Science Is Not Enough: AAAS Panel on Public Engagement to Be Webcast Live from Vancouver

Clockwise from top-left: Panelists James Hansen, Olivia Judson, Hans Rosling, and moderator Frank Sesno

Why is it that so many citizens and policymakers around the world remain unconcerned about global challenges like climate change, water scarcity, polluted oceans, genetic engineering, and the spread of infectious disease?

Scientists and educators must explore new ways of engaging the public on these challenges, according to an exceptional panel of experts gathering next week at the 2012 AAAS Annual Meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Their discussion, led by AAAS President Nina V. Fedoroff, will be featured in a live video Webcast on Saturday 18 February from 5:00-6:30 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.

The panelists include James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and adjunct professor of earth and environmental sciences at Columbia University; Olivia Judson, research fellow at Imperial College London; and Hans Rosling, professor of international health at the Karolinska Institute and co-founder of the Gapminder Foundation. The panel will be moderated by Frank Sesno, former CNN Washington bureau chief and director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University.

The event will be held at the Vancouver Convention Centre, West Building, Ballroom C. The audience is invited to submit questions to the panel via Twitter using the hashtag #AAASMtg.

Becky Ham

9 February 2012