George Mason University physicist to explore Virginia energy policy with COVES Fellowship
George Mason graduate student Laura Akesson receives COVES Fellowship to explore energy policy during summer program with Senator Ghazala Hashmi in Virginia’s 15th district
Laura Akesson discovered a love for physics and mathematics while an undergraduate at the University of Richmond, an interest she wanted to instill in her students while working as a schoolteacher for 22 years. For her, these subjects explain how the world works with an underestimated level of both wonder and creativity. As a recently selected COVES Fellow, she’s taking her STEM passions to the Capitol.
The Commonwealth of Virginia Engineering and Science (COVES) Fellowship program, established in 2020, seeks to enhance connections between the scientific community and state government in Virginia. For several weeks Akesson will work in the office of Senator Ghazala Hashmi, looking at regulations surrounding renewable energy in the state of Virginia. She will provide her scientific expertise and witness firsthand how that expertise is then utilized to develop and impact policy. The goal of the fellowship is to prepare scientists and engineers to effectively advise on public policy within the state—something Akesson said very much interests her.
“Understanding the physics of energy will only get me so far. How can I use that knowledge to affect change?” said Akesson. “With science and technology so prevalent in our lives, the laws surrounding these spaces should be planned and decided on with some level of expertise behind them. It’s important to not only make decisions that are viable, but also sustainable.”
Starting the program in June, Akesson went through two days of orientation and a fast-paced bootcamp to learn the ins and outs of the budget, the legislative process, and available resources. “Because you know,” she said, “it all leads back to what can be funded.”
While working as an educator, Akesson served as an Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellow (AEF) with the Department of Energy, where she began research that supported what she already noticed in her own classrooms – a need for improved diversity and support for underrepresented groups within STEM education. That’s when she chose to leave teaching and pursue a PhD in Physics and work as a graduate assistant with Jessica Rosenberg, associate professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
“There are humans behind every scientific achievement, and the science being done often depends on the questions those people are asking,” said Akesson. “Without a diverse pool of scientists, we’re limiting those questions and topics of understanding. I want science to reflect the reality of our world. It’s representation and those varying perspectives that will push STEM forward.”
Akesson brings her own influences and unique perspective to the sciences. She and her sister were adopted from South Korea and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by an Irish Catholic family. She is a first-generation college student, and now pursuing a PhD after working for more than 20 years in the public and private school systems. Akesson said that it was difficult to navigate college as she did not have a plan for her future or knew what was possible. Now, later in her quite successful professional and academic career, her advice for first-generation students is to know that they are not alone.
“The more you talk to people and the more you reach out and express yourself, the more you'll realize that there is a sense of belonging that you can create for yourself,” she said.
As much as she misses teaching and coaching, Akesson said she is eager to take her experiences and talents and channel them in a way that will positively impact STEM—by inspiring new scientific innovation and a new generation leading the way.
