Last week, Geography PhD student Adam Tjoelker travelled to Washington, DC to lobby for congressional support of science funding. Adam was selected to participate in these meetings as part of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Local Science Partners 2026 program cohort. Among 38 AGU participants from across the country, Adam was paired with Dr. Jim Evans and Godwin Sunday to meet with representatives and senators from both Ohio and Massachusetts. During the meetings, Adam and his team advocated for funding increases for NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as well as the National Science Foundation (NSF). Adam highlighted the importance of these programs to support the research conducted at Ohio State University. As part of the Local Science Partners program, Adam will continue to communicate with the staffers he met in DC to advocate for science funding and discuss other federal government policies that impact Ohio State and the geosciences research community.