Interdisciplinary Scientist | Policy Advisor | Civic Science Advocate
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I'm Robert ("Robby") Goldman, a volcanologist and former NSF Graduate Research Fellow with a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My research expertise includes using physics-based computer models to simulate the forces that dictate where eruptions occur on large volcanoes (such as Hawaii's Kīlauea volcano), and evaluating public communication strategies used by scientists during a natural disaster event.
Following the completion of my Ph.D., I had the unique privilege of applying my interdisiplinary science knowledge toward federal policymaking as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional Science Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI). Over the course of my two-year fellowship, I leveraged the science policy and communication skills that I had developed through 6 years of leading or participating in science advocacy initiatives to assist Senator Hirono in drafting and introducing several bipartisan hazard mitigation bills, including the first National Wildfire Preparedness Month Resolution (S.Res.247), which passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June 2025.
My two years of legislative, stakeholder engagement, and coalition building experience as a Congressional Science Fellow have given me invaluable insights that I have shared with my fellow science advocates and colleagues (including through my thought leadership articles published in the October 2024 and May 2026 issues of GSA Today). In fact, as the current Chair-Elect of the GSA Geology and Public Policy Committee, I have prepared my colleagues for upcoming meetings with their congressional representatives by sharing firsthand insights on how successful stakeholder-policymaker relationships are developed and maintained in the U.S. Congress. As a civic science advocate, I remain committed to building bridges between scientists, policymakers, and the communities that both scientists and policymakers serve.
Following the completion of my Ph.D., I had the unique privilege of applying my interdisiplinary science knowledge toward federal policymaking as an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Congressional Science Fellow in the Office of U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI). Over the course of my two-year fellowship, I leveraged the science policy and communication skills that I had developed through 6 years of leading or participating in science advocacy initiatives to assist Senator Hirono in drafting and introducing several bipartisan hazard mitigation bills, including the first National Wildfire Preparedness Month Resolution (S.Res.247), which passed the Senate by unanimous consent in June 2025.
My two years of legislative, stakeholder engagement, and coalition building experience as a Congressional Science Fellow have given me invaluable insights that I have shared with my fellow science advocates and colleagues (including through my thought leadership articles published in the October 2024 and May 2026 issues of GSA Today). In fact, as the current Chair-Elect of the GSA Geology and Public Policy Committee, I have prepared my colleagues for upcoming meetings with their congressional representatives by sharing firsthand insights on how successful stakeholder-policymaker relationships are developed and maintained in the U.S. Congress. As a civic science advocate, I remain committed to building bridges between scientists, policymakers, and the communities that both scientists and policymakers serve.
