AAAS Annual Meeting

I spent this past weekend in Washington, D.C. for the AAAS Annual Meeting: "The Nexus: Where Science Meets Society". I went for the science and technology policy aspects of it. Unfortunately, I was sick, so, that took a bit of the fun out of it. I did meet a few of the current NAS Fellows, and they were really great. They sound like they are a more social group than the fall group (they go out to Happy Hours 3 times a week); but the increased numbers, ~20, is probably a contributing factor. I attended several sessions dealing with intellectual property. I also hit a reception for Scientists and Society, pertaining to the responsible use of science at the Lebanese Taverna. It was packed and several people, ones who had written the original letter to the President concerning scientific integrity in policy-making from the Union of Concerned Scientists, spoke.

This year is also the World Year of Physics. It's been a century since Einstein made his breakthrough into the field of relativity. We celebrated at the conference with the International Einstein Gala!