In this issue:

Message to Members: The Education of Future Scientists

News to Note: Education Guide in Japanese, Teacher Leadership Prize, Resources for School Boards, Middle-Grade Teachers’ Master’s Programs, New Center for Science Diplomacy, Clarity in Dual-Use Rules, Antiterror Impact on Research, Personalized Medicine, Nuclear Energy, Gene Doping

AAAS Regional Divisions: AAAS Pacific Division Annual Meeting

Science Careers: Career Fair Preparation Workshop, NIMH Research Career Event

Announcements: 2009 Annual Meeting Speakers, Science Signaling Papers and Subscriptions, Journalism Awards Screening, Awards Nominations Deadlines, Student Poster Competition, and other events and announcements

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Sponsored by:

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Message to Members

The Education of Future Scientists

Dear AAAS Member,

We are living in a time when science and technology are embedded in every aspect of modern life, and therefore we must make sure that all students have familiarity with and a strong grounding in the nature of science and its core concepts. In addition, to assure a future of continuing scientific innovation, educators must continue to draw talented students into the science profession.

AAAS has had an array of direct impacts on how science is taught through our Project 2061, which laid the groundwork for science education standards, created benchmarks for science literacy, and has ongoing efforts to reform curriculum, instruction, and assessment. A Japanese translation of educational concepts for science literacy, workshops for teachers on how to use our Atlas of Science Literacy, and a field test of assessment tools for use in middle school classrooms are a few examples of Project 2061’s recent efforts.

We further promote quality science education through Science NetLinks and its nearly 500 complete standards-based science lessons -- all freely accessible on the web. We engage budding scientists with radio programs, weekly online stories, events for families, and our Kinetic City after-school program. AAAS also recently helped create new science, mathematics, and technology resources for elected school board members across the United States. In addition, 48 middle-grade science and math teachers in Washington, D.C., recently earned master’s degrees from The George Washington University in a free, three-year program held at AAAS.

But promoting science literacy and quality education is not enough to guarantee a new crop of professional scientists. We also must educate students about science career opportunities. AAAS has programs to help underrepresented minorities and students with disabilities enter the science work force. In addition, our Science Careers website is the most comprehensive resource for career advice and job openings.

Your AAAS membership helps improve science education. And many of you also share your scientific expertise by getting involved with local schools and youth groups, and by becoming mentors to the future’s scientists. Many thanks for your participation and your support.

Sincerely,


Alan I. Leshner, CEO, AAAS

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News to Note

Influential AAAS Education Resource Adapted for Japan
To improve public science literacy, Japan’s Ministry of Education funded the translation of Science for All Americans, the seminal book by AAAS’s Project 2061. The book defines what every high school graduate should know and be able to do in science, mathematics, and technology in order to understand and thrive in the modern world. Read more about this resource, downloadable from the AAAS website.

Illinois Teacher Wins AAAS Education Prize with a Hands-on Approach
Veteran physics teacher Diane Riendeau of Deerfield High School in Deerfield, Illinois, is the winner of AAAS’s 2008 Leadership in Science Education Prize for High School Teachers. Riendeau’s "Make It, Take It, Teach It" program gives students a chance to observe basic physics concepts such as reflection as they build a simple object like a kaleidoscope. Students use their creations in their own demonstrations of the concept for their parents, who have to evaluate how well these student teachers deliver the lesson. Read more.

US School Boards Get New Science Resources
AAAS and the National School Boards Association have spent more than a year developing science, mathematics, and technology education resources that can help train and inform local school board officials. The Science, Mathematics, and Technology Action and Resources for School Districts (SMarT) program is an introductory module and day-long workshop. Materials for the program can be found at www.smartschoolboards.org and include a facilitator’s guide, a participant’s manual, and an audiovisual presentation. Read more.

Middle-Grade Science and Math Teachers Complete Master’s Programs
Improving science and math education in Washington, D.C., public schools is the core principle behind DC ACTS (Advancing Competencies in Technology and Science) and DC FAME (Fellows for the Advancement of Mathematics Education). After three years of weekly evening classes held at AAAS, including tutorials by AAAS S&T Policy Fellows, 48 teachers received master’s degrees from The George Washington University. Read more.

AAAS Opens Center for Science Diplomacy
A new AAAS center will focus on ways to use science to help promote international understanding, peace and prosperity, especially where government-to-government relations do not exist or are strained. Following the tradition of US scientists and engineers who worked with colleagues in the Soviet Union during the most difficult years of the Cold War, the center will work with both the science and foreign policy communities to develop collaborative projects to improve global science and build scientific capacity to work on issues of international concern, such as climate change, energy, sustainability, innovation, and health. Read more about science diplomacy efforts by AAAS and other science and engineering organizations.

AAAS Urges Clarity in Dual-Use Rules
AAAS and five partner organizations urged the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity to provide more clarity in its draft framework on dual-use research. This area of research has legitimate scientific value, including various microbiological experiments such as in genetics and biotechnology, but it also has the potential to be misused for nefarious purposes such as bioterrorism. Find out more and read the letter.

Antiterror Measures May Hinder Research, Experts Say
After the 2001 anthrax attacks, the US government imposed strict new limits on the availability of dangerous toxins. But red tape may be slowing vital research, experts said at a briefing organized by the AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy. Read more.

Experts Discuss the Promise and Challenge of Personalized Medicine
In a conference at AAAS, experts and stakeholders discussed what policies and scientific advances will be needed to transform advances in genetics into practical applications for patients. The decoding of the human genome has raised the possibility that researchers can tailor diagnostic tests and treatments to a person’s individual genetic profile, for example. But much more remains to be done, not only to better understand the underlying science, but also in regulatory and insurance reforms. Significant privacy and consumer protection issues also have been raised by the genomics revolution and personalized DNA testing. Read more.

AAAS Hosts Discussion on Nuclear Energy
The next US president will have a historic opportunity to exercise leadership in increasing global investment in nuclear technology, energy expert Victor Reis said at a AAAS briefing. A senior adviser to Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman, Reis stated that the stakes are higher than simply finding an alternative to the rising price of oil and coal -- a well-designed nuclear energy framework could drive global growth by bringing affordable and reliable energy to the developing world, address climate change through clean energy production, and promote international security by securing nuclear materials around the world. Read more.

AAAS Co-Sponsors Gene Doping Conference
The techniques of gene therapy are the "next frontier" of illegal performance enhancement in sports, experts said at the World Anti-Doping Agency’s Third Gene Doping Symposium, held in Russia and co-sponsored by AAAS. Read more.

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AAAS Regional Divisions

AAAS Pacific Division Annual Meeting
The AAAS Pacific Division held its 89th annual meeting at the Hawaii Preparatory Academy in Waimea, Hawaii during June. Listen to Hawaii Public Radio’s story on the annual meeting. [Streaming Real audio or downloadable MP3]

News from the AAAS Pacific Division Meeting

A Local Museum Becomes a Global Project
In his presidential address to the AAAS Pacific Division, Terry Gosliner described the unexpected global impact of building a new coral tank at the California Academy of Sciences. Read more.

A Hawaiian Tragedy for Pupu Kani Oe
Researchers at the AAAS Pacific Division annual meeting explored how humans and introduced predators are driving exquisite Hawaiian land snails to endangerment and extinction. Read more.

A Flight to Extinction?
At the annual meeting of the AAAS Pacific Division, researchers described the forces that have put a native Hawaiian bird called the akepa on the fast track toward extinction. Read more.

The AAAS Pacific Division includes more than 30,000 AAAS members from California, Hawaii, Idaho, Western Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta, and all other countries bordering or lying within the Pacific Basin, with the exception of mainland Mexico south to Panama.

The four regional divisions of AAAS-Pacific, Southwestern and Rocky Mountain, Arctic, and Caribbean-serve as regional networks for scientists, organizing meetings on regional issues and promoting publications from scientists active within the division. The Pacific is the oldest AAAS regional division, with a charter dating to 1914. All AAAS members in good standing, and who reside within the specified boundaries of a regional division, are automatically included as members of that regional division.

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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.

Career Fair Preparation Workshop, 25 September at AAAS
The Science/AAAS Outreach Program is co-sponsoring "Getting the Most Out of a Career Fair," a workshop held in cooperation with Rockville Economic Development, Inc. (REDI). This event is designed to prepare postdocs for the STEM Talent 2008 career fair, 16 October at the National Institutes of Health (see www.postdocconference.org). This workshop will cover topics related to how best to prepare for career fairs, writing a standout resume, and immigration issues for foreign postdocs.
Thursday, 25 September, 8 a.m.-12 noon.
AAAS Auditorium, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, D.C.
Space is limited. Registration (free) is required and walk-ins will not be admitted. Register now by clicking on this link.

NIMH Navigating Your Way through a Successful Research Career, 11-12 September
This workshop is designed to provide postdoctoral researchers with the tools necessary to continue along the path of competitive research support and transition to independence. Given the importance of producing innovative research within the overall mission and priorities of NIMH, it is important that this message be instilled in the most promising early researchers. Content of the workshop will emphasize issues relating to translation of research in developmental psychopathology, mechanisms and trajectories of mental illness, the development of innovative treatments, and adaptation of efficacious treatments. Brianna Blaser of the Science/AAAS Outreach Program will give a presentation on networking on 11 September as part of this event. Neuroscience Center; 6001 Executive Blvd; Rockville, MD 20852 http://navigate.dgimeetingsupport.com/index.html

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Sponsored by:

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Announcements

AAAS 2009 Annual Meeting Speakers Announced
Some of the world’s leading experts will talk about the latest science on planet formation, evolutionary anthropology, human genetics, and computational thinking at the plenary lectures slated for the AAAS Annual Meeting, 12-16 February 2009, in Chicago, Illinois. The meeting’s theme -- Our Planet and Its Life: Origins and Futures -- recognizes that 2009 is the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin’s birth and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his book, On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. The program will demonstrate that every discipline has its own unique evolutionary path and can speculate on where that path may lead. Visit www.aaas.org/meetings to learn more or to subscribe to e-mail updates.

Submit Papers and Subscribe to the New Science Signaling
Formerly known as Science’s STKE, Science Signaling is adding original research beginning in September. Each week, leading-edge findings will be published in addition to current features. Researchers are invited to submit papers that provide new concepts and new understanding of biological signal transduction for publication consideration. Science Signaling also welcomed the new Chief Science Editor, Michael B. Yaffe, Associate Professor, Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Submit your work here.
Subscribe to Science Signaling

Participate in the Screening for AAAS Science Journalism Awards
Scientists who will be in the Washington, D.C., area between mid August and mid September are invited to review entries in this year’s prestigious AAAS Science Journalism Awards. More than 400 journalists have been honored for science reporting since 1945. More information.

2008 AAAS Awards Nominations Deadlines

2008 AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Award: 1 September
The AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize is awarded either to a public servant, in recognition of sustained exceptional contributions to advancing science, or to a scientist whose career has been distinguished both for scientific achievement and for other notable services to the scientific community. For more information contact Stephen Nelson at +1-202-326-6600, e-mail snelson@aaas.org or visit http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/abelson/index.shtml.

2008 AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility: 1 September
The AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility honors scientists, engineers, and their organizations whose exemplary actions, sometimes taken at significant personal cost, have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility. For more information contact Deborah Runkle at +1-202-326-4950, e-mail drunkle@aaas.org or visit http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/freedom/index.shtml

2008 AAAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation: 1 September
The AAAS Award for International Scientific Cooperation recognizes an individual or a limited number of individuals for making extraordinary contributions to further international cooperation in science and engineering. For more information contact Linda Stroud +1-202-326-6650, e-mail lstroud@aaas.org or visit http://www.aaas.org/aboutaaas/awards/int/index.shtml.

Call for Posters for AAAS Student Competition: Deadline Thursday, 16 October
The competition is open to college undergraduate and graduate students only. Winners receive a cash prize, a framed certificate, and a one-year AAAS membership including a subscription to Science. The names of first-place winners and honorable mention entrants will be published in Science.
Information.

AAAS Seeks "Green Building" Status
Daily water use at AAAS headquarters has been cut by 27 percent, and a third of all solid waste is now recycled as staff members seek "green building" certification. Read more.

New Science /AAAS Webinar: CNVs vs SNPs: Understanding Human Structural Variation in Disease – Recorded Live on 16 July 2008
Copy number variations (CNVs) have been shown to be associated with several complex and common disorders. Improvements in array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) techniques allow for exploration of the genome for sources of variability beyond SNPs that could explain the strong genetic component of a number of these disorders. Listen to our expert panelists to learn more about SNP and CNV technologies and how these can be applied in disease research. Register today to view any time on demand: www.sciencemag.org/webinar.
Produced by the Science /AAAS Business Office and sponsored by Agilent.

AAAS Joins Euroscience 2008 Celebrations
The AAAS CEO, senior managers, and Science and EurekAlert! staff contributed three sessions, two exhibit booths, and one great party to Euroscience 2008. Pictures, audio, and slide presentations from the event are available at:
http://www.aaas.org/news/releases/2008/0721euroscience.shtml

iPod Winners! Congratulations to Phillip Liu and Xianzhi Jiang, participants in the recent survey concerning the Science/AAAS Viral Mediated Gene Delivery poster. Their names were drawn at random from all survey participants. Each wins a 2GB Apple iPod Shuffle as a thank you for completing the survey.

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