June 2023 Member Update

JUNE 2023 MEMBER UPDATE

SPOTLIGHTS | NEWS & UPDATES | MEMBER COMMUNITY | AWARDS & OPPORTUNITIES | EVENTS

MESSAGE FROM AAAS

Sit Down with AAAS CEO Dr. Sudip S. Parikh:

Funding the Future

Dr. Sudip Parikh, AAAS’ CEO, has a special message for the AAAS Community about the current budgetary landscape supporting that scientific enterprise. The recent debt ceiling agreement limits Congress's ability to provide adequate funding for science and technology, unless it's made an absolute priority. At AAAS and within the scientific community, we have to ensure that Congress sees investment in science and technology as a priority for the country.

Once you “Sit Down With the CEO” of AAAS, be sure to tune into our next AAAS Community text-based Q&A on July 13, 1-2pm ET, with our Office of Government Relations team. They will be answering member questions about the appropriations process, how federal funding can advance diversity, equity and inclusion in STEMM, and how U.S. spending in R&D stacks up compared with other countries.

MEMBER AND PROGRAM SPOTLIGHTS

white woman with long brown hair in navy blue sweater and white collared shirt

LGBTQ+ Faculty Sharing Their Identities
AAAS Fellow Sara Brownell

As someone who studies ways to improve higher education, AAAS Fellow Sara Brownell does a lot of research in classrooms. But one day, she decided to apply her own research to a lecture of hers at Arizona State University. She introduced herself to a room full of 300 students on the first day of an undergraduate biology class by providing a few personal details: “I like to hike, I like Mexican food, and I’m a proud member of the LGBTQ community.”

white man in dark blonder hair and glasses wearing blue button up shirt with tie

Visibility of LGBTQ+ People in STEMM
AAAS Member TJ Ronningen

Looking back on his career, research scientist TJ Ronningen considers himself lucky – and perhaps a bit naive. As a queer man coming of age in the 1990s, he avoided any serious discrimination, sheltered from the societal attitudes and stigmas accelerated by the AIDS epidemic and homophobic legislation. This fortuitous lack of hostility, however, shouldn’t be confused with a sense of belonging. “I was out of the closet, but I felt alone in that respect.”

AAAS Symposium Recap: Current Landscape Impacting LGBTQ+ People in STEMM

To address the inclusion and advancement of LGBTQ+ individuals in STEMM fields, AAAS and the Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing convened scientists, policymakers, community organizations and LGBTQ+ community members for the annual State of Sexual and Gender Minority Health Symposium last month.

Boldly Inclusive, Mobilized and Global:
Putting Our Work Into Sharper Focus

Our 2022 Annual Report is now live. The past year was filled with important milestones for the scientific community and for AAAS, from policy accomplishments years in the making and major programmatic wins to the culmination of efforts that are transforming our leadership structure and honing our focus. Check out AAAS Members who were featured!

NEWS & UPDATES

Interested in serving as a member of your Section’s Steering Committee? Know someone who would make a terrific leader? It’s not too late to submit a nomination! The twenty-four Section Steering Committees are beginning to put together their slates of candidates for the next election. Section Steering Committees are composed of a Section Chair, Secretary, Council Member, Nominations/Leadership Development Chair, Membership Engagement Chair, Non-academic Representative, Early-Career Representative, and two At-large Representatives. If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else for one of these positions, please fill out this form.

Additional AAAS news below:

MEMBER COMMUNITY

AAAS Member Community is where science gets social, facts matter, ideas are big and there's always a reason to come share, discuss and explore. Below are some recent discussion threads to check out:

Introduce yourself in our new 2023 introductions thread.
Celebrate Nature Photography with us, share your photos here.
Our 2022 Annual Report is now live. Which 2022 highlight stuck out to you most? Let us know.
Learn more about members of AAAS' first Multidisciplinary Working Group.

We asked and you answered—a huge thank you to all our members who responded to our 2022 surveys. Your feedback helps us improve your membership experience. Check out what we learned based on your responses.

Career Trends: Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diverging 302(b)s and their Impact on R&D

AWARDS, NOMINATIONS & OPPORTUNITIES

Today is the last day to submit a nomination for the AAAS Awards! AAAS sponsors a wide range of prizes recognizing scientists, engineers, authors, journalists, and public servants for significant contributions to science and the public’s understanding of science. More information about each of the awards can be found here. If you have questions about any of these awards or experience technical difficulties, please reach out to awards@aaas.org.

Interested in learning more about what it is like to be honored as an awardee? See what 2011 AAAS Mentor Award recipient Rory Cooper and 2014 AAAS Award for Science Diplomacy recipient Zafra Lerman had to say as they reflect on AAAS' 175th anniversary this year.