Shirley Malcom Wins Special Award from Washington Academy of Sciences

Shirley Malcom, the head of Education and Human Resources at AAAS, has been named winner of the 2005 Special Award for Service to Science Education by the Washington Academy of Sciences.

The award was given to Malcom for her distinguished record of working to improve science, math and engineering education at every level, in the U.S. and worldwide. It will be presented at the Academy's annual meeting and awards banquet on 10 May in Vienna, Va.

"Shirley Malcom is not only superlative at her job of guiding the complex set of programs and projects that advance education in science, education and technology, but she does it with the grace, humor and integrity that make her an inspiration to those who work with and around her," said WAS President Peg Kay.

Malcom credited her colleagues and staff for helping to achieve success.

"While I have worked on science education issues with many groups in different parts of the world, it is always special when one is recognized 'at home,'" Malcom said. "On behalf of the entire team of staff and volunteers at AAAS who work to make science accessible to all, I am deeply honored and grateful."

As head of Education and Human Resources at AAAS, Malcom oversees an array of programs that serve students and educators, from the Internet curriculum resources of Science NetLinks to the Minority Scientists Network, or MiSciNet, and from the EntryPoint! internship program for students with disabilities to the award-winning Kinetic City after-school science game.

Malcom has built a broad record of accomplishment and advocacy in her career. She is regarded globally as a leader in efforts to improve science and engineering education and diversity in those fields. In 2003, she received the Public Welfare Medal of the National Academy of Sciences, the highest award given by the Academy. Last year, she was named one of the 50 most important African-Americans in research science by the editors of Science Spectrum and US Black Engineer & Information Technology magazines. She holds more than a dozen honorary degrees.

Last month, she was named to an elite panel convened by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III to develop reforms for America's troubled system of voting.

Malcom also serves on several boards—including the Howard Heinz Endowment and the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment—and is an honorary trustee of the American Museum of Natural History. She serves as a regent of Morgan State University and as a trustee of the California Institute of Technology.

She served on the National Science Board, the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation, from 1994 to 1998. From 1994-2001, she served on the President's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology.

The Washington Academy of Sciences was founded in 1898 by a group of scientists that included Alexander Graham Bell. The awards, presented annually since 1940, have gone to some of the most influential Washington D.C.-area scientists and science teachers of the modern era, including at least one Nobel Prize winner and leaders from top universities, labs and institutes.

The Academy will hold its annual meeting and awards banquet on 10 May at The Atrium at Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, Va. A social hour begins at 6 p.m., followed by dinner at 7 p.m. To register for the banquet, see the WAS Web site.

— Edward W. Lempinen

7 April 2005