Winners of 2013 AAAS Student Poster Competition Tuesday, April 30, 2013 The 2013 Student Poster Competition took place at the AAAS Annual Meeting In Boston February 14-18. The student winners' work displayed originality and understanding that set them apart from their peers. The AAAS Poster Sessions provide individuals with an opportunity to present their research, offering an excellent venue for extended informal discussion with meeting attendees. All posters are peer-reviewed, and accepted posters are listed in the AAAS Annual Meeting Poster Book. Abstracts appear on the Annual Meeting Abstract CD, within the Program Book. Nuclear detective Eric Norman Nuclear detective Eric Norman Member Spotlight May 8, 2013 Following the accident at Japan’s Fukushima Daichii nuclear reactor in 2011, Eric Norman, a professor of nuclear engineering at UC Berkeley, began collecting samples of rainwater. Norman, an AAAS fellow, got the idea from a 1986 experiment in which he detected Chernobyl fallout in Berkeley rainwater. Even though he knew from his Chernobyl findings that there would be no local health risk, he still sampled the water. OSTP seeks nominations for presidential mentoring award OSTP seeks nominations for presidential mentoring award Capitol Connection April 8, 2013 The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) are now accepting nominations for PAESMEM, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. OSTP/NSF seeks individuals and organizations that have demonstrated at least five years of excellence in mentoring students, trainees, and/or early career scientists and engineers from groups that are underrepresented in STEM. Marcia McNutt appointed new Editor-in-Chief of Science Marcia McNutt appointed new Editor-in-Chief of Science Tuesday, April 2, 2013 Marcia McNutt, most recently Director of the US Geological Survey, has been appointed the new, full-time Editor-in-Chief of Science. She will begin her tenure at Science on June 1. McNutt will take over the position from Bruce Alberts who decided to step down at the end of his five-year term. VIDEO: 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting reception Video February 15, 2013 Find out what attendees are looking forward to at this year's meeting in Boston. Related Links: AAASMC's complete video coverage from the 2013 Annual Meeting in Boston VIDEO: 2013 Annual Meeting: The president's address Video February 15, 2013 AAAS President William Press, researcher in computer science, genomics, statistical methods, astrophysics, and international security, welcomes attendees to Boston. This year's AAAS Annual Meeting highlights the rich and complicated connections between basic and applied research, and how they bring about both practical benefits and the beauty of pure understanding. Read more about Press's keynote. Fuel from green algae: A talk with Richard Sayre Fuel from green algae: A talk with Richard Sayre Member Spotlight February 14, 2013 Can pond scum save the planet from its greenhouse gas-induced fever? Green algae consume carbon dioxide and convert it to triglycerides, which can be chemically converted to fuel for our cars, trucks, trains, and planes. National Medal of Science AAAS members awarded medal at White House ceremony Monday, February 4, 2013 Fifteen AAAS fellows and members were awarded the U.S's top prize for scientists, engineers, and inventors, the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology and Innovation, at a White House ceremony on February 1. President Barack Obama handed out the medals to the nearly two dozen researchers and innovators honored in 2012. Twelve researchers received the National Medal of Science and eleven inventors received the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. Global hyperwarming Global hyperwarming: A conversation with Ed Landing Qualia January 31, 2013 Climatologists, like Walter Broecker and James Hansen, have predicted a warmer climate due to the accumulation of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels. Geologists take a longer view. On a geological timescale, it appears that the Earth has long oscillated between “greenhouse” and “ice house” conditions. During greenhouse periods, the average global temperature has been a balmy 22°C (72°F), quite a bit warmer than the 2012 average of about 14.4°C, one of the hottest years that climatologists have actually recorded. But all of man’s time on Earth has so far been spent within a few degrees of ice house conditions.  VIDEO: Coverage of the 2013 Annual Meeting in Boston Video February 12, 2013 Here is AAASMC's video coverage of the 179th AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston. The program for 2013 highlights the rich and complicated connections between basic and applied research, and how they bring about both practical benefits and the beauty of pure understanding.