Table of Contents
Education Health and Medicine Engineering Policy and Research Issues Transportation New at the National Academies Events and Open Meetings

Education


National Academies Name Biology Teaching Fellows and Mentors

The National Academies has bestowed the title of Education Fellow in the Life Sciences on 42 educators around the country who successfully completed a summer institute aimed at fostering innovative approaches to teaching undergraduate biology.


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Health and Medicine


Stem Cell Research Guidelines to Be Updated

The National Academies' National Research Council and Institute of Medicine are convening a new committee to provide updated guidelines on the conduct of human embryonic stem cell research. The guidelines are voluntary and intended to enhance the integrity of human embryonic stem cell research by encouraging responsible practices. They were issued last year by the Academies and will be periodically updated to reflect advances in stem cell science.

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Materials from Vietnam Vet Health Study Should Remain Available for Research

The Air Force Health Study that was begun in 1979 to assess possible health effects of military personnel's exposure to Agent Orange and other defoliants sprayed during the Vietnam War will end September 30, 2006. The study data, records, and specimens merit further examination and should be transferred to a new custodian that would make the materials available for ongoing research, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.

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Engineering


Winners of 2006 Engineering Awards Honored

The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) awarded two prestigious $500,000 prizes at a gala dinner on February 21. The Draper Prize recognizes engineering accomplishments that have significantly benefited society, and the Gordon Prize recognizes experiments in education that lead to effective engineering leaders. The Charles Stark Draper Prize went to Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith "for the invention of the Charge-Coupled Device (CCD), a light-sensitive component at the heart of digital cameras and other widely used imaging technologies." The Bernard M. Gordon Prize will be shared by Jens E. Jorgensen, John S. Lamancusa, Lueny Morell, Allen L. Soyster, and José Zayas-Castro "for creating the Learning Factory, where multidisciplinary student teams develop engineering leadership skills by working with industry to solve real-world problems."

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Policy and Research Issues


USDA Should Improve Methods for Gauging Food Insecurity

The US Department of Agriculture has conducted extensive research on hunger and food insecurity in America, but the department needs to improve how this work is carried out to better inform policymakers and the public, says a new report from the National Research Council.

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Transportation


Airports Need Better Defenses Against Chemical, Biological Threats

Defending against a chemical or biological attack in airport terminals, boarding areas, and aircraft should be enhanced by using improved video surveillance, reducing airflow between airport areas, and deploying "active purification units" that eliminate or reduce infectious agents, says a new report from the National Research Council. Responsibility for developing such technologies should be assigned to the Transportation Security Administration.

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New at the National Academies


National Academies Hold Annual Black History Event

At the National Academies' 20th annual African-American History Program, Alexa Canady, the nation's first black female neurosurgeon, and Arlie O. Petters, a Duke University professor of mathematics and physics, were recognized for their contributions to science and medicine. The event included a keynote address by Lawrence D. Bobo, director of Stanford University's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and was especially targeted to students from local junior high and high schools. The program agenda and a link to the audio broadcast are posted at the accompanying link.

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Events and Open Meetings


WORKSHOP: Populations at Risk

The Committee on the Effective Use of Data, Methodologies, and Technologies to Estimate Subnational Populations at Risk will hold a workshop on Populations at Risk March 13-15 at the Academies' Keck Center in Washington DC. A draft agenda will be posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Amanda Roberts, by email at <aroberts@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 2744.

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LECTURE: Disasters, Death and Destruction: Accounting for Recent Calamities

The Ocean Studies Board's 7th Annual Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture will be held March 15, 2006 in the Baird Auditorium at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. The featured speaker will be Dr. Roger Pielke, Director of the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research and Associate Professor at the University of Colorado. In light of recent natural disasters here and abroad, Dr. Pielke will consider the following questions: Have loss of life and damages associated with extreme weather events actually increased in recent years? What factors account for observed trends in the impacts of weather on society? More information is available at the accompanying link.

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WORKSHOP: Cancer Biomarkers

A workshop on Cancer Biomarkers will be held in support of an Institute of Medicine project on Developing Biomarker-based Tools for Cancer Screening, Diagnosis, and Therapy--The State of the Science, Evaluation, Implementation, and Economics. The one-day workshop will take place March 20, at the Academies' Keck Center in Washington DC; a draft agenda will be posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Mary Ann Pryor, by email at <mpryor@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 1246.

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MEETING: Coal Research, Technology, and Resource Assessments to Inform Energy Policy

The Committee on Coal Research, Technology, and Resource Assessments to Inform Energy Policy will meet March 20-22 at the Academies' Keck Center in Washington DC. Sessions on the first two days of the meeting will be open to the public; a draft agenda will be posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Amanda Roberts, by email at <aroberts@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 2744.

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MEETING: Hydrologic Impacts of Forest Management

The Committee on Forest Hydrology will hold its first meeting March 22-23 at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas NV. The committee is charged with examining the impacts of forest management on watershed processes, with a focus on effects such as surface runoff, overland flow, forest water temperature and chemistry, groundwater recharge, and sediment dynamics. The committee's report will consider the state of knowledge, relevant policy implications, and research needs to advance understanding of connections among hydrology, science, and land management and policy in forested landscapes. A draft agenda will be posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Lauren E. Alexander, by email at <lealexander@nas.edu> or by telephone at 202 334 3422.

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COLLOQUIUM: From Functional Genomics of Model Organisms to Crop Plants for Global Health

Join us April 3-5 for "From Functional Genomics of Model Organisms to Crop Plants for Global Health," part of the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia of the National Academy of Sciences. The colloquium will examine fundamental breakthroughs in genomics that will affect the future of food and agriculture, and the technical and non-technical challenges of bringing discoveries to the consumer. Lecturers will also discuss potential consumer responses to biotechnology. The honorable US Senator Kit Bond will give the keynote speech for the colloquium on April 3 at 7:00 p.m. Registration is required. Registration and further information about the Arthur M. Sackler Colloquia are posted at the accompanying Web link.

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