A collection by SPI officers and guests alike.
March 28, 2017
The AAAS Annual Meeting is a great event if you’re a scientist interested in policy. It’s also a great event if you’re not.
After the daily sessions are concluded, the plenary talks begins. The plenary talk is open to the public and targeted at broad (scientific) audiences. For example, the second plenary was given by Dr. May Berenbaum, who is a professor of entomology, on the current scientific understanding of the causes of colony collapse disorder (CCD). CCD is the disorder that is currently endangering North America’s bee population and consequently the agriculture industry. Her talk highlighted the importance of global collaboration in order to progress the science, but it also highlighted how scientific inventions from the 19th century and policy decisions from the early 20th century can impact the problems we are facing today. As a scientist, I find listening to a tale of scientific breakthroughs and failures is better than any movie.
Since the AAAS Meeting draws scientist from near and far, there is always an international reception where you can mingle and meet all sorts of scientists (and journalists and spouses). This year’s reception was held at the Skywalk in the Prudential Tower. While enjoying the view, I was asked about how you would spell coffee using none of the original letters. There was no right answer; this was just one of Dr. Martin Apple’s go-to icebreakers. I later learned that Dr. Apple conducted some of the pioneering work on genetic engineering, but his scientific accomplishments still only placed second with his family taking first hands down.
So even if you’re not that into policy, the AAAS Meeting offers some unique experiences for a graduate student and might expose you to some new perspectives. And maybe, at the end, you might be one of those scientists who has an interest in the role policy plays in science.