Author Archive for homer

Fermilab poised to hit the off switch: With accelerator’s shutdown, lab will go from key quarterback to lowly lineman for particle physics

Published on September 30, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 0 Comments

Tevatron ring ( Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune / September 28, 2011 )

By Ted Gregory from Chicago Tribune

The wisecrack circulating at less than light speed around Fermilab’s Batavia campus is that by 2 p.m. Friday, this destination for particle physicists won’t be as sexy as it once was.
What has made many scientists’ hearts thump is the Tevatron accelerator — an underground loop that accelerates protons for the head-on collisions that have provided breakthrough science. But the “600-pound gorilla” of high-energy physics will power down after a run of more than two decades.
The historic event will last about 30 minutes. And when it’s over and the last particle makes its way around the accelerator’s 4-mile ring, the laboratory, one scientist lamented, will go from being the quarterback of the global physics football team to grinding away as a lineman.

 

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Surveys confirm enormous value of science museums, ‘free choice’ learning

Published on April 9, 2011 in News. 0 Comments

hickerphoto.com

From Oregon State University’s EurekaAlert service:

CORVALLIS, Ore. – One of the first studies of its type has confirmed that a science museum can strongly influence the public’s knowledge and attitudes about science and technology, and to a surprising degree can cut across racial, ethnic, educational and economic barriers.

The study focused on the California Science Center in Los Angeles, and offers profound support for the value of such institutions. It also reinforces the emerging concept of “free choice” learning, which holds that people get most of their knowledge about science from someplace other than school or formal education.

The comprehensive, multi-year analysis was one of the first of its kind ever done, researchers said, based on extensive surveys of thousands of adults in the past decade by scientists from Oregon State University. The findings were recently published in the Journal of Research in Science Teaching.

“The holy grail of science museums is not to provide someone all the knowledge they need, but to inspire them, to become a launching point,” said John Falk, an OSU professor of science education and national leader in the free-choice learning movement. “Many people have believed that such institutions could do this, but this study provides some of the first definitive evidence that it works.

‘Free choice’ learning proposes that out-of-school experience is more effective than in-school experience, learningwise. In other words, the world is the real school. What are the implications of taking that seriously and making local, regional, and national planning and design choices accordingly?

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Men With Nets Meet Scientists With Clipboards

Published on March 7, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 1 Comment

From Lekelia D. Jenkins in the New York Times blog “Scientist at Work”:

The past couple of days have felt a bit like a stage in the show “The Amazing Race.” We were on a mission to collect specific information in a set period of time and were willing to go to extremes to get it. We got wet, dirty and hot, and tried traditional foods that might give some people pause. We unexpectedly rented a boat and had confusing conversations with the captain about our destination, and yes, there was even a television camera involved. But I should start at the beginning…

Last Thursday was a hectic day. It started with reporters from Ecuadorean television and print news interviewing Patrick Christie, the project co-leader, in Spanish about what we are doing. After that, things just picked up steam. If not for our casual dress, passers-by might have mistaken us for lawyers prepping for a trial.

In a way, they would have been right: Rather than preparing for a trial in a courtroom, we were gearing up for different sort of trial known as a field test.

Environmental science meets cross-cultural social science to obtain quality data on the impact of fishing practices.

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Less than half of students proficient in science

Published on February 1, 2011 in News and Newsletter. 1 Comment

From Christine Armario in The Boston Globe:

Very few students have the advanced skills that could lead to careers in science and technology, according to results of a national exam released Tuesday that education leaders called alarming.

Only 1 percent of fourth-grade and 12th-grade students, and 2 percent of eighth-graders scored in the highest group on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress, a federal test known as the Nation’s Report Card. Less than half were considered proficient, with many more showing minimal science knowledge.

“It’s very disappointing for all educators to see students performing below the level we’d like them to be,” said Bonnie Embry, an elementary school science lab teacher in Lexington, Ky. “These low scores should send a message to educators across our nation that we’re not spending enough time teaching science.”

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the results mean students aren’t learning at a rate that will maintain the nation’s role as an international leader in the sciences. He and others expressed concern that more students aren’t prepared for careers as inventors, doctors and engineers in a world increasingly driven by technology.

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The Challenge of Feeding Scientific Advice into Policy-Making

Published on January 11, 2011 in News. 2 Comments

From Roland Schenkel in Science:

Both the United States and the European Union are facing new challenges in terms of how science is viewed and used. There continues to be tension between scientific information and societal and political priorities. How can we explain the gap between science and policy-making while confronting misperceptions and promoting positive views of science among the public?

The United States and the European Union have recently undergone major political changes, reflected in a reevaluation of the role of science in the policy-making apparatus. The Obama Administration has focused on science as a central component of the policy agenda. Concrete measures include reinvigorating the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST); increasing investment in research and education; and appointing respected scientists, such as John Holdren and Stephen Chu, to senior-level positions. Similarly in Europe, the president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has initiated the Europe 2020 agenda, which has research and innovation at its core. Perhaps less trumpeted but also important has been President Barroso’s announcement of the creation of a Chief Scientific Adviser position.

However, our governments are currently faced with a significant financial crisis. Will they continue to take a long-term view and invest in the future? Or will they succumb to pressures and cut funding for science? Likewise, will the scientific community be modest enough to accept that science is just one important consideration on the table when decision-makers have to make choices? What follows is a plea for a more frequent and more issue-driven dialog between policy-makers, the scientific community, and all relevant stakeholders, based on observations that have shaped my career in providing scientific advice.

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Published on January 4, 2011 in Uncategorized. 1 Comment

From Emma Graves Fitzsimmons in The New York Times:

DARIEN, Ill. — When one team’s model helicopter broke before a recent science competition here, the students made a replacement at the last minute using a pizza box and a rubber band.

Things do not always go as planned at the competition, which one teacher called a “track-and-field event for nerds.” But a high school sophomore, John Hickernell, said he was happy just to be at the event, the Illinois Science Olympiad, after one team had to back out at the last minute because members could not raise enough money to attend.

“I’m upset about my event,” John said. “Imagine not even getting to compete at all.”

Securing financing for these competitions and for the time-honored local science fair has become increasingly difficult because of the poor economy, organizers say. Sponsors have dropped out of local science fairs, while some schools are scaling back extracurricular activities, including science programs, because of state budget cuts.

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Women scientists must speak out

Published on December 12, 2010 in News. 1 Comment

Jennifer Rohn

From the “World View” column in Nature:

Despite decades of awareness, science is still inherently sexist. Women are vastly under-represented in professorships and in national academies worldwide. This is a familiar problem, but less highlighted is how the discrepancy plays out in the public arena of science — the media.

Male science pundits dominate television, radio and print — including the pages of opinion and comment in this journal. This imbalance cannot simply be explained by the shortage of female professors, as many male pundits are still at an early stage of their academic careers, when genders are better balanced. So what is behind this effective invisibility of women scientists in our media? And why does it matter?

Many people think that women themselves are to blame for the male-dominated media, in science and other subjects. Women, who often bear the brunt of domestic obligations, are said to have less time than men to participate in activities outside their work. And female colleagues tend to say that they do not feel eminent or qualified enough to comment. Perhaps this points to a question of confidence — one that does not seem to bother most men. Women may also be uncomfortable with the cut and thrust of conflict and debate. Indeed, at scientific seminars I have attended, most of the questions come from men, despite the audience usually containing an equal number of women. Voicing one’s opinion in a public arena is a charged activity that seems to discourage many women, yet this is precisely the skill that a good pundit needs.

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U.S. Says Genes Should Not Be Eligible for Patents

Published on October 30, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

patent2From Andrew Pollack in The New York Times:

Reversing a longstanding policy, the federal government said on Friday that human and other genes should not be eligible for patents because they are part of nature. The new position could have a huge impact on medicine and on the biotechnology industry.

The new position was declared in a friend-of-the-court brief filed by the Department of Justice late Friday in a case involving two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer.

“We acknowledge that this conclusion is contrary to the longstanding practice of the Patent and Trademark Office, as well as the practice of the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies that have in the past sought and obtained patents for isolated genomic DNA,” the brief said.

It is not clear if the position in the legal brief, which appears to have been the result of discussions among various government agencies, will be put into effect by the Patent Office.

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Government Scientists Go Public: Website will Speak Up for Science

Published on October 27, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

ca-flag2From a Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada press release:

Ottawa, October 18, 2010 – Today, the union that represents federal government scientists launches a campaign to put the spotlight on science for the public good.

“Federal government scientists work hard to protect Canadians, preserve their environment and ensure our country’s prosperity but they face dwindling resources and confusing policy decisions,” says Gary Corbett, president of the Institute.

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada is a national union. Among its 59,000 federal and provincial members are 23,000 professionals who deliver, among other knowledge products, scientific research, testing and advice for sound policy-making.

The recent decision to end the mandatory long form census is the latest step in a worrying trend away from evidence-based policy making. Restrictive rules are curtailing media and public access to scientists, while cutbacks to research and monitoring limit Canada’s ability to deal with serious threats and potential opportunities.

A new online information and action centre launched today – PUBLICSCIENCE.ca – (http://publicscience.ca) features interviews with the professionals who do science for the public good, experts who understand the critical importance of this work, and Canadians whose lives have been touched by public science.

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Science scorned

Published on September 10, 2010 in News. 0 Comments

rush_limbaugh_smoking_a_cigarNature Editorial:

The anti-science strain pervading the right wing in the United States is the last thing the country needs in a time of economic challenge.

“The four corners of deceit: government, academia, science and media. Those institutions are now corrupt and exist by virtue of deceit. That’s how they promulgate themselves; it is how they prosper.” It is tempting to laugh off this and other rhetoric broadcast by Rush Limbaugh, a conservative US radio host, but Limbaugh and similar voices are no laughing matter.

There is a growing anti-science streak on the American right that could have tangible societal and political impacts on many fronts — including regulation of environmental and other issues and stem-cell research. Take the surprise ousting last week of Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent Republican senator for Alaska, by political unknown Joe Miller in the Republican primary for the 2 November midterm congressional elections. Miller, who is backed by the conservative ‘Tea Party movement’, called his opponent’s acknowledgement of the reality of global warming “exhibit ‘A’ for why she needs to go”.

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As educators, scientists should redouble their efforts to promote rationalism, scholarship and critical thought among the young, and engage with both the media and politicians to help illuminate the pressing science-based issues of our time.

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