Senator Andrew Zwicker is a physicist and a member of the New Jersey Senate representing Central NJ's 16th Legislative District. He serves as Chair of the Legislative Oversight Committee, Vice-Chair of the Higher Education and Labor Committees, and sits on the Budget and Appropriations Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Manufacturing Caucus, the Disability Caucus, the NJ Commission on Science, Innovation, and Technology, and was Vice-Chair of the NJ Biotechnology Task Force. He served in the NJ General Assembly from 2016 – 2021 where he was the Chair of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee. His legislative focus includes the role of R&D as an economic driver, addressing global warming, and voting rights, among others. A lifelong New Jersey resident, Andrew is head of Strategic Partnerships and Public Engagement at Princeton University’s Plasma Physics Laboratory, a world leader in developing an advanced form of energy known as fusion. He has taught classes in bioethics and writing, and led plasma physics workshops for faculty and students. The American Association of Physics Teachers named him as one of the 75 leading contributors to physics education in the US. Andrew was raised in Englewood, NJ where his love of learning and passion for science came from his mother, a public school English teacher, and father, a chemical engineer. Andrew earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Bard College and a master’s and Ph.D. in physics from Johns Hopkins University. Andrew and his wife Barbara, an elementary school educator, raised three children and one pitbull-boxer mix named Rocky.