AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle
Presents Science at Leading Edge

Offering a program of 130 symposia, plenary and topical lectures; and seminars on nanotechnology, vaccines and proteomics, the AAAS Annual Meeting serves as a forum for researchers who want their work to have impact across the disciplines of science and among lay citizens, sparking collaborations and new avenues of research.

"AAAS draws its members from all fields of science and engineering, as well as from the lay public," says AAAS CEO Alan Leshner. "Our annual meeting reflects this inclusiveness; it gives the scientific community an opportunity to disseminate its work, while providing members of the public with a sense of the impact of science and innovation on their daily lives."

In 2004, the AAAS Annual Meeting is taking place in Seattle from 12-16 February, and draws speakers and panelists from throughout the world: The nanotechnology seminar, for example, will feature guest speaker Ezio Andreta, Director for Industrial Technologies, European Commission.

The Republic of Korea is represented through the words of Young il Park, Ministry of Science and Technology, whose talk is entitled, "Innovation to Creativity: The Dynamics of Korea's S&T Policy in the Global Economy."

The event also provides an opportunity to focus on the other end of the pipeline, to attract children to the world of science. In partnership with two local Seattle institutions, AAAS is co-sponsoring Family Science Days, a new two-day event that will bring parents and children from traditionally under-served communities directly to the Seattle Convention Center to explore freshwater ecosystems and to investigate the content and properties of soil and to test rocks and minerals for hardness, luster and mineral content.

"Often, these families have little positive experience with the school system, and may be intimidated by 'real science,'" says Amy Hale Program Director for Family Science at the Institute for Systems Biology, and one of the principle organizers of the event. "Science can seem alienating, scary and 'too hard.' Informal science venues spark an early interest in science phenomenon and help change the perception of science as a barrier."

8 January 2004