leaked from the lab's High Flux Beam Reactor, leading to calls by activists to shut down the lab. Rather than directly oppose the activists, Marburger created policies that improved the environmental management of the lab as well as community involvement and transparency. Marburger also presided over the commissioning of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider, expanded the lab's program in medical imaging and neuroscience, and placed more emphasis on its technology transfer program.[3][4]
Bush administration
In September 2001, Marburger became Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy under George W. Bush. His tenure was marked by controversy as he defended the Bush Administration from accusations that political influence was distorting scientific research in federal agencies and that scientific evidence was being suppressed or ignored in policy decisions, especially on the topics of abstinence-only birth control education, climate change policy, and stem cell research. Marburger defended the Bush Administration from these accusations, saying they were inaccurate or motivated by partisanship, especially on the issue of science funding levels. Marburger continued to be personally respected by many of his academic colleagues.[1][5]Marburger's tenure as Director was the longest in the history of that post. After the September 11 attacks, he helped to establish the DHS Directorate for Science and Technology within the new Department of Homeland Security. He has been called a central player opposing new restrictions of international scientific exchanges of people and ideas after the attacks. He later was responsible for reorienting the nation's space policy after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, and played an important part in the nation's re-entry into the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor program. Marburger was also known for his support of the emerging field of science of science policy, which seeks to analyze how science policy decisions affects a nation's ability to produce and benefit from innovation.[3][5]
In February 2004, the Union of Concerned Scientists published a report[6] accusing the Bush administration of manipulating science for political purposes, listing more than 20 alleged incidents of censoring scientific results or applying a litmus test in the appointment of supposedly scientific advisory panel members. In April 2004, Marburger published a statement[7] rebutting the report and exposing errors and incomplete explanations in it, and stating that "evan when the science is clear—and often it is not—it is but one input into the policy process," but "in this Administation, science strongly informs policy." The Union of Concerned Scientists issued a revised version of their report after Marburger's statement was published. Marburger also called the reports conclusions illusory and the result of focusing on unrelated incidents within a vast government apparatus, and attributed the controversy as being related to the upcoming elections. It was noted that Marburger enjoyed a close personal relationship with President Bush, with White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card and Office of Management and Budget Director Joshua Bolten attesting to his active involvement within the administration.[8][9]
Marburger responded to criticism of his support for Bush Administration policies in 2004, stating "No one will know my personal positions on issues as long as I am in this job. I am here to make sure that the science input to policy making is sound and that the executive branch functions properly with respect to its science and technology missions." On the topic of stem cell research, he in 2004 said that stem cells "offer great promise for addressing incurable diseases and afflictions. But I can’t tell you when a fertilized egg becomes sacred. That’s not my job. That’s not a science issue. And so whatever I think about reproductive technology or choice, or whatever, is irrelevant to my job as a science adviser."[1] However, in February 2005, in a speech at the annual conference of the National Association of Science Writers, he stated, "Intelligent design is not a scientific theory.... I don't regard intelligent design as a scientific topic."[10]
Sherwood Boehlert, the Republican chair of the House Committee on Science during most of Marburger's tenure, said that "the challenge he faced was serving a president who didn't really want much scientific advice, and who let politics dictate the direction of his science policy... and he was in the unenviable position of being someone who had earned the respect of his scientific colleagues while having to be identified with policies that were not science-based."[5] On the other hand, Robert P. Crease, a colleague of his at Stony Brook University, characterized him as someone who "[went] to the White House as a scientist, not an advocate. He refused to weigh in on high-profile, politically controversial issues, but instead set about fixing broken connections in the unwieldy machinery by which the government approves and funds scientific projects.... Some bitterly criticized him for collaborating with the Bush administration. But he left the office running better than when he entered."[4]
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