Through innovative design, creation, processing, use, and disposal of substances, the chemical industry plays a major role in advancing applications to support sustainability in a way that will allow humanity to meet current environmental, economic, and societal needs without compromising the progress and success of future generations. Based on a workshop held in February 2005 that brought together a broad cross section of disciplines and organizations in the chemical industry, this report identifies a set of overarching Grand Challenges for Sustainability research in chemistry and chemical engineering to assist the chemical industry in defining a sustainability agenda. These Grand Challenges include life cycle analysis, renewable chemical feedstocks, and education, among others. Critics have questioned the propriety of recent studies regarding housing-related health risks and children. A new report from the National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine outlines how to conduct such research in a way that supports improved child health, ensures that child participants do not face inappropriate risks, and fully informs their parents. While electronic voting systems have improved, federal and state governments have not made the commitment necessary for them to be widely used in future elections, says a new report from the National Research Council. More funding, research, and public education are required if e-voting is to become viable. Get ahead of engineering news with the WTOP Radio and the National Academy of Engineering's ongoing project to highlight engineering innovations and to add technical context to current issues in the news. Topics range from treating cartilage injuries to building security arrays. Their Web page offers audio transcripts, articles and outside resources for more information. Foreign scientists and students displaced by Hurricane Katrina now face special challenges. The National Academies have assembled a Web page detailing information on visas and lost travel documents, emergency housing, how to contact displaced people, academic assistance for uprooted students and professors, and hiring practices for hurricane evacuees. Leaders of several global scientific, engineering, and medical organizations -- including some in which the US National Academies participate -- called on government authorities and heads of state who attended a recent meeting at the United Nations to strengthen international capacity in science and innovation. The statement says strong leadership is needed to boost this capacity worldwide to achieve the UN's Millennium Development Goals, which include eradicating extreme poverty and hunger. The system for intercepting microbial threats at the nation's airports, seaports, and borders needs strategic leadership and a comprehensive plan to meet the challenges posed by emerging diseases and bioterrorist threats, says a new Institute of Medicine report. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials involved in quarantine activities should be given the responsibility, authority, and resources to lead the effort. Research on chemical warfare agents (CWAs) has historically focused on life-threatening battlefield effects caused by high-level exposures to the agents, not effects associated with exposures to low concentrations. While low-level exposures may not have immediate observed health effects they may produce delayed health effects months or years later. This report reviews the Department of Defense (DOD) Research Plan for obtaining toxicologic and other relevant data to assess risk to military personnel. The CWAs of concern include sarin, cyclosarin, and sulfur mustard, among others. The report provides guidance on appropriate methods for assessing toxicologic risk to military personnel from low-level exposures to CWAs. At a congressional hearing on "Sources and Methods of Foreign Nationals Engaged in Economic and Military Espionage," National Academy of Engineering President Wm. A. Wulf urged members to remember "the important contributions foreign-born scholars, scientists, and engineers have made and continue to make" toward the success and security of the United States. The Committee on Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts will hold a workshop in Seattle WA October 4-6, 2005, with day-long sessions open to the public on the 4th and 5th. Workshop participants will examine the efficacy, practicability, and environmental effects of erosion mitigation techniques. Day one will involve breakout groups that will discuss mitigation approaches based on geomorphic setting (beach, marsh/mud, bluff/headland). Day two will involve breakout groups to evaluate strengths and weaknesses of mitigation strategies. A preliminary agenda is posted at the accompanying pdf link. The Committee on Planning for Catastrophe: A Blueprint for Improving Geospatial Data, Tools, and Infrastructure will hold a 2-day workshop on Geospatial Information for Disaster Management in Washington DC October 5-6. The workshop will take place in the Academies' historic building at 2101 Constitution Avenue NW and will be open to the public. A draft agenda is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions 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.
Join Joe Palca, science correspondent for National Public Radio, for a discussion of the techniques and challenges of conveying complex, and sometimes controversial, scientific issues in print and radio journalism. To what extent do science and journalism influence and inform each other, or does one shape the other? This event will take place at the National Academies' Koshland Science Museum (6th and E Streets NW, Washington DC), Thursday, October 20, 2005 from 6:30PM to 8:00PM. This Arthur M. Sackler colloquium will review the science in forensic science from multiple perspectives: the perspective of government forensic laboratories, the basic science underlying forensic technologies, and, of course, from the perspective of the courts, which ultimately must judge what scientific evidence should be admitted. The event will take place at the National Academies building at 2101 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington DC, November 16-18. Registration and other information about the colloquium are posted at the accompanying link.
Environmental Issues
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Computer Science and Telecommunications
Engineering
International Issues
National Security
Policy and Research Issues
Events and Open Meetings
Environmental Issues
Sustainability in the Chemical Industry: Grand Challenges and Research Needs - A Workshop Report
Behavioral and Social Sciences
Ethical Considerations on Housing Research Involving Children
Computer Science and Telecommunications
E-Voting Has Promise, But Government Commitment Required
Engineering
WTOP Radio Features Engineering News
International Issues
Help for Foreign Scientists and Students after Katrina
National Security
Leadership, Plan Needed to Thwart Microbial Threats
Policy and Research Issues
NAE President Testifies before US House of Representatives
Events and Open Meetings
WORKSHOP: Mitigating Shore Erosion Along Sheltered Coasts
