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Date: Sept.
29, 2009
Editor: Sharon Yep
"Reports
& Events" is a monthly list of selected events open to the public and
a listing of National Academies reports tentatively scheduled for release next
month. A complete listing of events can be accessed at http://search.nap.edu/nap-cgi/events.cgi.
MEETINGS
National Academy of Engineering annual
meeting
Oct. 3-5
(Irvine, Calif.)
The
National Academy of Engineering will hold its annual meeting at the National
Academies' Beckman
Center.
HIGHLIGHTS
INCLUDE:
Oct. 4, noon
to 12:30 p.m. PDT – NAE President Charles Vest addresses members.
Oct. 4, 1
p.m. PDT – Induction ceremony for members elected in 2008.
Oct. 4, 2
p.m. to 3 p.m. PDT – Award ceremonies: Recipients of NAE’s Founders and Arthur
M. Bueche awards will be honored. Award
winners will be announced at 9 a.m. EDT on Oct. 1.
Oct. 4, 3
p.m. to 5:30 p.m. PDT – Bernard M. Gordon Prize Recipients Lecture by Thomas H.
Byers and Tina L. Seelig; and the Armstrong Endowment for Young Engineers –
Gilbreth Lectures by Jeffrey Welser and Yoky Matsuoka
Oct. 5,
9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. PDT – Forum on "Rebuilding a Real Economy:
Unleashing Engineering Innovation." For agenda and registration, visit http://www.nae.edu/15583.aspx.
Those who cannot attend may listen to a live audio webcast at http://national-academies.org.
CONTACTS: Randy Atkins, 202-334-1508 or e-mail atkins@nae.edu; or Nathan Kahl, 202-334-2226
or e-mail nkahl@nae.edu
Institute of Medicine annual meeting
Oct. 12
(Washington, D.C.)
The Institute of Medicine will announce the names of
newly elected members and host a public symposium on the intersection of human
health and the environment -- particularly the effects of climate,
urbanization, and safe drinking water -- at its 39th annual meeting. In addition, IOM will present the Sarnat and
Lienhard awards. The public symposium
runs from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the National Academy of
Sciences building, 2100 C St.,
N.W.
CONTACT: Office of News and Public Information, 202-334-2138 or e-mail
<news@nas.edu>.
Improving
maternal, newborn, and child health in sub-Saharan region
Nov. 9-11
(Accra, Ghana)
The fifth annual international conference of the African Science Academy
Development Initiative (ASADI) will be held in conjunction with the 50th
anniversary of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences. The theme of this year's
conference will be improving maternal, newborn, and child health in Africa, which will be discussed by top experts from
around the world. ASADI V will kick off with the release of Science in Action:
Saving the Lives of Africa's Mothers, Newborns, and Children, a new report by
several African science academies, assessing the effectiveness of interventions
aimed at reducing maternal and childhood mortality -- the focus of U.N.
Millennium Development Goals Four and Five -- in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report will include estimates of lives that could be saved if proven
scientific methods reached more parts of Africa.
The conference will be held in the Adae Kese Conference Room of the La
Palm Royal Beach Hotel. The opening ceremony takes place on Nov. 9 at 6 p.m.,
after a press conference to release the Science in Action report (time to be
determined). On Nov. 10, the conference runs from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., and on Nov.
11 from 9 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. More information, including a draft agenda, is
available at http://national-academies.org/asadi.
Reporters should register to attend the meeting or receive advance copies of
the report.
CONTACT: Office of News and Public Information, 202-334-2138 or e-mail
<news@nas.edu>.
REPORTS
The
following reports from the National Academies are tentatively scheduled for
release in October. However, release dates depend on successful completion of
the review process and publishing schedules. Reporters who would like to be
notified when a report is due for release should contact the Office of News and
Public Information -- 202-334-2138 or e-mail <news@nas.edu>
-- and ask to be placed on the contact list.
BEHAVIORAL and SOCIAL SCIENCES
Approaches
to Reducing the Use of Forced or Child Labor -- Summary of a Workshop on
Assessing Practice
[National
Research Council]
Summarizes
presentations at a May workshop where participants discussed practices that businesses
are using to prevent or remediate instances of child or forced labor.
An Independent Assessment of NASA's
NAOMS Project
[National
Research Council]
Assesses
the methodology of NASA’s National Aviation Operational Monitoring Service
(NAOMS) project, which anonymously surveyed commercial and general aviation
pilots over several years regarding safety-related events.
Vital
Statistics -- Summary of a Workshop
[National
Research Council]
Summarizes
an April 2008 workshop that explored the importance of the U.S. system for keeping track of
births and deaths, along with ways to improve it.
Whither Biometrics?
[National
Research Council]
Provides a
comprehensive assessment of biometrics technologies -- which measure and
analyze biological information -- including current capabilities, future
possibilities, the role of government, and the impact on individual privacy.
HEALTH and SAFETY
BioWatch and Public
Health Surveillance: Evaluating Systems for the Early Detection of Biological
Threats
[Institute of Medicine
and National Research Council]
This report evaluates
the effectiveness of the BioWatch program, in which air samples collected from
major localities are tested for the presence of certain pathogens. This
assessment includes a comparison of benefits and costs for the current and next
generations of the program. It also
explores the costs and benefits of a surveillance system that relies on U.S. hospitals and the U.S. public
health system, and its effectiveness compared with that of the current BioWatch
approach.
Global Issues in Water,
Sanitation, and Health -- Workshop Summary
[Institute of Medicine]
Summarizes presentations
and discussions at a workshop that explored classification and surveillance of
water-related microbial diseases; metrics for measuring water quality;
relationships among human activities, ecology, and disease; models of disease
emergence and transmission; and interventions to improve water access and
sanitation.
Review of the
Methodology Proposed by the Food Safety and Inspection Service for Follow-Up
Surveillance of In-Commerce Businesses
[National Research
Council]
Advises how FSIS should monitor businesses that handle meat and poultry products in which
initial surveillance did not lead to an investigation or enforcement action.
Review of the NIOSH Roadmap for Research on Asbestos Fibers
and Other Elongate Mineral Particles
[Institute of Medicine
and National Research Council]
The
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health drafted a research
roadmap for future studies of the potential health effects of exposure to
asbestos and minerals with a similar size and shape. This report assesses the scientific
and technical quality of the plan and offers recommendations for strengthening
its usefulness.
School Meals: Building Blocks for
Healthy Children
[Institute of Medicine]
The
nutrition standards and meal requirements for the National School Lunch Program
and School Breakfast Program were last updated more than a decade ago. This report recommends revised nutrition standards
and meal requirements that are based on the latest nutrition science.
Secondhand Smoke Exposure and
Coronary Events: Making Sense of the Evidence
[Institute of Medicine]
This report assesses the strengths
and weaknesses of evidence on the coronary effects of secondhand smoke exposure
and the effects of smoking bans on reducing risks for heart attacks and heart
disease.
PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Challenges and
Opportunities in Earth Surface Processes
[National Research
Council]
Identifies nine
scientific challenges to understanding Earth's changing landscape and
establishes four research initiatives.
The Evolution of the U.S. Academic
Research Fleet
[National Research Council]
Provides
advice for how future research vessels in the National Oceanographic Research
Fleet should be designed to meet evolving technologies and needs.
SCIENTIFIC ENTERPRISE
Data
on Federal Research and Development Investments: A Pathway to Modernization
[National
Research Council]
Recommends how to improve two
National Science Foundation surveys that provide data on research and
development spending and policy in the United States.
Understanding
Research, Science, and Technology
Parks: Global Best
Practice -- Report of a Symposium
[National
Research Council]
Summarizes
a conference that explored the roles university- and laboratory-based research
parks play in many nations' innovation systems.
ALSO
OF INTEREST
Reception with photographer Mark
Sloan
Oct. 4
(Washington, D.C.)
Attend a public reception for
photographer Mark Sloan and see his exhibition "The Rarest of the Rare:
Stories Behind the Treasures at the Harvard Museum of Natural History,"
which looks at rare specimens with fascinating histories. The reception will take place from 1 p.m. to
3 p.m. at the National Academy of Sciences building, 2100 C St., N.W. For more information, visit http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=View_Future_Exhibitions_Mark_Sloan
CONTACT:
Alana Quinn, 202-334-2415 or e-mail <aquinn@nas.edu>
NAS Fall Concert Series
(Washington, D.C.)
The National Academy of Sciences
will kick off its 30th season of free concerts on Sunday, Oct. 4, with a
performance by Fry Street Quartet in the auditorium of the National Academy of
Sciences building, 2100 C St.,
N.W. The performances are open to the public and
free of charge. Photo identification required for admittance. For more schedule
information, visit http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Listen_Concert_Schedule.
CONTACT: Alana Quinn, 202-334-2415
or e-mail <aquinn@nas.edu>
Marian Koshland
Science Museum
(Washington, D.C.)
The Marian Koshland Science
Museum of the National
Academy of Sciences holds public programs on a variety of science-related
topics. Upcoming events include:
-- From the Big Bang to the James Webb
Telescope by John C. Mather (Oct. 8)
-- Out and About at the Green Festival (Oct.
10 and 11)
-- Infectious Disease in the Age of Google (Oct.
22)
For more
information, visit http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/
Reporters must register in advance.
CONTACT:
Annie Drinkard, 202-334-1612 or e-mail <adrinkard@nas.edu>
Distinctive Voices@The Beckman Center
(Irvine, Calif.)
These
public events at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman
Center explore the
far-reaching role of science, technology, and medicine in our lives.
Upcoming programs include:
-- The Great Warming (Oct. 14, 7 p.m.)
-- Archimedes
and the Quest for the Theory of Everything (Oct. 21, 7 p.m.)
More
information on these and other events is available online at http://www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Beckman_main.
CONTACT:
Susan Marty, 949-721-2213 or e-mail <voicesatbeckman@nas.edu>
RESOURCES
FOR REPORTERS
Science,
medicine, and technology form the basis for many of the day's top news stories.
Whether you are looking for background or searching for a different angle,
check out http://national-academies.org/headlines.
Check out
podcasts from the National Academies on all areas of science, engineering, and
medicine at http://national-academies.org/podcast/,
booklets at http://national-academies.org/publications/#booklets,
and resources on evolution at http://national-academies.org/evolution/.
View the
most recent Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences articles online by visiting This Week in Early Edition at http://www.pnas.org/site/misc/highlights.shtml,
or PNAS in the News at http://www.pnas.org/site/misc/news.shtml.
Journalists may register to receive embargoed material by contacting the PNAS
News Office at <pnasnews@nas.edu>.
This guide,
along with news releases and other documents from the Office of News and Public
Information, is available on the Internet at http://www8.nationalacademies.org/onpinews/bydate.aspx.
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