AAAS
Physicist Shirley Ann Jackson to Become AAAS President

During the upcoming AAAS Annual Meeting in February 2004, physicist Shirley Ann Jackson will begin her year as president of AAAS, an organization whose "inclusiveness" she views as among its greatest assets.

"Because anyone can join the organization, because it represents most scientific disciplines, the AAAS is a key forum for addressing a world in which the edges of science are blurring," said Jackson, president of the Rennselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in Troy, NY. "The greatest progress occurs at the intersection of disciplines, and increasingly requires teaming and collaboration among a wide variety of fields."

A former chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (1995–1999), AAAS's new president is the first African-American woman to receive a doctorate from M.I.T., and one of the first two to be awarded Ph.D.s in physics in the United States. Educated as an elementary particle physicist, Jackson went on to work at several laboratories, including the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory and the European Organization for Nuclear Research. She joined AT&T Bell Laboratories in 1976, and in 1991 became a professor of physics at Rutgers University. She served on the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology and has been a director of a number of Fortune 500 companies. Recently, Jackson was elected to the newly reconstituted Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange.

Former AAAS President Mary Good says that AAAS members can look forward to a president with great vision and a reputation for decisive action.

"Shirley has a presence that conveys to people that this is a person who is in charge of herself, and who has a purpose in life," says Good, who was also a member of the RPI search committee that named Jackson president. "As RPI president, she is able to lead the students, the faculty, the board of trustees; as president of AAAS, she has a vision for what the world will be like in the 21st century, and she will inspire members of the scientific community to play an ever greater role in addressing society's most intractable problems."

In her candidate's statement for president-elect, with which Jackson successfully wooed AAAS members just over a year ago, she lauded the role of science in creating "the new knowledge that drives economies and increases sustainable sources of energy." She also called for "stable, balanced R&D support," and for the participation in the scientific enterprise of "research universities, industry, and the corporate sector, and every level of government."

Jackson added a note of caution, however, one that appears in almost every speech she gives: "A large proportion of today's scientists and engineers will retire within the decade, yet graduate and undergraduate degrees in science, engineering, mathematics and technologies are not keeping pace in sufficient numbers to replace them." Jackson calls this "the graying of the present science and engineering workforce," and she has a solution.

The key is to draw on talent from among the ranks of "the new majority," Jackson said, the young women, young people with disabilities, and minority youth who are currently underrepresented among scientists and engineers. She noted that AAAS's commitment to science education and to "enhance the science and technology workforce and infrastructure" fits in well with her mission to "close the talent gap." She proposes engaging very young children in this process, because building a high-quality workforce will take time, "like scientific research itself."

Mary Ellen Avery, current AAAS president, will become chair of the AAAS Board in February; Gilbert S. Omenn was recently elected president for 2005.

ANNUAL MEETING
AAAS to Launch Center for Public Engagement

Responding to the urgent need for a forum that brings scientists and the public together to discuss issues of pressing concern to society, AAAS is launching the new Center for Public Engagement in Science and Technology at its Annual Meeting in Seattle. For the first in a series of events to be held under the aegis of the center, AAAS is planning a town hall meeting on marine science on 15 February that will allow the public to comment on how best to use the ocean's resources, while preventing their depletion.

"With the launching of this new center, AAAS aims to forge a more open dialogue between the scientific community and the general public," said AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner. "Not only does the public need to understand the work of scientists better, but the scientific community needs to know more about, and respond to, both the hopes and the concerns the public has about science-related issues."

Results of the 2003 Election of AAAS Officers

Following are the results of the 2003 election. Terms begin on 17 February 2004.

General Offices

President-Elect: Gilbert S. Omenn. Board of Directors: John E. Dowling, Kathryn D. Sullivan. Committee on Nominations: Paul A. Fleury, Robert D. Goldman, Alice S. Huang, Sheila S. Jasanoff.

Section on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources

Chair-Elect: Robert M. Goodman. Member-at-Large: Christina Walters. Electorate Nominating Committee: Thomas H. DeLuca, Clare M. Hasler.

Section on Anthropology

Chair-Elect: Laurie R. Godfrey. Member-at-Large: Susan Antón. Electorate Nominating Committee: Kenneth A. R. Kennedy, Kathy Schick. Council Delegate: George R. Milner.

Section on Astronomy

Chair-Elect: Bruce Margon. Member-at-Large: Jill C. Tarter. Electorate Nominating Committee: Ruth A. Daly, Stephen E. Strom. Council Delegate: David Morrison.

Section on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences

Chair-Elect: David Halpern. Member-at-Large: Antonio J. Busalacchi. Electorate Nominating Committee: Peter V. Hobbs, Thomas C. Royer.

Section on Biological Sciences

Chair-Elect: Margaret G. Kidwell. Member-at-Large: Nina Strömgren Allen. Electorate Nominating Committee: Linda C. McPhail, Virginia A. Zakian. Council Delegates: Mary E. Barbercheck, Barbara Bentley, Jerry L. Bryant, Mary Alice Coffroth, Yolanda P. Cruz, Susan A. Henry, Hope Hollocher, Esther C. Peters, Gerald P. Schatten, David Ucker.

Section on Chemistry

Chair-Elect: George L. Kenyon. Member-at-Large: Marsha I. Lester. Electorate Nominating Committee: Stephen R. Leone, Patricia A. Thiel. Council Delegates: Dennis P. Curran, Christopher S. Foote, Kathlyn A. Parker.

Section on Dentistry and Oral Health Sciences

Chair-Elect: Peter J. Polverini. Member-at-Large: James A. Lipton. Electorate Nominating Committee: William Giannobile, Dennis F. Mangan.

Section on Education

Chair-Elect: Eugenie C. Scott. Member-at-Large: Kathryn C. Scantlebury. Electorate Nominating Committee: Mary Morgan Kirchhoff, Jay B. Labov.

Section on Engineering

Chair-Elect: Cristina H. Amon. Member-at-Large: Christopher T. Hill. Electorate Nominating Committee: Martha L. Gray, Irene C. Peden.

Section on General Interest in Science and Engineering

Chair-Elect: Rick E. Borchelt. Member-at-Large: Judith E. Parker. Electorate Nominating Committee: Jonathan Coopersmith, Leslie Sue Lieberman.

Section on Geology and Geography

Chair-Elect: John C. Mutter. Member-at-Large: Murray W. Hitzman. Electorate Nominating Committee: Roberta L. Rudnick, Cindy Lee Van Dover. Council Delegate: Dave Applegate.

Section on History and Philosophy of Science

Chair-Elect: Angela N. H. Creager. Member-at-Large: Rosemary A. Stevens. Electorate Nominating Committee: Stephen G. Brush, Barbara Herrnstein Smith.

Section on Industrial Science and Technology

Chair-Elect: Sally A. Rood. Member-at-Large: Thomas H. Moss. Electorate Nominating Committee: Richard A. Bendis, John C. Nemeth.

Section on Information, Computing, and Communication

Chair-Elect: C. William Gear. Member-at-Large: Edward D. Lazowska. Electorate Nominating Committee: Jose-Marie Griffiths, Helga E. Rippen.

Section on Linguistics and Language Science

Chair-Elect: Merrill F. Garrett. Member-at-Large: Laura-Ann Petitto. Electorate Nominating Committee: Suzanne Flynn, Thomas Wasow.

Section on Mathematics

Chair-Elect: Barbara Lee Keyfitz. Member-at-Large: Walter Craig. Electorate Nominat-ing Committee: Christopher I. Byrnes, Amy Cohen. Council Delegate: Ronald Graham.

Section on Medical Sciences

Chair-Elect: Stanley M. Lemon. Member-at-Large: Lawrence Corey. Electorate Nominating Committee: Susan L. Swain, Elizabeth L. Travis.

Section on Neuroscience

Chair-Elect: Fred H. Gage. Member-at-Large: Pat Levitt. Electorate Nominating Committee: Richard A. Andersen, Story C. Landis. Council Delegates: Mahlon R. DeLong, Thomas A. Woolsey.

Section on Pharmaceutical Sciences

Chair-Elect: Darrell R. Abernethy. Member-at-Large: Philip C. Smith. Electorate Nominating Committee: Margaret O. James,
Diane D.-S. Tang-Liu.

Section on Physics

Chair-Elect: Margaret J. Geller. Member-at-Large: Margaret Mary Murnane. Electorate Nominating Committee: Jolie A. Cizewski, S. Tom Picraux. Council Delegates: Stephen L. Adler, Kathryn A. Moler.

Section on Psychology

Chair-Elect: Elissa L. Newport. Member-at-Large: Morris Moscovitch. Electorate Nominating Committee: Susan Goldin-Meadow, Terry E. Robinson.

Section on Social, Economic, and Political Sciences

Chair-Elect: Kenneth Prewitt. Member-at-Large: Virginia S. Cain. Electorate Nominating Committee: Kenneth A. Bollen, Susan L. Cutter.

Section on Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering

Chair-Elect: David H. Guston. Member-at-Large: Susan E. Cozzens. Electorate Nominating Committee: Kenneth H. Keller, Rae Zimmerman.

Section on Statistics

Chair-Elect: Edward J. Wegman. Member-at-Large: Agnes M. Herzberg. Electorate Nominating Committee: David L. DeMets, Earl S. Pollack.