The new role of S&T leaders

Shirley Ann Jackson presents Carey Lecture at AAAS Colloquium

On Thursday, 10 April 2003, Shirley Ann Jackson, President of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y. and president-elect of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), will address the importance for science and technological leaders to actively participate in policy-making, in public outreach, and in educating the next generation of leaders.

At the 28th Annual Colloquium for Science and Technology Policy in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the AAAS, Jackson will present the prestigious 2003 William D. Carey Lecture, "Standing on the Knife Edge: The Leadership Imperative."

"Science is not an either/or proposition," says Jackson. "But today's rapid scientific and technological advances are posing "knife-edge" questions. How can we derive maximum benefit from scientific discovery, for example, without unleashing maximum danger? It is up to the science and engineering community to lead us through these critical times. Only with strong scientific, technological, and policy leadership, can we equip ourselves with the proper information to move forward or to stay the course."

Jackson notes that the AAAS has a unique opportunity to play a significant role in education and in science and technology public policy. The challenge, she says, will be to unite with research universities and corporate laboratories.

"Scientists and engineers at research universities and those at the corporate laboratories will develop the technological solutions and the applications," says Jackson. "AAAS can work toward inserting them into the political and policy process, and by doing so, will help to educate the public and inspire a new S&T generation."

Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson has been a researcher, a leader in government and higher education, and an outspoken advocate and role model for underrepresented groups in science. She instituted changes in nuclear regulation nationally, and formed an international nuclear regulator's group involving the most advanced nuclear countries.

Today she is transforming Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute into a global research university and enhancing its educational mission. She embraced the term "affirmative opportunity" as a rallying cry to all segments of society to engage talent from every sector of the population. Jackson is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and one of the first two African-American women in the U.S. to receive a doctorate in physics. She is both the first woman and the first African-American to serve as the chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and the first African-American woman to lead a national research university, the AAAS, and to be elected to the National Academy of Engineering. Jackson was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998 for her significant contributions as a distinguished scientist and advocate for education, science, and public policy. Her research specialties are in optical physics; theoretical, quantum, and solid-state physics; science and technology policy; and nuclear energy and regulation.

The William D. Carey Lecture was established in honor of Bill Carey upon his retirement as the Executive Officer of AAAS. Open to the public, the Lectureship recognizes individuals who in their own way demonstrate and epitomize Mr. Carey's leadership in communicating the relationship between public policy issues and science and technology. More information about the Lecture and the Colloquium is available at http://www.aaas.org/spp/dspp/rd/colloqu.htm.

MEDIA NOTE: Shirley Ann Jackson will address the public during the AAAS 28th Annual Science & Technology Policy Colloquium, at the Washington Plaza Hotel, at 5:45 p.m. Eastern Time, Thursday, 10 April 2003. The Washington Plaza Hotel is located 10 Thomas Circle, 14th and M, NW, Washington D.C. 3 blocks north of the McPherson Square Metro stop.

Address: Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle, 14th and M, NW, Washington D.C.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves some 265 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of one million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.