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ScienceCounts Civic Science Fellowship

ScienceCounts, with support from the Science in Society Funders Collaborative,*  is accepting applications for the ScienceCounts Civic Science Fellow for Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Public Engagement, a unique 18-month fellowship. A description of this opportunity can be found at https://sciencecounts.org/civic-science/.

The person who will be selected for this fellowship should be an energetic, action-oriented individual who will help design, pilot, and evaluate a novel public science engagement program involving a community in need. Are you one of the thousands of earlier career individuals eager for a chance to make a positive impact in your community?

The ScienceCounts Civic Science Fellowship is a chance to do that, and CSSP is pleased to have been notified of this program so that we can share it with our broad network.

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CSSP Speaker Named Deputy General Counsel at DOE

Emily Hammond, a speaker at the May 2021 Leadership Workshop, has been named  Deputy General Counsel for Litigation and Enforcement, Office of General Counsel at  the U.S. Department of Energy.

Emily previously served as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of Law at the George Washington University, specializing in administrative law, energy law, and environmental law

See Emily's profile at DOE.

Don't Just Explain: Engage

Trust in Science Is Not the Problem

Many members of the science and science policy communities have grown increasingly concerned lately about what they see as a decline in the general public’s trust in science. Frequently cited examples include the common failure to follow COVID public health guidelines or to take the issue of climate change seriously enough to adopt significant changes in individual behavior or support changes in public policy. Discussion then often shifts to debates about how to restore that trust. The basic premise, however, is wrong. There is no real evidence that the public has lost trust in science per se.

On the contrary, most surveys show that most of the public does trust, has confidence in, and respects science and scientists. Therefore, problems around expert advice and the public are best considered one societal issue at a time and should be viewed in terms of how scientific advances intersect with such variables as individuals’ values, economic and other interests, or politics. most effective remedial strategies typically start from that perspective.

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NASA Reboots Its Role in Fighting Climate Change

NASA is best known for exploring other worlds, whether that’s sending astronauts to the Moon or flying helicopters on Mars. But under US President Joe Biden, the space agency intends to boost its reputation as a major player in studying Earth — especially with an eye towards fighting climate change.

Gavin Schmidt, a climate modeller at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City and the agency’s new climate adviser, as well as the Keynote speaker at CSSP's recent Spring Leadership Workshop says, “If you’re going to make policy related to scientific questions, you need to have science at the table."

Read more at Nature.

Craig N. McLean Wins CSSP’s Support of Science Award

The Support of Science Award honors an individual who merits recognition for outstanding and dedicated support of U.S. science, free scientific communication, and support of basic research.

The 2021 support of science award is presented to Craig N. Mclean, Acting Chief Scientist, Assistant Administrator, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A constant and strong advocate for oceanic and atmospheric science and research, Mr. McLean’s leadership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has ensured that science is accurately and honestly presented. Responsible for overseeing, directing, and implementing NOAA’s research enterprise, his assurance that the integrity of scientific research has been and will be upheld is core to his actions and words.

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Nominate Candidates for Expiring NSB Positions

The National Science Board (Board) requests your assistance in the nomination process for candidates for the eight Board positions that will become vacant on May 10, 2022.

The Board was established by Congress in 1950 and has two important roles. It provides oversight for, and establishes the policies of, the National Science Foundation. It also serves as an independent body of advisors to both the President and Congress on broad national policy issues related to science and engineering research and education. More information on the Board and its current membership can be found at https://www.nsf.gov/nsb/index.jsp.   

The 24 Board Members are appointed by the President for 6-year terms, with one-third of the membership renewed every 2 years. The Board is responsible for assembling and transmitting recommendations to the White House for appointments from various scientific, engineering, and educational organizations and societies. Candidates are submitted via the nominations portal. No log-in is required.

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The magic of being part of CSSP

 “What they don’t entirely capture is what I experienced, the magic of being part of CSSP.  The science advocacy and meeting with decision makers in science were essential, especially for someone leading a scientific society.  But CSSP opened up so many vistas for me.  You commented on some not seeing the need for networking outside of your own discipline.  My role in NYSERNet brought with it the opportunity to interact significantly with people in many disciplines, and at the CSSP meetings I enjoyed three or four days of jaw dropping science.  CSSP kept the sense of wonder active and alive.  I’m reminded often of the closing stanza of John Keats’s “On First Looking into Chapman’s Homer”:

Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—

Silent, upon a peak in Darien.



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The Nobel Prize Summit: Our Planet, Our Future

26-28 April 2021 · Virtual event

Our future depends on our collective ability to become effective stewards of the global commons – the climate, ice, land, ocean, fresh water, forests, soils and rich diversity of life.

The first Nobel Prize Summit brings together Nobel Prize laureates, scientists, policy makers, business leaders, and youth leaders to explore the question: What can be achieved in this decade to put the world on a path to a more sustainable, more prosperous future for all of humanity?

Across three days, the virtual event will combine keynotes and lively discussion with live performance and theatre. Speakers will explore solutions to some of humanity’s greatest challenges: climate change and biodiversity loss, increasing inequality, and technological innovation in support of societal goals.

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CSSP Spring 2019 Speaker, James Carroll, Honored

James Carroll, CEO of THOR Photomedicine, a speaker at the 2019 CSSP Spring Leadership Workshop, received the T.H. Maimen Award for outstanding research during the Academy for Laser Dentistry’s (ALD) award ceremony at their annual conference (April 8-10), during which Red Light Therapy’s role in revolutionizing medical care was showcased.  Kathleen Maimen, widow of Laser inventor Theodore Maimen, presented the award.

Carroll, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, is considered the world’s leading proponent of using Red Light Therapy, also known as Photobiomodulation (PBM).  He has written or co-authored twenty-four academic papers and co-authored four books on the subject. 

Carroll is working with 36 medical institutions, including Harvard Medical School, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Veterans’ Hospitals, and the UK National Health Service (NHS), on using PBM for treating a range of conditions such as traumatic brain injury, the side effects of cancer treatments, managing acute and chronic pain, and reducing opioid use.

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Ask the Attorney: an Association Law Webinar

Jeffrey S. Tenenbaum, the Managing Partner of the Tenenbaum Law Group who is well known within the Council of Scientific Society Presidents’ (CSSP) community will be presenting a complimentary American Bar Association video webinar on March 23 from 2-3 pm ET. The event is open to anyone and will be directed to non-attorneys as much as attorneys. Mr. Tenenbaum is one the country’s most experienced and notable association attorneys. He has asked that we share this opportunity with you.  

https://www.americanbar.org/groups/business_law/committees/archive/nonprofit/202103/

NSB Passes Resolutions to Address Missing Millions

NSB’s Vision 2030 emphasizes the urgent need for greater participation of women and other underrepresented groups in the U.S. science and engineering enterprise and ensuring that research benefits reach all Americans. Last week, the National Science Board (NSB) passed two resolutions to advance both goals.  One resolution aims to address unconscious biases and improve the preparedness of proposal reviewers. The second seeks to increase the potential of proposals’ Broader Impacts (BI) to benefit society.

“The Board is committed to working with NSF to find new ways to advance our shared goals that are essential to building America’s workforce and ensuring its innovation leadership. These two resolutions are an important step,” said NSB Chair Ellen Ochoa. “We trust in Director Panchanathan and his creative staff to find the best way to implement the policies we outline in the resolutions and look forward to getting an update on their impact.”

Both resolutions require an evaluation and report back to the NSB within 12 months.

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National Science Foundation's (NSF) Dear Colleague Letter

The Council of Scientific Society Presidents has been made aware of an opportunity from the Directorate for Biological Sciences (BIO) of the National Science Foundation (NSF) that we are pleased to be able to share. Scientific societies are in a unique position to be able to lead change that will expand and enhance the structure and culture of science networks.

CSSP is pleased to share this important opportunity with our community.

Dear Colleague,

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CSSP Op-Ed Published by The Hill

A letter to U.S. political leaders calling for quadrupling training & research budgets of agencies that fund science, written by Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) Executive Board members Dr. Martin Apple, President Emeritus and Research & Development director and Dr. John A. Downing, Professor of Biology and Director of the Minnesota Sea Grant College Program at the University of Minnesota (Duluth & St. Paul), was published by The Hill.

By supporting the Double Down on Federal Science Spending the future of science and the strategic role the federal investment in science plays will increase scientific tools and talent in the U.S. Join CSSP in calling on your political leaders to put redoubling science investment on their 2021 wish list.

Science & Technology Action Committee Plan Seeks Endorsements

The Science and Technology Action Committee is seeking endorsements from organizations for the Science & Technology Action Plan that has been developed. The plan includes recommendations for ways to invest in ourselves, and our country to drive the innovation and change that can serve our nation and our planet.

The U.S. science and technology (S&T) enterprise is highly innovative and productive and federally centralized efforts will allow for better and quicker response to challenges at the scope and scale to increase research, development and education.

Data Sharing Seminar Series for Societies

The Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) is part of a collaborative effort to present a seminar series on Data Sharing. Led by AGU, this series has been created with a goal of developing a better understanding of the evolving data (and software) sharing research culture. By connecting societies with invited speakers who are actively engaged with journals, funders, institutions, repositories, and other research communities on the practices available and challenges yet to be addressed, this series will emphasize the unique role societies have in bringing awareness of developing practices and supporting the necessary discussions within disciplines to bring their voice to the larger community.  

Scheduled for the first Friday or each month, from 10:00 - 11:00 am Eastern, the inaugural seminar on Data Sharing and Citation: How Societies can Make a Difference, will be presented on Friday, February 5th and will feature the following speakers:

  • Shelley Stall, American Geophysical Union (bio)
  • Juliane Baron, Federation of Associations Behavioral and Brain Sciences (bio)
  • Helena Cousijn, DataCite (bio)

Additional information, and a link for registration can be found here. We look forward to your participation in this inaugural session, as well as future sessions. 

American Geosciences Institute (AGI) seeks an Executive Director

AGI, a federation of scientific and professional associations representing over a quarter-million geoscientists, dedicated to serving the geoscience community invites applicants to apply for the position of Executive Director. The Executive Director conducts the affairs of the Institute with direction from the Board of Directors, including administering all planning and policies, supervising AGI staff, coordinating the various activities, projects, and programs of the Institute, and holds fiduciary responsibility for AGI.

More information about both the organization and the position can be found on the AGI website, here. Executive Director Search | American Geosciences Institute  

Consortium for Ocean Leadership New Executives Search

The Consortium for Ocean Leadership a Washington, DC-based nonprofit organization that represents more than 90 of the leading public and private ocean research education institutions, aquaria, non-profits, philanthropy organizations, and industry has launched a search for a new President/Chief Executive Officer, a position that reports to its Board of Trustees, and is based in the Washington, DC area. The Board of Trustees seeks a highly strategic and visionary leader who is prepared to transform the Consortium to serve the membership and the evolving national ocean enterprise.

More information about both the organization and the position can be found on the Consortium for Ocean Leadership website. 

Tank Named as AAAS Fellow

Jennifer L. Tank, the Ludmilla F., Stephen J. and Robert T. Galla Professor of Biological Sciences and director of the Notre Dame Environmental Change Initiative, is being honored for her distinguished contributions to aquatic biogeochemistry in particular reference to nutrient and carbon transformations and transport in flowing waters impacted by agriculture. Tank’s research has increased understanding of the role streams play in nutrient removal and retention, with a goal of improving water quality locally and in downstream ecosystems. 

The election of AAAS fellows is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers.

More information on the 2020 AAAS Fellows

Bronk Named as AAAS Fellow

Dr. Deborah Bronk, President of Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and former CSSP Chair, has been named as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow.

She was recognized for substantial research advances on the marine nitrogen cycle and for leadership in the ocean science research community.

More information on the 2020 AAAS Fellows

Invitation to STAS 20

Invitation to STAS 20: Celebrating 20 Years of the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary

The Science & Technology Adviser to the U.S. Secretary of State

Dr. Mung Chiang

invites you to attend a virtual panel discussion on the past, present, and future of science and technology in U.S. foreign policy, in celebration of the 20thanniversary of the Office of the Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary.

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