Iceland is well known for its Viking past and as the site of political summits. Add the fact that the nation straddles the two tectonic plates that make up Europe and North America and is celebrating its 1000-year history of Christianity, and Iceland makes an interesting setting for a discussion on science and religion.

A recent conference in Reykjavik and Thingvellir focused on ways in which science and religion can contribute jointly to sustaining and enhancing our world in the future. The conference brought together scientific and religious scholars and political and cultural leaders interested in the future roles of

science and religion. The participants in "Iceland 2000: Faith in the Future," held on 5–8 July 2000, represented a broad range of religious and cultural backgrounds, coming from Denmark, France, Iceland, Israel, Kenya, Norway, Switzerland, Trinidad, and the United States.

Keynote addresses were delivered by David Oddsson, prime minister of Iceland, and Karl Sigurbjörnsson, bishop of Iceland. Oddsson said that it is important to explore such questions as whether religious belief stands firm or has been weakened by scientific thinking, and whether more religious guidance is necessary when complicated moral questions arise due to the new possibilities science presents.

Oddsson pointed out that religious institutions have led the pursuit of knowledge in Iceland. "The arts and sciences were cultivated in ecclesiastical centers, and seminaries were the country's first educational institutions," Oddsson said in a conference statement. "In this way, religion and science have always walked together in the history of Iceland."

"Gone are the days of old-fashioned scientific materialism. Gone are the days of simple strife between those who were for science and those who were advocates of faith," said Sigurbjörnsson in a conference statement. "These are no longer hostile dimensions in a scholarly sense. Adherents of science need not be atheists, and people of religion listen carefully to the voices of science. The religions of the world and science can lend each other a helping hand and work together for the common good of humanity."

Al Teich, director of AAAS's Science and Policy Programs, and Vilhjálmur Ludviksson, director of the Icelandic Research Council, co-moderated a plenary session that discussed the potential and limits of science and religion and the nature and purpose of human life. Teich, Joel Primack (professor of physics at the University of California, Santa Cruz), and Nancey Murphy (professor of Christian philosophy at Fuller Theological Seminary) participated in a session to discuss AAAS's Dialogue on Science, Ethics, and Religion program. Primack, who chairs the advisory committee for the AAAS program, and Nancy Abrams also conducted a session on "How Modern Cosmology Can Nourish the Spiritual Imagination."

Sessions were held on a number of other topics, including theology and physics, cosmology, social change and religion, science in Islam and Hinduism, and the relevance of Jesus Christ in the midst of religions, ideologies, ashrams, and cults of India today. The conference was organized by the Church of Iceland and The Icelandic Institute of Futures Studies, and cosponsored by AAAS and other organizations.
In a final message, the conference participants challenged scientists, scientific organizations, and funding agencies to direct more attention and resources toward the study and solution of pressing global problems. The participants challenged religion and science collectively to respond more effectively to human needs and to promote genuine harmony between spiritual and scientific principles and their application to all aspects of human life. They also challenged the guiding institutions of society, especially educational institutions, to listen to the views of both science and religion and to reap the benefits of fuller integration of these two aspects of civilization.

"The Iceland conference is just one of the ways that AAAS has been able to help provide opportunities for dialogue between members of the scientific and religious communities," Teich said. "It's important that we continue such collaboration as we explore the ethical and religious implications of the increasing number of complex scientific developments."

INTERNATIONAL
The U.S.'s Best Students Participate in Asian Science Festival

Twenty of the nation's most gifted and innovative young scientists took part in this year's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) Youth Science Festival, which was held in Singapore from 25 July through 2 August. These U.S. high school students were selected by a AAAS panel of reviewers with cooperation from six other organizations that are part of a nationwide AAAS network to facilitate international science education in the United States.

The science festival is an open stage for young scientists all over the world to show their scientific prowess. "At a time when the United States' science and math education system is being criticized for falling short when compared to other nations, the festival offered a chance for American students to show their strength in these areas," said Michael Snyder, director of the Pacific Rim Initiative at AAAS.

Students presented projects from a wide variety of topics. One student, Nisha Nagarkatti, presented her findings that the presence of Fas ligand in colon carcinomas, hepatocellular carcinomas, and astrocytoma impedes successful chemotherapy. Another student, Jennifer Pelka, presented her findings of a new class of graphs with self-complementary degree sequences.

In addition to the demonstration of research projects, key events at the festival included youth exhibitions of inventions and science-related artworks, cultural performances, hands-on science field trips, scientific lectures, and other activities with APEC counterparts.

All of the events at the festival were intended to have a major educational impact, as well as to encourage the students to network and develop international career prospects. "Overall, the festival is intended to enrich and complement the lifelong learning and educational experiences of the students," Snyder said. The U.S. students were accompanied by five chaperones.

Some 46 students and 11 chaperones were nominated to participate in the festival. The students that were selected were believed to be the best that the United States had to offer, as demonstrated by their success in U.S. science competitions. The chaperones that were chosen were high school teachers or college/university professors who would be able to serve as mentors and work closely with the students. Chaperones included Claudette Bradley, an associate professor of education at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, who is the coordinator for the American Indian Science and Engineering Society Summer Camp, and Marnie Boyd, the coordinator of the Pre-Freshman Program in Engineering and Science at Chicago State University.

A key goal of AAAS was to build a delegation of students and chaperones that is representative of American geography, race, gender, rural/urban population distribution, and other factors, Snyder said. With grant support from the National Science Foundation, AAAS is administering all preparations and logistics for the students and chaperones for this year's and future festivals expected to be held in 2002 and 2004.

The first festival was held in 1998 in Seoul, Korea, in an effort to increase APEC youths' awareness of science. "The festivals are important for encouraging the next generation of scientists, entrepreneurs, educators, and leaders and will have a crucial impact on the development of the Pacific Rim region," Snyder said.