BISO News – Past Issue 7 September 2003

BISO BRIEFS

Website Updates
Most of the Websites in the BISO community have undergone changes in content and design. Check out the revamped BISO website---new material is still being added so stay tuned. Websites have been created for both the USNC/IUMS and the USNC/IUPAB and now all BISO committees are online. In addition, the national committee for IIASA, our newest committee, also has a website available.

BISO’s Newest Committee Convenes First Meeting
The first meeting of BISO’s newest committee, the U.S. Committee for the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) was held January 28, 2004. Princeton University Professor Simon Levin accepted the invitation to chair the committee. He worked closely with BISO staff and our partner organization in IIASA oversight, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, to assemble an excellent roster of members. IIASA Director Leen Hordijk was in Washington for the week of the meeting, and the Committee took that opportunity to schedule joint meetings with Professor Hordijk, Professor Levin, and a number of key U.S. Government officials who have interest in IIASA and its work. The inaugural meeting concentrated on clarifying the responsibilities of the committee and formulating strategies and priorities for accomplishing goals in carrying out those responsibilities. The committee’s principal objectives were to ensure that IIASA fulfills its potential to contribute in key ways to global policy debates, and to concentrate on helping to shape an effective research agenda and increase U.S. participation in the Institute.

Update from the International Visitors Office
The International Visitors Office (IVO) continues to gather data, through an online questionnaire, on foreign scientists who are having difficulties getting a visa to come to the United States. As of January 2004, 1,052 cases have been reported to the IVO; 873 of which the IVO has intervened in some way. The IVO sends the Department of State weekly reports of applicants who have been waiting longer than 30 days for their visa applications to be processed. Of these 873 cases, 33% are still pending and 67% are now inactive. Of the inactive cases, 89% were granted a visa, 5% canceled their scheduled activity in the United States because their visa was not processed in time, 2% were denied a visa, and 4% did not provide further details. Additional statistics are available on the IVO Web site’s statistics page.

Visa applicants who have contacted the IVO have waited an average of 4.7 months before they received their visas. The IVO stresses the importance of applying early, recommending applying at least 3 months (preferably sooner, if possible) before a scheduled activity in the United States.

Organizers of large scientific meetings to be held in the United States are advised to notify participants of the visa processing times and to refer them to the IVO site. Meeting organizers can “register” their meetings with the Department of State through the IVO office. Information on how to register and the latest visa-related issues and policies can be found on the IVO Web site.

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL ISSUES

Human Dimensions of Biodiversity
The International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) provided seed money of 10,000 euros for a “Grand Challenges” planning meeting to identify challenges in the field of human dimensions of biodiversity, which will serve to guide research questions in the international community on this topic. The planning meeting was held October 5-6, 2003 at the National Academies.

Human dimensions of biodiversity is a focus area of the IUBS. The groundwork for the human dimensions of biodiversity project began when a manuscript entitled, “A Framework for a Program in the Human Dimensions of Biodiversity" was published in the December 2001 issue of Biology International by members of the national committees for the IUBS and for the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES). The USNCs for the IUBS and DIVERSITAS continue to work together on the topic of human dimensions of biodiversity. A symposium on Biodiversity Survival in Modern Habitats was held at the 2002 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting. This interdisciplinary symposium highlighted the human perceptions of biodiversity and changes in biodiversity as influenced by the interactions of culture, human biology, and the environment. Members of the USNCs for IUBS and IUAES organized a symposium on The Changing View of Human Biodiversity at the AAAS meeting in February 2003 addressing the human impact on biodiversity and the environment in both beneficial and detrimental ways.

Pacific Rim Initiative
Dr. Jack Cowan, Professor of Mathematics at the University of Chicago, has been invited to give public lectures early this year in Singapore and Vietnam as a continuation of the USNC for Mathematics’ Pacific Rim Initiative. Professor Cowan will be giving both an advanced lecture on his current research and an expository lecture, aimed at non-specialists, on applications of mathematics in biology and biomedicine, a rapidly expanding area of mathematics research.

Open Science Conference in Mexico
The international DIVERSITAS program invited both the U.S. National Committee and the Mexican National Committee for DIVERSITAS to cosponsor the first Open Science Conference. The Open Science Conference will be the first major international meeting hosted by DIVERSITAS and will focus on capacity building in less developed countries with the purpose of bringing together national committees from other continents, as well as NGOs, and agencies (e.g. World Bank, UN bodies, and the Convention on Biological Diversity) with strong biodiversity interests. The first planning meeting was held in November 2003 in Mexico City attended by Donald Potts, chair of both the USNC/IUBS and USNC/DIVERSITAS, and Pricilla Grew, chair of the USNC/IUGG and member of the USNC/DIVERSITAS.

The Open Science Conference will be held in Oaxaca, Mexico in October 2005. It will consist of plenary sessions, symposia, paper and poster presentations organized by each of the three core programs of DIVERSITAS, targeted sessions for junior scientists and students, outreach sessions for targeted audiences (e.g. teachers, general public, and media), workshops, and fieldtrips. DIVERSITAS has already pledged $50,000 toward this conference.

28th General Assembly of the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS)
"Biological Sciences, Development and Society" was the theme of the 28th IUBS General Assembly and Conference held January 17 - 22, 2004, in Cairo, Egypt. The U.S. National Committee for the IUBS convened a workshop entitled “Fostering International Access to Biodiversity for Research, Conservation, and Sustainability” to discuss issues surrounding permits for collecting, exporting, and importing research samples. The workshop also explored ideas for developing and implementing strategies for fair and equitable access to biodiversity by all researchers, as well as opportunities to encourage and facilitate international collaborations for scientific research on biodiversity.

A workshop report will be available shortly on the USNC/IUBS website and follow up activities are expected to occur, including a workshop at the National Academies.

CAPACITY BUILDING

Young Scientists

URSI Prizes and Travel Grants for Students
The annual International Union of Radio Science (URSI) student paper competition awarded three graduate students with $2,250 for the best presentations at the 2004 National Radio Science Meeting held January 5-8 in Boulder, Colorado. The first place prize of $1,000 went to Fernanda Sao Sabbas, University of Alaska; Nader Behdad, University of Michigan, won second place with $750; and Aycan Erentok, University of Arizona, came in third receiving $500. In addition, students presenting as first authors were awarded travel funds, a program initiated this year by URSI national committee chair, Umran Inan of Stanford University. This open scientific meeting was sponsored by the USNC/URSI in cooperation with IEEE societies. Over 300 scientists and engineers presented technical talks and posters in a number of the URSI commission fields.

International Activities

Geological Science Initiative in Iraq
The national committee for the Geological Sciences (GS) sent a letter to the Department of State offering the USNC’s assistance in the reconstruction of Iraq. The letter emphasized the importance of the geological sciences when considering such issues as the continued production of petroleum, exploration for new resources, and mitigation of severe environmental problems. The committee is concerned about the inactivity of seismological observatory stations and believes that the restoration of geologists and geophysicists in positions of research, production, exploration, and academia would facilitate the stabilization of Iraq. The USNC/GS is willing to serve as the link between the Department of State and the international geosciences community in support of the future of Iraq and the Iraqi geoscience community.

The USNC is also considering the feasibility of reestablishing the Geological Survey of Iraq in cooperation with Iraqi geologists. Possibilities for U.S. scientists’ involvement include funding Iraqi scientists to write textbooks and supporting local research projects.

U.S. Scientist Gives Proteomics Lecture in Cameroon
The national committee for the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) solicited funding for Ralph Bradshaw of the University of California, Irvine to present a lecture on proteomics research at the Federation of African Societies of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (FASBMB) Congress in Yaounde, Cameroon. The Congress took place November 2003 and featured both fundamental topics in biochemistry and molecular biology as well as applied topics of interest to Africa such as infectious disease, food, and nutrition. Last November, Dr. Bradshaw, as editor of Molecular and Cellular Proteomics, published a USNC report “Defining the Mandate of Proteomics in the Post-Genomics Era” based on a workshop organized by national committee for the IUBMB. Dr. Bradshaw served on the USNC/IUBMB for nine years and on the Executive Board of IUBMB for six years. The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular biology, the American Chemical Society/Division of Biological Chemistry, and the National Committee for IUBMB funded his attendance at the meeting. A Congress report by Dr. Bradshaw is available.

INFORMATION AND DATA

Inter-American Workshop on Access to Environmental Data
The USNC/CODATA is working with CODATA and the Brazilian Reference Center on Environmental Information to convene an invite-only workshop, which will be held in Campinas, Brazil on 4-6 March 2004. The workshop will bring together Latin American and U.S. scientists, data managers, and representatives of research and funding institutions and the policy community to identify and discuss: 1) scientific, technical, and institutional aspects of data access practices and policies in the environmental sciences, biodiversity studies, and related sustainable development research; 2) high-priority opportunities and barriers for data access in these research areas; and 3) specific actions that can be taken to improve institutional and national policies, and regional cooperation, with regard to environmental data access.

World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS)
The first phase of this Summit was held 10-12 December 2003 in Geneva, and brought together heads of state, directors of UN agencies, and leaders from industry, NGOs, and civil society “to develop a better understanding of the information and communication technologies revolution and its impact on the international community, with particular emphasis on developing countries.” The national committee for CODATA worked closely with ICSU to provide the public science perspective in the WSIS process. This involved raising visibility and recognition of the role of public science in WSIS and helping provide solutions to the problems confronting the developing world regarding access to digital information, generally, and scientific information, specifically. Roberta Balstad Miller, the chair of the USNC/CODATA, and Paul Uhlir, committee director, traveled to Geneva to participate in the Summit. The USNC hosted a debriefing for U.S. participants on 20 January 2004 at the National Academies to discuss the results of the Summit, as well as planned potential follow up actions for the U.S. scientific community in preparation for the second phase of the Summit, which will take place in Tunisia on 16-18 November 2005.

The U.S. Department of State also held a series of public meetings in advance of the WSIS, which were hosted by the National Academies. The next meeting in this series, which will focus on the outcome of first phase of the Summit, will be held on 4 February 2004 from 10:30 to 12:00 in the auditorium on the National Academy of Sciences, located at 2100 C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. Additional information on the Department of State’s involvement with WSIS can be found here.

CODATA / ERPANET Archiving Workshop
The USNC/CODATA recently collaborated with the Electronic Resource Preservation and Access Network (ERPANET) and CODATA to convene an international archiving workshop on the selection, appraisal, and retention of scientific data. This three-day workshop was held at the Biblioteca Nacional in Lisbon, Portugal on 15-17 December 2003. The aim of the workshop was to identify and discuss the key scientific, technical, management, and policy considerations for the successful implementation of appraisal and selection guidelines and retention policies. The workshop also provided a networking opportunity for participants to meet with other researchers, data managers, and archivists across disciplines and national boundaries. A summary of the workshop will be published by ERPANET, and a series of papers from the workshop will be published in a special edition of the CODATA Data Science Journal. For more information on the workshop, including speakers’ presentations please click here.

Milestones

Virologist John Mackenzie, secretary-general of the International Union of Microbiological Societies, has been chosen by the World Health Organization (WHO) to coordinate SARS research and set up a new laboratory network to confront future disease outbreaks. Dr. Mackenzie, who specializes in mosquito-borne diseases, Zoonoses, and influenza at the University of Queensland in Australia, led a WHO team of scientists in China to investigate the SARS outbreak in March 2003.

Vera C. Rubin, past chair of the USNC/IAU, received the James Craig Watson Medal – a medal and a prize of $25,000 plus $25,000 to support the recipient's research in recognition of contributions to the science of astronomy. Dr. Rubin, senior fellow at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, was chosen "for her seminal observations of dark matter in galaxies, large-scale relative motions of galaxies, and for generous mentoring of young astronomers.”

The Comstock Prize in Physics given to a resident of North America for recent innovative discovery or investigation in electricity, magnetism, or radiant energy, was awarded to USNC/IAU past chair John N. Bahcall. Dr. Bahcall is Richard Black Professor of Natural Science, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, N.J. Bahcall was chosen "for his many contributions to astrophysics, especially his definitive work on solar models and his crucial role in identifying and resolving the solar neutrino problem."

We would like to welcome the following members to the national committee network:

Rohan Abeyaratne, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USNC/TAM
William Boicourt, University of Maryland Horn Point Laboratory, USNC/IUGG
Lawrence Brown, Cornell University, USNC/IUGG
Roger Chevalier, University of Virginia, USNC/IAU
Peter Clark, Oregon State University, USNC/INQUA
Jeffrey Freymueller, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, USNC/IUGG
Frank Fronczek, Louisiana State University, USNC/Cr
Lisa Grant, University of California, Irvine, USNC/IUGG
Thomas Geers, University of Colorado, USNC/TAM
Eric Grimm, Illinois State Museum, USNC/INQUA
Elizabeth Hadly, Stanford University, USNC/INQUA
Jerry Harris, Stanford University, USNC/IUGG
Jonathan Higdon, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, USNC/TAM
Kevin T.M. Johnson, University of Hawaii, USNC/IUGG
Robert Kirshner, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USNC/IAU
Stelios Kyriakides, University of Texas at Austin, USNC/TAM
Nicholas Lancaster, Desert Research Institute, USNC/INQUA
Miguel Marino, University of California, Davis, USNC/IUGG
Cary Mock, University of South Carolina, USNC/INQUA
Geraldine Peters, University of Southern California, USNC/IAU
Matthew Redinbo, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USNC/Cr
Nadrian Seeman, New York University, USNC/Cr
C.K. Shum, Ohio State University, USNC/IUGG
Nancy Sottos, University of Illinois at Urbana/Champaign, USNC/TAM
Jean Swank, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USNC/IAU
Brian Toby, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USNC/Cr
Peter Vekilov, University of Houston, USNC/Cr
Cathy Whitlock, University of Oregon, USNC/INQUA

We especially welcome the members of the newest BISO Committee, the U.S. Committee for the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (USC/IIASA), which was formed in January. The IIASA committee chairman is Simon Levin of Princeton, and the following individuals have accepted appointments to the Committee:

Scott Barrett, Johns Hopkins/SAIS
Garry D. Brewer, Yale University
Robert A. Frosch, Harvard University
Ann Kinzig, Arizona State University
Roberta Balstad Miller, Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)
Emilio Moran, Indiana University
Ken Prewitt, Columbia University
Ignacio Rodriguez-Iturbe, Princeton University
Cynthia Rosenzweig, Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Don Saari, Univ of California at Irvine
Lawrence Susskind, MIT
David Victor, Stanford University

We would also like to thank those members who have recently completed their service:

David Arnett, University of Arizona, USNC/IAU
Alex Chernov, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, USNC/Cr
William Curry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, USNC/INQUA
Raymond Davis, University of Texas at Austin, USNC/Cr
Howard Einspahr, Bristol-Myers Squibb, USNC/Cr
Debra Elmegreen, Vassar College, USNC/IAU
Kathryn Ely, The Burnham Institute, USNC/Cr
James Hill, Iowa State University, USNC/TAM
Vance Holliday, University of Arizona, USNC/INQUA
M. B. Kirkham, Kansas State University, USNC/SS
Robert Kraft, University of California at Santa Cruz, USNC/IAU
Dusan Krajcinovic, Arizona State University, USNC/TAM
Parviz Moin, Stanford University, USNC/TAM
Ellen Mosley-Thompson, Ohio State University, USNC/INQUA
Ramesh Narayan, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, USNC/IAU
Jeanne E. Pemberton, University of Arizona, USNC/IUPAC
Alexander Smits, Princeton University, USNC/TAM
Robert Sweet, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USNC/Cr
Goro Uehara, University of Hawaii, USNC/SS
Stephen Wells, Desert Research Institute, USNC/INQUA
Winnie Wong-Ng, National Institute of Standards and Technology, USNC/Cr

We would like to announce the following changes in committee leadership:

Charles Nelson, University of Minnesota, was nominated to be chair of the USNC/IUPsyS at their fall meeting in October 2003. Former chair Milton D. Hakel, Bowling Green State University, completed his service on the committee.
Allan Ashworth, North Dakota State University, was appointed chair of the USNC/INQUA in October 2003. Former chair Kenneth Verosub, University of California, Davis, remains a member of the committee.
Priscilla Grew, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, was appointed chair of the USNC/IUGG in November 2003. Former chair David Jackson, University of California, Los Angeles, is now secretary of the committee.