Timely, pressing issues informed and addressed by scientific expertise, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, illuminate the need for nations to collaborate across boundaries.

The 2021 AAAS Annual Meeting was unlike any other in the meeting's 187-year history, but the fully virtual setting did not dampen enthusiasm for sharing science in keeping with the “Understanding Diverse Ecosystems” meeting theme.

The president of Olin College of Engineering was selected by the membership of AAAS to serve as its president-elect.