In this issue:

Message to Members: A Tradition of Leadership Continues

News to Note: Public Welfare Medal, Global Scientific Cooperation, Neuroscience and Justice, Urging US Presidential Debate on Science Issues

Advancing Science, Serving Society: Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity

Science Careers: Annual Meeting Science Career Fair, European Science Career Resources

Announcements: Annual Meeting Public Events, New Science Webinar, Cambridge Science Festival, Top 10 of 2007 from EurekAlert!

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Sponsored by:

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Message to Members

A Tradition of Leadership Continues

Dear AAAS Member,

As a leading voice for science worldwide, AAAS continues to attract renowned members of the scientific community to join us in speaking out about important societal issues, advocating sound science policy, and promoting initiatives that benefit people everywhere around the globe.

During our Annual Meeting, we will mark a changing of the guard in AAAS leadership. The new President-elect, Peter C. Agre, is a Nobel laureate in chemistry, Vice Chancellor for S&T at Duke University School of Medicine, and a founding member of Scientists and Engineers for America. Our incoming president James J. McCarthy is the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University and a decades-long researcher who was centrally involved in the work of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He has worked intensively to strengthen science in the areas of policy, education, and public understanding of science.

Current president David Baltimore, a Nobel laureate in medicine, and Robert Andrews Millikan Professor of Biology, California Institute of Technology, will become Chair of the AAAS Board. He is involved in the search for ways to boost the immune system against infectious pathogens such as HIV and is working to counter government efforts to distort and suppress scientific research. We applaud the service of outgoing Chair John P. Holdren, the Teresa and John Heinz Professor of Environmental Policy at Harvard; Director of the Program on Science, Technology, and Public Policy at the university’s Kennedy School of Government; and Director, Woods Hole Research Center. He has been at the forefront of the effort to address the urgency of climate change and the development of alternative energies.

At a critical time when we must inspire a new generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators; work to secure increased funding for research and development; and advance global scientific cooperation, we welcome the expertise and dedication of these leaders. I hope you will join me and many outstanding AAAS members during our 2008 Annual Meeting.

Sincerely,


Alan I. Leshner, CEO, AAAS

P.S. If you are unable to attend the Annual Meeting, 14-18 February in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, be sure to check our daily blog for reports and podcasts about “Science and Technology from a Global Perspective.”

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News to Note

AAAS’s Norman P. Neureiter Receives Public Welfare Medal
The US National Academy of Sciences has awarded its highest award, the  Public Welfare Medal, to Norman P. Neureiter. He was recognized for spurring international cooperation in science and technology and for successfully integrating science and technology into foreign policy as the first science adviser to a US Secretary of State. Neureiter, the director of the AAAS Center for Science, Technology, and Security Policy, is the second current AAAS senior manager to receive this honor. Previously, Shirley Malcolm, director of AAAS Education and Human Resources, was cited for her lifelong efforts to promote diversity and equal opportunity in science careers. Read the news release at the AAAS website.
Read the news at the National Academies website.

Join AAAS in Support of Science Debate 2008
Citing science, engineering, and innovation as a major driver of US gross domestic product and the center of many major political and economic challenges facing the next US president, AAAS has joined a call for a presidential debate on science and technology in Science Debate 2008. Co-chaired by US Representatives Vern Ehlers (R-Mich) and Rush Holt (D-NJ), the initiative has been endorsed by prominent AAAS members, former presidential science advisers, Nobel laureates, other leading scientists and engineers, business executives, editors, university officials, and concerned citizens. Read more and access the website ScienceDebate2008.com.

AAAS Releases Preliminary R&D Analysis of Fiscal Year 2009 US Budget
Under US President Bush’s proposed 2009 budget, released 4 February, the overall federal investment in R&D would increase 3.3 percent, reflecting gains for the three physical science agencies. However, the federal investment in basic and applied research would fall 0.5 percent and funding would be flat for biomedical research in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Read the full analysis including budget proposals for the major R&D agencies, historical trends, and impacts on key scientific areas.

AAAS Leadership Seminar in S&T Policy: Author Caroline S. Wagner Urges More Inclusive Global Scientific Cooperation
Although international scientific cooperation in the 21st century is growing at a spectacular rate, scientists working in developing countries are often frustrated in their efforts to participate, according to scholar and author Caroline S. Wagner. The research scientist and policy analyst urged developed nations to better manage the global dynamic of knowledge creation. The talk was part of the recent AAAS Leadership Seminar in S&T Policy, a week-long event that is a compression of the annual orientation for AAAS S&T Policy Fellows. Read more. 

Judges Explore the Impact of Neuroscience on Justice at AAAS-sponsored Event
As issues with links to neuroscience emerge in courtrooms, judges and jurors will need to understand complex medicine and science in order to make solid decisions. The impact of neuroscience on jurisprudence was the focus of the Judicial Seminar on Emerging Issues in Neuroscience, a two-day conference of researchers and judges sponsored by the Dana Foundation, the National Judicial College, and AAAS. Discussions covered questions and quandaries across the US legal system about how to interpret and use brain scans and other new technologies in lie-detection, memory and the reliability of witnesses, and the circumstance of addiction. Read more about the event, held in Reno, Nevada, USA, and the plan for four additional conferences during 2008.

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Advancing Science, Serving Society

AAAS Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity Enters Ambitious New Phase
After a three-year startup period funded by a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, the AAAS Center for Advancing Science & Engineering Capacity has reached a landmark. The Center is now self-sustaining, and is working with university and institutional clients to increase the number of US citizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. Read about the Center’s goals and accomplishments led by its director, Daryl E. Chubin.

Established in 2004, the Center provides human resource development consulting services to help institutions of higher learning achieve their educational mission in STEM fields. The goal is to cultivate domestic talent, including women and underrepresented minorities, needed to foster the diverse and robust work force critical to economic growth and innovation. Find out more about the Center.  

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Science Careers

Read the latest career features from Science Careers. You can also search jobs, get career advice, find grant information and much more on www.sciencecareers.org - all for free.

AAAS Annual Meeting: Science Career Fair
On Friday 15 February, Science Careers will host its annual career fair during the AAAS Annual Meeting. Come meet top recruiters face-to-face and explore career opportunities for all levels of scientists. Details.

European Science Careers Resources
Science Careers posted resources for students, postdocs, and faculty attending the 12th MIT European Career Fair in early February. Access information on the European job market, job search, interviewing and negotiating, research funding, and more.

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Sponsored by:

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Announcements

Annual Meeting: AAAS Town Hall, "Understanding Obesity and Childhood Nutrition"
Teachers, school health professionals, scientists, parents, and students are invited to participate in the AAAS Town Hall on childhood obesity to be held during the AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston, Massachusetts. This free event will be held Sunday, 17 February, 1:15 p.m.-5:30 p.m., in the Boston Marriott Copley Place Grand Ballroom Salon E-G. More about the Town Hall.

Annual Meeting: Family Science Days
AAAS’s popular, free Family Science Days will be held in the exhibit hall of the AAAS Annual Meeting in the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday and Sunday, 16-17 February, 11a.m.-5p.m. Families will find fun lab demonstrations, kid-friendly chemistry projects, and other exciting activities. More about Family Science Days.


Sign up for Science E-mail Alerts to be Entered to Win an iPod

If on 30 April you are subscribed to one of our e-mail alerts, you’ll automatically be entered in our drawing for one of TEN 4Gb video iPod Nanos. Follow these easy steps to sign up for an e-mail alert.

List of winners from the 30 November 2007 drawing


Join the New AAAS/Science Webinar: miRNAs and Cancer, 20 February
12 noon EST, 9am PST, 5 pm GMT
The role of miRNAs in human disease, including cancer, is now well established. However, many questions remain, such as precisely how miRNAs exert their effects, whether they make suitable biomarkers, and how they could be applied therapeutically.  Join our three expert panelists as they discuss current research on miRNAs important in tumorigenesis, as well as techniques for miRNA discovery and profiling. Register today at www.sciencemag.org/webinar. Produced by the AAAS/Science Business Office and sponsored by Stratagene, an Agilent Technologies company.

Access the Top 10 Science Stories of 2007 from EurekAlert!
Global climate change leads the topics of interest in 2007, receiving 180,000 visits on EurekAlert! Other top stories include health risks associated with prostate cancer and rheumatoid arthritis; prevention of Down syndrome; new theories involving matter and the speed of light; and the discovery of a dinosaur species in Antarctica. Go to the Top 10.

Nominate High School Teachers for the AAAS Leadership Prize: Deadline 2 March
US high school science department chairs and administrators are urged to nominate qualified science teachers to receive the 2008 AAAS Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Science Teachers, established through generous support from AAAS member Edith D. Neimark. This award recognizes a high school science teacher who has contributed significantly to the AAAS goal of advancing science education by developing and implementing an innovative and demonstrably effective strategy, activity, or program. Prize details. For more information, contact Lester Matlock at lmatlock@aaas.org.

Tune Into Science Update’s Weekly Podcast
The award winning radio program’s weekly podcast of interesting and informative news is freely accessible to students, teachers, and the general public. On Friday, 15 February, a special from the 2008 Annual Meeting includes the camouflage of sand spiders, a new interactive map tracking threats to the oceans, and more. Access the podcast.

Attend the UK’s Cambridge Science Festival, 19 March
The Cambridge Science Festival, at Cripps Court, Magdalene College, Chesterton Road, Cambridge, will focus on S&T in international development. Speakers include Sir David King and Peter Head whose organization, Arup, is working on Dongtan Zero Carbon City in China. Tim Radford is the chair. More information: www.cambridgescience.org

4th Annual BioProcess International^TM European Conference & Exhibition,
22-23 April, Vienna, Austria. The latest technological advances and breakthroughs in strategy in the bioprocessing industry highlight Europe’s leading bioprocessing event for biological manufacturing. Delegates can choose talks from five in-depth streamed conferences to design programs tailored to specific information needs. Event details. 

IBC’S 3rd Annual Drug Discovery & Development of Innovative Therapeutics, 7-9 May, Tokyo, Japan. Scientific researchers and R&D professionals, business developers and licensing executives, and research planning and corporate strategists will hear cutting-edge updates on the scientific strategies needed to accelerate the discovery and development of innovative therapeutics and will have the opportunity to pre-arrange one-on-one partner meetings with other attendees. AAAS Members receive 20% off the full conference rate by using priority code R8182AAAS when registering at www.IBCLifeSciences.com/japan, or by phone at +65 6514 3180.

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About AAAS

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