AAAS Responds to Gulf Coast Hurricanes with Brokering Service and Freely Accessible Science Content

Hurricane Katrina survivor Seth Pincus, an immunologist, was among many scientists, engineers and teachers affected by Hurricane Katrina and its tragic aftermath. Pincus, evacuated from the Louisiana State University Children's Hospital in New Orleans, left hundreds of fragile blood and tissue samples — representing years of HIV and other infectious disease research — to an uncertain fate.

To help researchers in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas rebuild their communities, facilities and programs, AAAS is hosting an online brokering system for finding or donating computers, books, journals, lab equipment, lab space or teaching materials. At the same time, the journal Science, published by AAAS, has an online bibliography of freely accessible news, research and essay content related to hurricanes. It serves as an aid to policy-makers, scientists and the public in understanding the large-scale forces and smaller-scale scientific, social, political background to hurricane disasters.

"We wanted to extend our deepest sympathies, but also the use of our online resources, as well as relevant content from Science," said Alan I. Leshner, chief executive officer for AAAS and executive publisher of the journal. "We hope that this small contribution may prove useful for those researchers and educators who are struggling to recreate their programs or their classrooms, while also remaining competitive and effective."

To find or donate resources, click here. To read relevant Science content, click here.

The brokering site includes a set of links to responses by other scientific and engineering organizations as well as other hurricane-related resources from AAAS such as K-12 lesson plans from Science NetLinks. Information available from Science includes research suggesting that the Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard of the United States are at risk for more Katrina-level storms. In the North Atlantic, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has increased 54 percent, from 16 between 1975 and 1989 to 25 between 1990 and 2004.

AAAS and Science will continue to evaluate additional opportunities for responding to the Gulf Coast hurricanes, said Albert Teich, head of AAAS Science and Policy, as well as an internal Policy Alert initiative, which promotes rapid, association-wide responses to current events.

26 September 2005