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Philanthropy Horizons
November 2004
A monthly update for the foundation community from the National Academies -- National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council -- the nation’s nonprofit, nongovernmental advisors on federal science, technology, and healthcare policy.
In this issue:
EDUCATION
- National Academies Name Biology Teaching Fellows and Mentors
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
-Report Examines Mississippi-Illinois Waterway Study
-Weather Service Should Improve Use of 'Next Generation Radars'
-Report Calls for Economic Valuation in Environmental Policymaking
POLICY AND RESEARCH ISSUES
-New Booklet Explores Animal Use in Biomedical Research
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPEN MEETINGS
-New Resource: Foundation Gateway
-Meeting: Measures of Health Benefits for Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation
-Meeting: Adaption to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders
-Meeting: International Graduate Students and Postdocs
EDUCATION
National Academies Name Biology Teaching Fellows and Mentors
The National Academies bestowed the title of Education Fellow in the Life Sciences to 39 educators around the country who successfully completed a summer institute aimed at fostering innovative approaches to teaching undergraduate biology. The Academies also named 18 Education Mentors in the Life Sciences, who served as speakers, facilitators, or organizers at the summer institute.
News Summary
Academies Summer Institute
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Report Examines Mississippi-Illinois Waterway Study
The US Army Corps of Engineers has "made good progress" in broadening a study of possible navigation improvements on the Upper Mississippi River-Illinois Waterway system to give greater consideration to ecological restoration, says a new report from the National Academies' Water Science and Technology Board. However, because of flaws in the models used in the study to predict demand for barge transportation, the economic justification for expanding locks on the rivers has not yet been demonstrated. And little attention has been paid to inexpensive, nonstructural navigation improvements that could ease current barge traffic.
News Summary
Full Report
Weather Service Should Improve Use of 'Next Generation Radars'
A National Weather Service radar atop Sulphur Mountain in Southern California is well placed to detect approaching storms, operates effectively, and helps the NWS Los Angeles-Oxnard forecast office monitor, predict, and warn of flash floods and other events related to heavy precipitation, says a new report from the National Academies' Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate. But there is room for improvement in how NWS uses such radars to forecast flash floods and to issue warnings about them across the country -- including areas that, like Southern
California, have complex terrain.
News Summary
Full Report
Report Calls for Economic Valuation in Environmental Policymaking
Unless the economic value of ecosystem goods and services is acknowledged in environmental decision making it will implicitly be assigned a value of zero in cost-benefit analyses, and policy choices will be biased against conservation, warns a new report from the National Academies' Water Science and Technology Board. The report identifies methods for assigning economic value to ecosystem services -- even intangible ones -- and calls for greater collaboration between ecologists and economists in such efforts.
Full Report
Water Science and Technology Board
POLICY AND RESEARCH ISSUES
New Booklet Explores Animal Use in Biomedical Research
A new booklet from the National Academies' Institute for Laboratory Animal Research offers teachers and students information about animal use in biomedical research. Topics include the ways animal research can and has been used to combat disease, the regulations and oversight that govern such research, and continuing efforts to use animals more efficiently and humanely.
Booklet: Science, Medicine, and Animals
Institute for Laboratory Animal Research
UPCOMING EVENTS AND OPEN MEETINGS
New Resource: Foundation Gateway
The National Academies are pleased to announce the upcoming creation of our Foundation Gateway. This new Web site, designed to be a convenient resource for foundations, will feature links to information about National Academies studies, reports, and events, a reference of activities supported by foundation funding, and suggestions of ways to get involved in the work of the Academies. The Gateway will be launched in December.
Committee Meeting: Measures of Health Benefits for Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation
The Committee to Evaluate Measures of Health Benefits for Environmental, Health, and Safety Regulation will meet November 30-December 1 at the Academies' Keck Center (500 Fifth Street NW) in Washington; a draft agenda is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Ryan Palugod, by email at rpalugod@nas.edu or by telephone at 202-334-3973.
Draft Agenda
Committee Meeting: Adaptation to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders
A continuation of the Institute of Medicine's series on Crossing the Quality Chasm, the Committee on Adaptation to Mental Health and Addictive Disorders will meet November 15-16 at the Academies' Beckman Center in Irvine, CA; a draft agenda is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Rebecca Benson, by e-mail at rbenson@nas.edu or by telephone at 202-334-3632.
Draft Agenda
Committee Meeting: International Graduate Students and Postdocs
The committee on Policy Implications of International Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars in the US will meet November 11-12 in the Academies' Keck Center at 500 Fifth Street NW in Washington; a draft agenda is posted at the accompanying link. If you would like to attend the sessions of this meeting that are open to the public or need more information please contact Laurel Haak, by email at lhaak@nas.edu or by telephone at 202-334-1438.
Draft Agenda
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