Behavioral and Social Sciences Earth Sciences
- Energy Experts Gather at Two-Day Summit
- MEETING: The Importance of Deep-Time Geologic Records for Understanding Climate Change Impacts
- Ten Questions Shaping Earth Science Identified
- Report Release -- Gulf War and Health: Physiologic, Psychologic, and Psychosocial Effects of Deployment-Related Stress
- Podcast: What Works for Health Care?
- EVENT: National Academy of Sciences Announces Spring Programs
- EVENT: Climate, Water, and Sustainability: A Visual Tour
- EVENT: Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress Toward A Brighter Future
Behavioral and Social Sciences
MEETING: Workshop on Depression and Parenting
A Workshop at the Beckman Center, CA, The objective of Session I is to explore: the identification, screening, treatment, or referral for depression in parents in a variety of medical and other settings (OB/GYN, Pediatrics, Family Practice, Community Mental Health, Community Health Centers) that serve women, children, and families; the interface or integration of MH services for depression in primary care through county-government service structure; and capacity building to facilitate better access to quality services in these settings. The objective of Session II is to explore issues which create unique challenges to providing quality mental health services for depression for parents and their children, particularly for a diverse society and in care settings alternate to medical settings.
Earth Sciences
Energy Experts Gather at Two-Day Summit
The National Academy of Sciences and National Academy of Engineering held a summit on March 13 and 14 to examine the increasing importance of energy policy to the nation's security, economic vitality, and environment. U.S. government officials and other leading experts delivered a series of presentations that will inform the upcoming study America's Energy Future: Technology Opportunities, Risks, and Tradeoffs.
MEETING: The Importance of Deep-Time Geologic Records for Understanding Climate Change Impacts
The geologic record contains physical, chemical, and biological indicators of a range of past climate states. As recent changes in atmospheric composition cause earth's climate to change, and amid suggestions that future change may cause the earth to transition to a climatic state that is dramatically different to that of the recent past, there is an increasing focus on the geologic record as a repository of critical information for understanding the likely parameters and impacts of future change. The resulting report will assess the present state of knowledge of earth's deep-time paleoclimate record, with particular emphasis on the transition periods of major paleoclimate change.
Ten Questions Shaping Earth Science Identified
Questions about the origin and nature of Earth and the life on it have long preoccupied human thought and the scientific endeavor. Deciphering the planet's history and processes could improve the ability to predict catastrophes like earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, to manage Earth's resources, and to anticipate changes in climate and geologic processes. At the request of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National Science Foundation, and U.S. Geological Survey, the National Research Council assembled a committee to propose and explore grand questions in geological and planetary science. This report captures, in a series of questions, the essential scientific challenges that constitute the frontier of Earth science at the start of the 21st century.
Engineering
NAE Launches EngineerYourLife.org
In conjunction with National Engineers Week, the National Academy of Engineering and a coalition of engineering and educational organizations launched "Engineer Your Life," a new Web site to encourage academically prepared girls to enroll in undergraduate engineering programs. The site is part of a national effort to tell high school girls, and the adults in their lives, about what it is like to be an engineer.
Environmental Issues
Clean-Vehicle Research Initiative Making Progress
A public-private effort to develop technologies for more fuel-efficient automobiles and to investigate the feasibility of hydrogen-based vehicles has made significant progress in most research areas, and its potential benefits justify the cost, says a new report from the National Research Council. Several barriers hinder the program from achieving its full objectives, and a strategic reassessment of the program plan should be developed.
Health and Medicine
Report Release -- Gulf War and Health: Physiologic, Psychologic, and Psychosocial Effects of Deployment-Related Stress
Military service in a war zone increases service members' chances of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), other anxiety disorders, and depression, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine. Serving in a war also increases the chances of alcohol abuse, accidental death, and suicide within the first few years after leaving the war zone, and marital and family conflict, including domestic violence, said the committee that wrote the report at the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which asked for a comprehensive analysis of the scientific and medical evidence concerning associations between deployment-related stress and long-term, adverse effects on health.
Podcast: What Works for Health Care?
There is currently heightened interest in optimizing health care through the generation of new knowledge on the effectiveness of health care services. This podcast looks at some of the basic findings of the IOM report.
Transportation
Climate Change Will Have a Significant Impact on Transportation Infrastructure and Operations
Though the impacts of climate change will vary by region, it is certain they will be widespread and costly in human and economic terms, and will require significant changes in the planning, design, construction, operation, and maintenance of transportation systems, says a new report from the National Research Council.
Upcoming Events
EVENT: National Academy of Sciences Announces Spring Programs
This spring the Marian Koshland Science Museum in Washington, D.C., and Distinctive Voices@The Beckman Center in Irvine, Calif., will host a series of programs on science, technology, and medicine. Topics include climate and water, pollinators, music and the brain, wine and health, and how the great pyramids were built.
EVENT: Climate, Water, and Sustainability: A Visual Tour
Explore connections among climate, water, and sustainability in a visual tour and discussion with Jon Foley from the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. See how researchers use state-of-the-art computer models and satellite measurements to analyze changes in land use, ecosystems, climate and freshwater resources across local, regional, and global scales. What do these findings tell us about the impacts of complex environmental systems on human health worldwide and how can this data inform decision-making? Date: May 1, 2008; Location: Koshland Science Museum; Time: 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM; Cost: $8/$5 for students; Age Range: 13+; Advance ticket purchase is recommended. Contact the Koshland Science Museum at 202-334-1201 or ksm@nas.edu to purchase tickets.
EVENT: Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress Toward A Brighter Future
The National Academies are organizing a national convocation on “Rising Above the Gathering Storm Two Years Later: Accelerating Progress toward a Brighter Economic Future.” The convocation will be held April 29, 2008 (Tuesday) at the J.W. Marriott Hotel here in Washington, D.C. The National Academy of Engineering and the National Academies are organizing the convocation with support from the National Math and Science Initiative. The event will take stock of what has occurred since the fall of 2005, when the National Academies released the report Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future. Major accomplishments include the passage of the bipartisan America COMPETES Act, which was signed by the President last August, as well as initiatives by several states and by the private sector. In addition, the convocation will strengthen engagement among the various stakeholders seeking to renew American innovation and explore how progress can be sustained and accelerated. If you plan to participate, please register at the convocation website as soon as possible. We expect to close registration when capacity for the event is reached.
