NCSE Evolution Education Update for 2010/04/02
(by NCSE Deputy Director Glenn Branch)
Dear Friends of NCSE, A Vannevar Bush Award for NCSE Supporter Bruce Alberts. Plus NCSE's Eugenie C. Scott is interviewed on the University of California Press's blog, and NCSE adds three new videos to its YouTube channel.
ALBERTS WINS VANNEVAR BUSH AWARD NCSE congratulates Bruce Alberts on winning the Vannevar Bush Award from the National Science Board. The award is bestowed upon truly exceptional lifelong leaders in science and technology who have made substantial contributions to the welfare of the nation through public service activities in science, technology, and public policy. In a press release issued on April 1, 2010, Steven Beering, the chair of the National Science Board, commented, "We are pleased to recognize Bruce for his dedication to the creativity, openness and tolerance that define science, passion for improving the human condition and transformational and inspirational leadership in science education, international capacity building and the tireless pursuit of a 'scientific temperament' for the world." "Many of my personal heroes of science have previously received the Vannevar Bush Award and it is, of course, an enormous privilege for me to join them," said Alberts in the same press release. "In this era of instantaneous, infinite information everywhere, it has become critical to our survival that a scientific way of analyzing problems, based on evidence and logic, become much more dominant around the globe. Those of us who are scientists thus have enormous challenges before us: challenges that will require that we expand our view of science and its role in society." He called upon scientists all around the world "to help create more rational, scientifically-based societies that find dogmatism intolerable." Alberts will receive the award at the National Science Board's Annual Awards Dinner in Washington DC on May 4, 2010. Alberts is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, a former president of the National Academy of Sciences, and the editor-in-chief of the journal Science, published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A Supporter of NCSE, Alberts received its Friend of Darwin award in 2004, in recognition of his support of and advocacy for the integrity of science education while at the National Academy of Sciences, when it published both Teaching about Evolution and the Nature of Science (1998) and the second edition of Science and Creationism (1999). He also received the AIBS Education Award from the American Institute for Biological Sciences in 2009. For the NSB's press release, visit: http://www.nsf.gov/nsb/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=116715 For the publications from the National Academy of Sciences, visit: http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=5787 http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=6024 NCSE'S SCOTT ON UC PRESS BLOG NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott was recently interviewed by Chuck Crumly for the University of California Press's blog, discussing the evidence for evolution and the sources of resistance to its acceptance. Asked "What do you hope to accomplish through your work," she replied that her goal "is to help people understand the nature of science, and the science of evolution." She added, "I would like people to learn that evolution is an exciting science that their children should be taught in school. When I am reading evolutionary biology or geology, or cosmology, I often think to myself, 'wouldn't it be great if school kids could hear about this!'" The University of California Press is the publisher of the paperback edition of Scott's Evolution vs. Creationism: An Introduction. For the blog post, visit: http://www.ucpress.edu/blog/?p=5276 For information on Evolution vs. Creationism, visit: http://ncse.com/evc NEW VIDEOS ON NCSE'S YOUTUBE CHANNEL Three videos have just been added to NCSE's YouTube channel. First, a Netroots Nation panel on science denial from August 2009, organized by NCSE's Joshua Rosenau and featuring Rosenau, Bryan Rehm, Michael Stebbins, Mark Sumner, and Susan Wood. And two blasts from the past with NCSE's executive director Eugenie C. Scott: talking with Arie Korporaal about "Controversial Issues in Science Teaching" on Los Angeles County's Educational Telecommunications Network in 1991, and appearing on WRC-TV's "Headlines on Trial," hosted by Arthur Miller, in 1987. Tune in and enjoy! For NCSE's YouTube channel, visit: http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd Thanks for reading! And don't forget to visit NCSE's website -- http://ncse.com -- where you can always find the latest news on evolution education and threats to it. -- Sincerely, Glenn Branch Deputy Director National Center for Science Education, Inc. 420 40th Street, Suite 2 Oakland, CA 94609-2509 510-601-7203 x310 fax: 510-601-7204 800-290-6006 branch@ncse.com http://ncse.com Subscribe to NCSE's free weekly e-newsletter: http://groups.google.com/group/ncse-news NCSE is on Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter: http://www.facebook.com/evolution.ncse http://www.youtube.com/NatCen4ScienceEd http://twitter.com/ncse NCSE's work is supported by its members. Join today! http://ncse.com/membership