News: AAAS News & Notes
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SCIENCE
PROFILE
Peter Raven to Focus on Raising Profile of AAAS
 Peter H. Raven |
Many members of AAAS may have had their first look at Peter H. Raven in 1987, when he gave the association's keynote address at the annual meeting in Chicago. In a talk entitled "We're Killing Our World: The Global Ecosystem in Crisis," Raven warned that ignorance, poverty, and greed "are eradicating the lands and organisms that sustain life on this planet."
The key to proper management of the world's ecosystems "lies in an awareness of and compassion for all life," Raven told members of the association almost 15 years ago. A botanist and director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, Raven said in his address that the developing countries needed debt relief and trainin forestry and sustainable agricultural, and he chastised the developed world for not giving more food aid and technical assistance. Biodiversity is Raven's passion and he goes far in defining what threatens its survival and what will assure its vigor.
And when Raven talks about his future role as president of AAAS in 2001, he seems as intent on promoting the organization's qualities as he is on describing the beauty of nature.
"We want to establish in people's minds that AAAS offers considerable benefits, representing science to many different audiences and involving itself in areas of great interest to the scientific community," said Raven, in a recent interview. "The organization needs to confront how best to increase its visibility as a membership organization."
After he found out he had been elected president, Raven made the rounds of AAAS, stopping in to talk to program officers and trying to find out as much as he could about the activities of the organization.
He is particularly "proud" of the role AAAS's Directorate for Education and Human Resources Program is playing in improving science education, and in the recruitment and retention of women and minorities in the sciences.
"What I want to promote is the quality of opportunity so that individuals can pursue a variety of different roles," Raven said. "We can't maintain our scientific enterprise without doing a far better job of recruiting, retaining, and embracing African Americans, Hispanics, and members of other minority groups." Raven's international work, which has focused in particular on building the capacity of other countries for sustainable development, has also given him a strong sense of solidarity with an international community of scientists. His work explains his interest in AAAS's Science and Human Rights Program and in the organization's work building bridges among scientific communities worldwide.
"I think all international cooperation has to do with mutual respect," Raven said. "If we want to build a sustainable world, we need to develop international relationships. We must become partners for managing the planet together."
Scientists in the United States must be sensitive also to the culture of their own country, said Raven, which AAAS reflects in its willingness to address "the interplay between science and religion."
ŅI am proud that AAAS is willing to consider ways in which the two can complement each other," Raven said. "This is crucial for the future of science, as anyone knows who understands the character of the United States."
Raven grew up in San Francisco, where he began growing caterpillars into butterflies as a 6-year-old. His mother was a social worker and his father worked in the city water department. His scientific education began with guidance from staff at the California Academy of Sciences, where he became a student member when he was 8.
"My own experience is one of the reasons I am so interested in early science education and in the role of museums in encouraging people to pursue careers in science," Raven said.
In the April 26, 1999 issue of Time magazine, Raven was named a "Hero for the Planet," as part of the magazine's celebration of Earth Day. The words of Time writer Roger Rosenblatt may give AAAS members an idea of what is in store for them under Raven's leadership.
"His is one of those special minds that succeed with both the particular and general, with individual and collaborative pursuits," wrote Rosenblatt. ". . . he also developed a gift for bringing people together for worthwhile projects."
 Richard S. Nicholson |
AAAS
Richard
S. Nicholson to Retire
After 12 years of serving as Executive Officer of AAAS, Richard S. Nicholson
has told the AAAS Board of Directors that he would like to retire from the organization
as soon as a replacement has been named.
The board has established a search committee consisting of its current officers—president Mary Good, who will chair the committee, board chairman Stephen Jay Gould, and president-elect Peter Raven, as well as Floyd Bloom, who will be president-elect in 2001. Members are invited to send suggestions and recommendations to Mary Good, Chair of Search Committee, c/o Executive Office, AAAS, 1200 New York Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, 20005.
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Following are the results of the 2000 election. The slate and vote count are given for the president-elect and board members; for other offices, successful candidates are listed. Terms begin on 21 February 2001. General
Offices
President-Elect: Floyd E. Bloom (9414), Ralph J. Cicerone (6139). Board of Directors: Sylvester J. Gates, Jr. (5526), Karen A. Holbrook (8972), Victor Rabinowitch (6151), Lydia Villa-Komaroff (8077). Committee on Nominations: Andrea K. Dupree, M.R.C. Greenwood, Anna C. Roosevelt, Linda S. Wilson. Section
on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources
Chair-Elect: Ronald L. Phillips. Member-at-Large: Alan B. Bennett. Electorate Nominating Committee: Anne R. Kapuscinski, Susan R. McCouch. Section
on Anthropology
Chair-Elect: Lynne Goldstein. Member-at-Large: Leslie C. Aiello. Council Delegate: Robert W. Sussman. Electorate Nominating Committee: William C. McGrew, Linda D. Wolfe. Section
on Astronomy
Chair-Elect: Alan W. Harris. Member-at-Large: Caitlin Ann Griffith. Council Delegate: James M. Moran. Electorate Nominating Committee: Helmut A. Abt, Gerald J. Fishman. Section
on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences
Chair-Elect: Rana A. Fine. Member-at-Large: Richard C. J. Somerville. Electorate Nominating Committee: Barbara J. Turpin, Andrew J. Weaver. Section
on Biological Sciences
Chair-Elect: Marjorie L. Reaka-Kudla. Member-at-Large: John T. Longino. Council Delegates: Mary Mennes Allen, Mary E. Barbercheck, Barbara Bentley, Rachel Fink, Alan Hastings, David W. Inouye, John C. Ogden, Esther C. Peters, Arthur N. Popper, David Ucker. Electorate Nominating Committee: Hope Hollocher, Billie J. Swalla. Section
on Chemistry
Chair-Elect: Gary B. Schuster. Member-at-Large: C. Dale Poulter. Council Delegates: George L. Kenyon, Laura L. Kiessling, Kathlyn A. Parker, Robert J. Silbey. Electorate Nominating Committee: Dale L. Boger, Larry E. Overman. Section
on Dentistry
Chair-Elect: John J. Sauk. Member-at-Large: Keith E. Alley. Electorate Nominating Committee: James A. Lipton, Grayson W. Marshall, Jr. Section
on Education
Chair-Elect: Audrey B. Champagne. Member-at-Large: Henry W. Heikkinen. Electorate Nominating Committee: Diane M. Bunce, Arthur Eisenkraft. Section
on Engineering
Chair-Elect: Denice D. Denton. Member-at-Large: Ward O. Winer. Electorate Nominating Committee: Cristina H. Amon, Leo Young. Section
on General Interest in Science and Engineering
Chair-Elect: Elizabeth S. Hafen. Member-at-Large: Sharon Dunwoody. Electorate Nominating Committee: James M. McCullough, Susanna Hornig Priest. Section
on Geology and Geography
Chair-Elect: Kevin Burke. Member-at-Large: Carolyn S. Shoemaker. Council Delegate: Jere H. Lipps. Electorate Nominating Committee: Maureen E. Raymo, Kenneth L. Verosub. Section
on History and Philosophy of Science
Chair-Elect: Rosemary A. Stevens. Member-at-Large: Kathryn M. Olesko. Electorate Nominating Committee: Douglas Allchin, Karen Hunger Parshall. Section
on Industrial Science and Technology
Chair-Elect: William A. Golomski. Member-at-Large: Robert E. Schafrik. Electorate Nominating Committee: Neil Paton, James C. Tsang. Section
on Information, Computing, and Communication
Chair-Elect: Clifford Lynch. Member-at-Large: Mark Stefik. Electorate Nominating Committee: Lois F. Lunin, Daniel A. Reed. Section
on Linguistics and Language Science
Chair-Elect: Sheila E. Blumstein. Member-at-Large: Keren Rice. Electorate Nominating Committee: Ray Jackendoff, Barbara H. Partee. Section
on Mathematics
Chair-Elect: H. B. Keller. Member-at-Large: Martin Golubitsky. Council Delegate: Amy Cohen. Electorate Nominating Committee: John Guckenheimer, Ruth Williams. Section
on Medical Sciences
Chair-Elect: Rebecca H. Buckley. Member-at-Large: Elaine S. Jaffe. Electorate Nominating Committee: Ann E. Kelley, John Mendelsohn. Section
on Neuroscience
Chair-Elect: Lynn T. Landmesser. Member-at-Large: Ann M. Graybiel. Council Delegates: Joseph T. Coyle, Irwin B. Levitan. Electorate Nominating Committee: Jane Macpherson, Peter L. Strick. Section
on Pharmaceutical Sciences
Chair-Elect: Daniel L. Azarnoff. Member-at-Large: Ellen N. Cheung. Electorate Nominating Committee: Jeffrey L. Cleland, Rich B. Meyer, Jr. Section
on Physics
Chair-Elect: Martin Blume. Member-at-Large: Steven E. Koonin. Council Delegates: Claire Max, Paul S. Peercy. Electorate Nominating Committee: Arthur Bienenstock, Bunny C. Clark. Section
on Psychology
Chair-Elect: Charles G. Gross. Member-at-Large: Mary C. Potter. Electorate Nominating Committee: C. Sue Carter-Porges, Morton Ann Gernsbacher. Section
on Social, Economic, and Political Sciences
Chair-Elect: Edward O. Laumann. Member-at-Large: T. Paul Schultz. Electorate Nominating Committee: Wendy Baldwin, Ronald R. Rindfuss. Section
on Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering
Chair-Elect: Rachelle D. Hollander. Member-at-Large: Pilar N. Ossorio. Electorate Nominating Committee: Rachel E. Levinson, Anna C. Mastroianni. Section
on Statistics
Chair-Elect: Nancy Flournoy. Member-at-Large: Sally C. Morton. Electorate Nominating Committee: Agnes M. Herzberg, Scott L. Zeger. |
