Science And Society

Solid oxide fuel cells, hydrogen storage technologies, alternative energy. Dr. Sarah Arsenault has taken on task leadership roles for Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Storage technologies. The Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Team and Dr. Arsenault was recognized in 2005 for innovative development of SOFC stack technology for power generation of the future, culminating in successful design and demonstration of a 1-kilowatt cell stack. Dr. Arsenault was responsible for driving the design and development of a subscale Hydrogen Storage Prototype System for fuel cell vehicles.

Moore's Law, semiconductors, microchips, Chemical Heritage Foundation, Intel. David C. Brock specializes in oral history, the history of instrumentation, and the history of semiconductor science, technology, and industry. His most recent book is 'Understanding Moore's Law: Four Decades of Innovation', published by Chemical Heritage Press in 2006.

Food science, food history, nutrition, obesity. Dr. Gabriella Petrick's current research focuses on the scientific and technological development of the food industry and consumer adoption of these new technologies. She is currently working on a book on the industrialization of taste in 20th-century America.

Endangered Species Act, conservation, ecosystem services, biofuels. Founded in 1989, Forest Guardians has a proven record of defending and preserving threatened southwestern wildlife and ecosystems. Forest Guardians' approach to conservation features a potent combination of scientific analysis, strategic litigation to enforce existing environmental laws, and efforts to reform public polices. The organization's goals include protecting and restoring the native biological diversity and watersheds of the American Southwest; advocating for the principles of conservation biology in plans to restore degraded ecosystems and watersheds; and practicing and promoting sustainable use of natural resources.

Chemistry, sustainability, energy, science education. The American Chemical Society, the world's largest scientific society, is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than 158,000 chemists and chemical engineers. ACS publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. In her 23 years in industry, Dr. Katie Hunt has applied her background in catalysis and inorganic chemistry across a broad range of electronics, materials, catalysis, hydrogen, coatings and health care. An ACS member since 1977, Dr. Hunt has been involved in numerous Society activities, including the Divisions of Analytical Chemistry, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry and Inorganic Chemistry.

Alden March Bioethics Institute, stem cell research, nanotechnology. The Alden March Bioethics Institute was founded in 2005 to conduct state-of-the-art research, teaching and outreach concerning ethical issues in the health sciences. AMBI offers a unique online masters program in bioethics as well joint degree programs in law, medicine, and public health. The Institute is home to the world's most utilized bioethics resource on the Internet, bioethics.net.

The Cadmus Group, watershed management, Clean Water, renewable resources. Among The Cadmus Group's major practice areas are Drinking Water and Water Quality, Energy Services (including energy efficiency and renewable energy), Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmentally Sound Design, and Environmental Management. Previously, Mr. Tracy Mehan served as Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2001-03 pursuant to presidential nomination and senate confirmation. In that capacity he directed both the Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water Acts programs including wetlands regulation, standards and watershed management.

Society for Biomolecular Sciences, drug discovery, personalized medicine, clinical trials. The Society for Biomolecular Sciencesis a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the science and art of biomolecular screening internationally. Throughout his career, Dr. Al Kolb has been involved with high-throughput screening - with a special interest in assay miniaturization. As a consultant, he assists companies in evaluating, developing and launching new drug discovery technologies.

Cardiac disease, rheumatoid arthritis, fibrotic disease, serum amyloid P. In 2001, Dr. Gomer and Dr. Pilling discovered that a naturally occurring protein in human blood called serum amyloid P prevented a subset of human blood monocytes from differentiating into cells called fibrocytes. Fibrocytes participate in both wound healing and fibrotic lesions, and they play a central role in fibrotic diseases, including scleroderma, pulmonary fibrosis, renal fibrosis, cirrhosis of the liver, airway wall thickening in asthma, and cardiac fibrosis.

Agricultural biotechnology, genetically modified crops, cloned animals. The Pew Initiative on Food and Biotechnology was established in 2001 to be an independent and objective source of credible information on agricultural biotechnology for the public, media and policymakers.

Percy Julian, Chemical Heritage Foundation, NOVA, science education. Dr. John Theibault oversees the Chemical Heritage Foundation's portfolio of online resources for students and teachers, including 'Science Alive', 'Women in Chemistry', 'Chemical Achievers', and 'Explore Chemical History', workshops and conferences for stakeholders in science education - 'Leadership Initiative in Science Education', and collaborative projects with other content developers and educators.

Siemens Competition, systems biology, bioethanol. Scott Molony, Steven Arcangeli, and Scott Horton are the winners of the Gold Medal National Team Scholarship worth 100,000 dollars at the 2006-07 Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology, and the Silver Medal Team Scholarship worth $3000 at the New England Regional Finals. The team are seniors at Oak Ridge High School, Oak Ridge, TN. Their winning project is titled 'Linking Supercomputing and Systems Biology for Efficient Bioethanol Production'.

Architecture, sustainable design, LEED, urban planning. Mr. Hansen is responsible for an architectural and engineering production team of over 70. He also coordinates the national engineering capability for DMJM HN and the adoption of holistic and integrated approaches to building design.

Science education, biology education research, SEPAL. Since joining the SFSU faculty, Dr. Tanner has established SEPAL to improve and articulate science education. SEPAL researchers are interested in the role of partnerships between scientists and teachers in influencing K-12 science education. Also, SEPAL researchers are interested in understanding how novices - including young children, non-science majors, and elementary school teachers - think about biological concepts and living things.

Cosmic inflation, multiple universes, big bang, string theory. Dr. Alex Vilenkin has been doing research in cosmology for more than 25 years. He has published over 170 research papers, a monograph on 'cosmic defects', and a popular book, 'Many Worlds in One: the Search for Other Universes'. Dr. Vilenkin is best known for his theories of eternal cosmic inflation, creation of the universe from nothing, and for his ground-breaking work on cosmic strings. He has also studied the implications of the possible existence of multiple universes.

RNA interference, gene silencing, drug discovery, Nobel Prize. Dr. Andrew Fire is the co-discoverer of RNA interference - gene silencing by double-stranded RNA. The Fire Lab studies a variety of natural mechanisms that are utilized by cells adapting to genetic change. RNAi is not the only cellular defense against unwanted nucleic acid, and substantial current effort in the lab is also directed at identification of other triggers and mechanisms used in recognition and response to foreign information.

Warped Passages, extra dimensions, particle physics, gravity, branes. Professor Lisa Randall's new book, Warped Passages -- Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions, was included in The New York Times list of 100 notable books of 2005. Professor Randall has worked on a wide variety of ideas for what might lie beyond established particle physics and cosmological theories, including grand unified theories, supersymmetry, cosmological inflation, baryogenesis, string theory, and most recently, extra dimensions of space. She has made seminal contributions in all these areas, and as of Fall 2005 was the most cited theoretical physicist of the past five years.

Nanotechnology, MEMS, sensors, biotechnology. Dr. Anand Gadre's research centers around micro-electro-mechanical Systems, including novel process integration techniques for polymeric BioMEMS and bionanotechnology. His research interests also focus on biomedical applications such as development of noninvasive nanoscale sensors and drug delivery systems and cell transfection microdevices.

Nanotechnology, engineering, electronics. Dr. Scott Huxtable's team at the Nanoscale Energy Transport Laboratory is interested in understanding the fundamental physics that control nanoscale energy transport as well as developing devices that are based on the underlying physics. Dr. Huxtable and his team are developing a variety of thermoelectric systems including coolers, power generators, and heat flux sensors.

Environmental biomarkers, public health, national security. Dr. Terri Stewart is responsible for implementing the Environmental Biomarkers Initiative's research agenda - predicting ecosystem change and damage, answering questions around engineered nanomaterials and their impact on human and ecosystem health, and developing rapid and pre-symptomatic screening methods for zoonotic agents.