AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion

DoSER Staff

Program Staff

• Jennifer J. Wiseman, Ph.D., Program Director
• Paul Arveson, Senior Program Associate

Affiliated Staff

• Edward G. Derrick, Ph.D., Chief Program Director, AAAS Center of Science, Policy and Society Programs
• Peyton West, Ph.D., Director, Help for Threatened Wildlife Foundation, Frankfurt Zoological Society
• Mark S. Frankel, Ph.D., Program Director, AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program

Program Staff

Jennifer Wiseman is the Director of the AAAS Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion (DoSER) program. She is also an astrophysicist at NASA, where she is the Senior Project Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope. She studies the formation of stars and planetary systems using radio, optical, and infrared telescopes. Dr. Wiseman studied physics for her bachelor's degree at MIT, discovering comet Wiseman-Skiff in 1987. After earning her Ph.D. in astronomy from Harvard University in 1995, she continued her research as a Jansky Fellow at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory and as a Hubble Fellow at the Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Wiseman also has an interest in national science policy and has served as an American Physical Society Congressional Science Fellow on Capitol Hill. She then served several years as the Program Scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope at NASA Headquarters and as the chief of the Laboratory for Exoplanets and Stellar Astrophysics at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. She is also a public speaker and author, and enjoys giving talks on the excitement of science and astronomy to schools, youth and church groups, and civic organizations. She is a Councilor of the American Astronomical Society and a former President of the American Scientific Affiliation.

Paul Arveson is a Senior Program Associate working on programs involving DoSER's dialogue between scientists and evangelical Christians, and he also supports DoSER's web site. His first career was as a physicist in the Navy, where he served as a researcher doing projects in acoustics and oceanography. In 1999, he changed careers, and worked as a website developer and technology architect for various government contractors. In 2003 he co-founded a consulting company, the Balanced Scorecard Institute, that provides training in strategic management to all types of  organizations. He currently serves on the Board of Managers of the Washington Academy of Sciences and is a Fellow in the American Scientific Affiliation, the oldest US organization of evangelical Christians in the sciences.

Affilliated Staff

Edward G. Derrick became director of the AAAS Center of Science, Policy & Society Programs, under which DoSER falls, in July 2011 after serving as acting director for seven months. Ed first joined AAAS in 1998 as a member of the AAAS Research Competitiveness Program (RCP). RCP provides review and guidance to the science and innovation community. He became director of the program in January 2004, with responsibility for the development of new business and oversight of all aspects of the design and execution of projects. Ed has participated directly in over 50 RCP projects, having led committees to assist state and institutional planning for research, to review research centers and institutions and to advise state and international funds on major investments. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, with a dissertation in theoretical particle physics, and a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with an undergraduate thesis in biophysics. Prior to joining AAAS, he spent two years as an Alexander von Humboldt Fellow in Germany. He has worked for Ontario Hydro in the Nuclear Studies and Safety Division and consulted for the National Research Council.

Peyton West, directs the Help for Threatened Wildlife Foundation at the Frankfurt Zoological Society and helps DoSER with its initiatives concerning evangelical Christians and theological seminaries. An ardent advocate for science literacy she has promoted science through documentaries, web sites, museum exhibits, and television shows. She also worked in the Mammal department at the Bronx Zoo, and with the Bell Museum of Natural History in Minneapolis. Her dissertation research explored the evolution of the African lion's mane and she spent several years living and working in Tanzania and Kenya. She holds a bachelor's degree from Yale University and a Ph.D. in ecology from the University of Minnesota, and serves on the boards of Friends of the Earth U.S.

Mark S. Frankel directs the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program and is responsible for developing and managing AAAS activities related to science, ethics and law. He serves as Staff Officer to two AAAS committees: the Committee on Scientific Freedom and Responsibility and the AAAS-American Bar Association National Conference of Lawyers and Scientists. He is editor of Professional Ethics Report, the Program's quarterly newsletter, and is a Fellow of AAAS.