A UA chemistry and optical sciences professor has been appointed as the Secretary of State's right hand science man.

George H. Atkinson, a professor at the UA since 1983, began working on Sept. 19 as U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's Senior Advisor for Science and Technology.

"I am very honored and pleased to accept a job of this magnitude," Atkinson said from a hotel in Paris.

As the senior advisor, Atkinson will serve as the department's voice in the national and international scientific community.

"This is a relatively new position that is much needed in terms of policy making, and Dr. Atkinson is a good choice for the job," said chemistry research associate Andrew Terentis, who works for Atkinson at the UA. "He is a good communicator, which is important because he will deal with a lot of different embassies and will need to be able to relate to many different cultures."

Atkinson is the second person to be appointed as senior advisor, a position created in 2000 by then-Secretary of State Madeline Albright after government officials decided that the state department needed more science-savvy diplomats.

"In a world being transformed by technology, good science is vital to good diplomacy," according to the State Department Website.

There are 40 science and technology fellows who work in 12 bureaus in the department, integrating science with foreign policy, according to the State Department.

One of Atkinson's goals as the senior advisor is to increase the number of science and technology fellows in order to strengthen international science and technology relationships.

"Whether the issue is countering weapons of mass destruction, dealing with infectious diseases, or expanding the global economy while protecting the global environment, if we are to get our international strategies right, we must get our science right," according to the State Department.

In the summer of 2001, Atkinson was selected as the first American Institute of Physics Senior Fellow for Science, working directly under the previous science and technology senior advisor, Norman Neureiter.

As the American Institute of Physics Senior Fellow for Science, Atkinson worked in the Bureau of Intelligence and Research and the Bureau for European and Eurasian Affairs.

Atkinson analyzed U.S.-Russian policies regarding weapons of mass destruction and reviewed policies that determine how the U.S. shares science and technology with other countries. He also discussed the possibility of collaborating with the European Union to develop new scientific technology.

"This is a serious responsibility, but I have a couple of years under my belt, and I know how the Department of State works," Atkinson said. "I feel as well prepared as can be."

Atkinson is taking a leave of absence from the UA, but he still has a team of researchers who are working on projects paid for by his research grants.

"In three years I definitely anticipate that I will be back at the UA as a fulltime professor," Atkinson said.