AAAS Conversation on Science and Society

Introduction

With this posting, the AAAS Board of Directors initiates a new form of communication with the scientific community -- a Conversation on Science and Society. We hope to capture some of the complex and thoughtful views of association members on changing societal concerns and their implications for science's responsibility to society. The position paper designed to begin the discussion, "Conversations with the Community: AAAS at the Millennium," was published in the 19 December issue of Science.

We invite you to participate in the first AAAS Conversation on Science and Society in any of the following ways:

Comment on AAAS at the Millennium, the Board position paper.
Respond to one of the the online survey responses leading up to the paper.
Introduce a new discussion topic.
Return to read comments on your contributions and so continue the conversation.

Salient portions of this conversation will be summarized for follow-up discussions at the AAAS 150th Anniversary Meeting in Philadelphia, PA on February 12-17, 1998. The discussions will take place in several venues, including Section meetings, the Council meeting, and the AAAS Fellows Forum.

The conversation and follow-up discussions will contribute to the science policy and science education effort currently underway in the U.S. Congress under the leadership of Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI). Congressman Ehlers has asked AAAS to provide input from the scientific community for this endeavor. Congressman Ehlers' Science Policy Study is expected to revise and extend Vannevar Bush's visionary report, "Science--The Endless Frontier," written in 1945 and widely seen as the basis for America's social contract with science.

The initial conversation will also help place new issues on the AAAS agenda and identify topics for further conversations to take place during 1998.

Introduction

AAAS at the Millenium Board Position Paper

The AAAS Board of Directors invites you to help develop a Framework for Federal Science Policy

AAAS Conversation on Science & Society

Response to Survey
Dr. C. Eugene Allen, Dr. Patricia A. Anderson, Dr. Richard Atkinson, Dr. Mary Ellen Avery, Dr. Dorothy F. Bainton, Dr. Allen J. Bard, Dr. Joost Businger, Dr. Barry Commoner, Dr. Mildred Dresselhaus, Dr. Joseph G. Gavin, Dr. Carroll Ann Hodges, Dr. Gerald Holton, Dr. Leon Lederman, Dr. William A. Lester, Jr., Dr. Simon Levin, Dr. Marcia C. Linn, Dr. Mike McCormack, Dr. Gerard Piel, Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg