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AAAS Sections

History and Philosophy of Science (L)

Minutes of the 2007 Section L Business Meeting

Section L Business Meeting,
AAAS Annual Meeting
February 16, 2007
9:30 a.m. to 12:46 p.m.

Notice: To fund travel by speakers, no refreshments were served.

  1. The 2006 minutes were approved.

  2. Announcements

    1. Karin Supara introduced herself as the national office representative at the meeting.

    2. election results (Thomas Nickles, Chair Elect; Karen A. Rader, Member-at Large of Section Committee; Sara Joan Miles, Council Delegate; Kathryn M. Olesko and Richard M. Burian, Electorate Nominating Committee)

    3. 2006 fellows

      James R. Bartholomew, Ohio State University
      Sandra Herbert, University of Maryland Baltimore County
      Robert Pennock, Michigan State University
      William C. Wimsatt, University of Chicago

    4. Sarton Lecture for 2007 (Keith Wailoo) and 2008 (Janet Browne)

      Discipline and Disease: The Social Transformation of Cancer in the Age of Biomedicine

    5. financial report (Jonathan Coopersmith): We now have a larger budget – $2100 with one year’s rollover possible.

    6. announcements from officers’ meeting

      The outgoing section president automatically moves on to the Electorate Nominating Committee.

      The acceptance rate for sessions is approximately 50% with sessions proposed by sections doing a little better. This data should give organizers a better sense of what to tell possible speakers.

      The AAAS is polling section officers to see if the meeting should be shifted back to March or even April.

  3. Discussion issues

    1. Angela Creager as past-chair now heads the Electorate Nominating Committee as per a recent rule change. While designed to ensure more contact between the section and the nominating committee, this change may have the adverse consequence of deterring people from agreeing to run for chair because it adds a year of fairly thankless labor. Indeed, at least one person turned down a request to run because of the ENC requirement. We may want to ask the national office to monitor this change and possibly poll the other sections to see if it is a problem.

    2. Science- Angela Creager has just joined the book review committee. The editor, Kenneth Sherman, is doing a good job.

      The chair should write Kennedy to offer to help with the Darwin 2009 coverage.

      Should we offer to write editorials? Jane Maienschein, Betty Smocovitis, and Jim Fleming will coordinate.

    3. 2008 meeting (possible sessions, topical speakers, travel support)

      Maienschein asked if we can propose people to serve on the program committee (Secretary will check). The Section should provide more reviewers of proposals.

      Barbara Rice came and spoke about AAAS policy, such as it is, on revising paper and symposium abstracts. The latter is not uncommon and is done to make the sessions more appealing to wider audiences. The former happens only very rarely and, in a case this year, was done to avoid the threat of litigation. The issue is that when the issue is raised, can it be ignored?

      The theme of the 2008 meeting is Science and Technology from a Global Perspective

      Among the proposed sessions that Section L might develop are:

      • Truth or Consequences: Helping the public understand when ‘scientific’ information is valid (John Gardiner)
      • 50th anniversary of Explorers I and III and of NASA (Jim Fleming)
      • Academies of Sciences in Perspective (proposed by Section Y; we may help with speakers)
      • Credibility (Allchin)
      • A workshop by Mike Sokol on preserving affiliate’s history
      • M.A. Foulkes
      • Rene Dubos - think locally, act globally
      • The first Sarton lecturer, he would be a good point to discuss issues of biodiversity, disease and epidemiology, and the public understanding of science (Lowenstein)
      • Indigenous knowledge, especially medicine - M. K. Plotkin would be a good person

      2009 has some obvious Darwin themes (200th of birth, 150th of publication). The year is also the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the moons of Jupiter and an International Year of Astronomy. How can we capitalize on these events?

      James McCarthy described the difference between transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary research.

    4. 2007 Fellows. The process is underway.

    5. The Section voted its departing officers a resolution of appreciation for their services.

      Angela Creager, chair

      Philip Pauly, member-at-large

    6. increasing Section L presence within AAAS, including committees, and affiliate societies

      AAAS committees

      International Advisory Committee

      Program Committee

      Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy (COSEPP)

      Committee on Opportunities in Science

      Committee on Public Understanding of Science & Technology (COPUST)

      National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists

      Committee on Scientific Freedom & Responsibility

  4. New business

    For future meetings, note that poster judges pay a reduced registration rate.

    The chair will contact HSS to see if the introduction to the Sarton lecturer and an edited version of the lecture can be published in the HSS newsletter.

    List of action items for chair, sec &c to do

    for SHOT & HSS mtgs, have AAAS booth or posters?
    Have Banner and HNS at a booth or event or session?

    Letter to Section L members

    • introduction of new officers
    • introduction of new fellows and info on fellows process
    • 2008 meeting
    • theme and how to propose sessions
    • (some travel support, 50% acceptance rate)
    • Sarton lecture
    • reduced rates
      • think of graduate students helping
      • poster judges

Attendees

Jonathan Coopersmith, Section Secretary; j-coopersmith@tamu.edu

 
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