The 2006 Annual Meeting truly reflects the theme of "Grand Challenges, Great Opportunities" with symposia spanning all disciplines and many important societal problems. The following four Presidential Tracks reflect many pressing science and technology issues of our time and are illustrative of the rich offerings of the total program. These symposia challenge us as scientists, engineers, teachers, and citizens to frame important scientific and societal problems in ways that create opportunities to apply the best in science and technology for breakthrough benefits, not just incremental progress.

For complete details for each symposia listed below, please visit the symposium area.

Scientific Frontiers

• Million-Dollar Mathematics: Challenge Problems in the 21st Century
• Proteomics: Perceptions, Promises, and Pitfalls
• Embryonic and Adult Stem Cells: Basic Science and Public Policy
• Stem Cells and Society: Assessing a Grand Challenge
• Global Discovery on the Internet
• Demography of Black Holes

Environment, Energy and Economic Development

• Climate Change, Risk Management, and the Next 100 Years
• Decarbonization of the U.S. Energy Mix
• Environmental Sustainability in Rapidly Developing Countries: Lessons from China
• Mobilizing Science to End Poverty in the Developing World
• S&T for Economic and Social Development:
  What Works, and How Do We Know It?
• Science and the End of Poverty
• Whither UNESCO?  Science, Poverty, and Peace

Understanding and Reducing Risks

• Challenges from Risk-Risk Trade-Offs
• Does Blood Lead Affect Child Development at
  Levels Below 10 Micrograms per Deciliter?
• Weighing the Risks and Benefits of Seafood Consumption
• Microbial Resistance: A Threat to Global Health
• Managing Rivers, Floodplains, and Flood Hazards
  for the New Millennium
• Disasters and Development: Natural Disaster Mitigation in Developing Countries
• Biosecurity Challenges in the Post 9-11 World
• Science and Engineering Challenges in Homeland Security and Disaster Response

Public Understanding of Science

• Science Under Attack
• Constitutional Principles and Legal Strategies in the Creation and Evolution Debates
• Anti-Evolutionism in America: What's Ahead?
• The Goldilocks Dilemma Facing Science Funding: Can It Be Just Right?
• Implementation of Experimental Research in Science Education
• NUMB3RS and the Challenge of Changing Public Perception of Mathematics
• Advancing Women in Science Through Institutional Transformation