December Member Update

AAAS MEMBER UPDATE
DECEMBER 2022

SPOTLIGHTS | NEWS & UPDATES | AWARDS & OPPORTUNITIES | EVENTS

MESSAGE FROM AAAS

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation (DDCF), along with over 90 partners across the scientific enterprise, including government, academia, philanthropy, industry and community organizations convened at a White House Summit on STEMM Equity and Excellence to signal the importance of advancing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts to achieve scientific excellence — elevating its importance as an economic driver for the country. The summit also set the stage for the launch of the STEMM Opportunity Alliance (SOA), a national effort by AAAS with the support of the DDCF that will galvanize stakeholders to achieve STEMM equity and excellence by 2050.

Learn more at STEMMopportunity.org.

PROGRAM AND MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS

Science's Breakthrough of the Year:
James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)

After numerous setbacks, 20 years of development, a hefty $10 billion price tag and a perilous 1.5-million-kilometer journey into space, a new space telescope finally opened its golden, infrared eye and gave us a glimpse of our universe — and its unfathomable past — in stunning, unprecedented detail. To honor this feat, Science has named the flight of the JWST as its 2022 Breakthrough of the Year.

New Name Reflects Evolution in Mission:
Center for Scientific Responsibility and Justice

Under the new banner, the program will leverage its expertise to move beyond building awareness to a new model that empowers scientists and engineers to pursue justice by advancing trustworthy science – science that is conducted and communicated responsibly, upholding the values of scientific freedom and human rights, including the right of everyone to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.

AAAS Member
Sheela Athreya

Sheela Athreya’s latest project, funded in part by the National Science Foundation and National Geographic, aims to reconstruct human evolutionary history in central India without asking whether fragmentary fossils fit the accepted definition of “modern human.”

AAAS Fellow
Douglas Landis

Douglas Landis, University Distinguished Professor of Entomology at Michigan State University, spoke about “Designing Pest Suppressive Agricultural Landscapes for a Changing World” at the 2022 AAAS Charles Valentine Riley Memorial Lecture.