Hundreds Gather in London to Celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Science

On 14 July, more than 300 friends of AAAS gathered at London's Natural History Museum to celebrate the 125th anniversary of Science, the journal of AAAS. Scientists, policymakers and other AAAS supporters marked the publishing milestone with an evening of celebration in the museum's Earth Galleries.

Among the guests were some of the U.K.'s most well known people in science—including Sir Peter Knight, professor of quantum optics and head of the Physics Department at Imperial College London; Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered pulsars; and Julia Higgins, chair of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council. They joined Science Editor in Chief Donald Kennedy and European Managing Editor Andrew Sugden.

Kennedy addressed the guests, remarking that the past year has been an extraordinary one for science. He pointed out that the enterprise of science—and the journal Science—have become much more international and collaborative, and cited the collaborations in the most recent issue of the journal as an example. This issue featured research by U.S. scientists working with scientists in such far-reaching countries as the Netherlands, Germany, Russia, Canada, the U.K., Japan, Denmark and Australia.

Kennedy also recognized the outstanding scientific accomplishments achieved this year—in areas ranging from stem cells to the cosmos—and discussed the emerging convergence between new science and politics.

The BBC recognized the significance of the 125th anniversary of Science with a feature on its evening news.

To read more coverage of Science's 125th Anniversary, go to our special anniversary page.

Catherine O'Malley

19 July 2005