Engineer Casten Nabs Seat on House Science Committee (Corrected)

A Democratic lawmaker who made science a central part of his campaign received a spot on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) announced Jan. 22.

Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.), a renewable energy engineer-turned-businessman before his entrance to politics, ran on a platform that called for closing a sterilization facility for medical, pharmaceutical, and food production devices. The plant emits ethylene oxide, a chemical the Environmental Protection Agency classified as carcinogenic to humans.

Casten defeated Republican incumbent Peter Roskam in Illinois’ Chicago-area 6th Congressional District.

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