Heading to Stanford University to talk about education avenues for synthetic biology then it’s off to Minneapolis, MN to speak at the Netroots Nation conference where I’ll address novel ways to get folks involved in scientific research and science policy discussions.
“…pushing the practice of online and offline organizing forward and changing the debate on policies.”
Science Policy in Unexpected Places
Fri, 06/17/2011 – 4:30pm, M100 H
In the last two years science has been restored to its rightful place, as scientific innovation has been put at the center of our national agenda. But American students lag the world in science education, and too many Americans think science is too hard, too scary or too boring. How can scientists and policymakers engage a public that too often thinks science is dull? How do we bring this wary public into crucial decisions about the jobs and industries and discoveries that will define the future? With trading cards that teach about conservation, cheerleaders who encourage citizen science, and outreach to weathercasters and moviemakers, this panel has done it and will tell you how to do the same.
PANELISTS: Josh Rosenau, John Abraham, Darlene Cavalier, Heidi Cullen, Rick Loverd, Shawn Otto
BioBricks at Stanford University: June 16, 2011
The emerging field of Synthetic Biology aims to utilize rapid developments in biotechnology to engineer synthetic biological systems for useful purposes, and in doing so, increase our understanding of and interactions with the natural world. SBx.0 draws attendees from around the world.
The SBx.0 international conference series is the preeminent meeting in the field of Synthetic Biology. Started in 2004 with SB1.0 at MIT, the conference was envisioned as an event that would bring together the then-nascent community of biological engineers who were utilizing DNA to build biological systems and bringing engineering principles to bear on biological problems.
SB1.0 through SB4.0 have hosted over 1,500 researchers from more than 18 countries and have been held on 3 continents. In addition to presentations of cutting-edge biotechnologies, the meetings have included discussions to place the research within its current and future social context, including issues of biosafety, biosecurity, bioethics, and intellectual property. Another unique feature of the conference series is that it brings together academic, government, and industrial researchers and students from a variety of disciplines, including engineering, molecular biology, computer science, biochemistry, biophysics, industrial biotechnology, biosecurity, environmental sciences, public policy and bioethics. This interdisciplinary gathering facilitates interactions between the researchers and others in support of the work and continues to build the community of biological engineers.
“Educational avenues for synthetic biology.” Participants:
Darlene Cavalier, ScienceCheerleader.com
King Lau Chow, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Jonathan Eisen, UC Davis and PLoS Biology
Ellen Jorgensen, Genspace NYC and New York Medical College
Ilona Miko, Nature Education
Judy Scotchmoor, UC Berkeley
Moderator: Natalie Kuldell, MIT