2008 AAAS Engineering Section Meeting

Friday February 15, 2008

Sheraton Boston Hotel, Boston, MA

Room: Fairfax A

DRAFT MINUTES

1.      Introductions: Gail Marcus, Section Chair, called the meeting to order at 9:30 AM.  She asked those present to introduce themselves. The attendance list is included in Appendix A.

 

2.      Additional Agenda Items: Dr. Marcus announced that two items have been added to the tentative agenda shown in Appendix B. 

2.1 Theme for the 2009 Annual Meeting (Dr. James McCarthy)

2.2 The Supercouse (Dr. Gilbert Omenn)

 

3.      Theme of 2009 Annual Meeting:  Dr. Marcus introduced AAAS President-elect James McCarthy who gave an introduction to the theme he had selected for the 2009 AAAS Annual Meeting to be held in Chicago, February 12-16, 2009. The theme is “Our Planet and Its Life: Origins and Futures”.  Dr. McCarthy noted that the engineering section might like to look at the “futures” part of the theme in coming up with symposia ideas.  He also noted that the meeting will be right after the presidential inauguration and suggested that symposia looking to position AAAS at the forefront of science and technology might be appropriate.

 

4.      Approval of Minutes: Dr. Marcus asked for comments and possible changes to the draft minutes of the Section Business Meeting held on February 16, 2007. The draft was posted on the Section website shortly after the San Francisco, CA meeting.  Copies of the draft minutes were also distributed at the meeting.  There were no comments made or changes suggested.  A motion was made and seconded to approve the minutes.  The motion passed unanimously.    

 

5.      Announcements:  Marwan Simaan, Section Secretary, announced that Robert M. Nerem was elected Chair-Elect and Cristina H. Amon was elected Member-at-Large of the Engineering Section’s Steering Group both effective February 19, 2008.  The list of Section Officers and Members-at-Large for 2008-09 is shown in Appendix C. 

 

Dr. Simaan also announced that Kristi S. Anseth and Cindy Atman were elected to the Engineering Section Electorate Nominating Committee.  He also announced that as a result of actions of the 2006 Council meeting, the retiring chair of each section will now serve as an ex officio member and Chair of the Electorate Nominating Committee for their section. Dr. Tirrell, retiring chair, has served in that capacity for the 2007-08 cycle and effective February 19, Dr. Marcus as retiring chair will serve in that capacity for the 2008-09 cycle.

 

Dr. Marcus also announced that 34 members affiliated with the Engineering Section were elected Fellows of AAAS in October 2007.  A list of the names of the new Fellows was distributed and is attached as Appendix D.  The Newly elected Fellows were invited to attend our business meeting and 8 were able to attend. Dr. Marcus welcomed them, and thanked them for attending the meeting.  She also encouraged the new Fellow to be active in the section.

 

6.      The Supercourse:  Dr. Omenn and colleagues made a presentation about the Supercourse, asking it if was of interest to the Section.  Attendees noted that Medical Missions for Children, Engineers without Borders, and the NSF cyber-infrastructure division were either doing similar things or might be interested in providing funds and support for this activity.  There were also questions concerning how quality is maintained in the Supercourse and who has ownership of the associated materials.

 

7.      Fellow Nomination Process: Dr. Marcus asked Marwan Simaan, section secretary to review the AAAS Fellow nomination process which is the same as in previous years. There are three ways a candidate can be nominated: By a member of the Steering Group (method 1), by a group of three Fellows (method 2), and by the AAAS Chief Executive Officer (method 3).

 

He discussed the procedure for Fellow nominations by members of the Steering Group (method 1).  He mentioned that each nomination must include a complete Fellow nomination form and either a letter of recommendation by the nominator or a detailed C.V. with a list of publications (although a C.V. is an essential piece of the required documentation).  He encouraged members of the Steering Group to submit both.   He mentioned that for the upcoming nomination cycle, these materials should be mailed to him so that he receives it no later than March 30, 2008.  Marwan will then forward the materials for all nominees to Heather Campbell, AAAS Interim Governance Associate, on March 30.  Information on the nomination process by a group of three Fellows (method 2) and a copy of the nomination form can be found on the AAAS main website.  A link to that website can also be found on our section Website (http://www.engr.pitt.edu/aaas-m).  Dr. Simaan also mentioned that the deadline for Fellow nominations by a group of three Fellows is May 9, 2008. By May 31, all members of the Steering Group will receive from Heather Campbell copies of the nomination materials for all nominees, including those nominated by a group of three Fellows, and by the Chief Executive Officer.  They will also receive a voting sheet which they will need to fill and return to him by June 29, 2008.  Marwan will then forward all votes to Heather Campbell.   By August 31, 2008 the Executive Office will mail a slate of all approved nominees to the Council for formal election. 

 

Dr. Simaan mentioned that the number of Fellows elected through nominations by the Steering Group is subject to a section quota which is 15 for this year (there is no quota for those elected through nominations by three Fellows or by the Chief Executive Officer).  He also mentioned that in all three methods, a successful candidate must receive a majority vote from the Steering Group.  Furthermore, if a candidate receives more than two negative votes, the candidate will not be recommended for election to Fellow.

 

8.             2008 Annual Meeting: The list of the 2008 Symposia and Lectures sponsored or co-sponsored by the Engineering Section is included as Appendix E.

 

9.             Planning for the 2009 Annual Meeting:  The 2009 AAAS Annual Meeting will be held in Chicago, IL, 12-16 February 2009.  The theme of the meeting is “Our Planet and Its Life: Origins and Futures”.  AAAS asked our section to brainstorm at our business meeting and arrive at three hot topics to be discussed at the Annual Meeting planning meeting which will be held on Sunday Feb 17.  These hot topics will form the basis for possible collaborative symposia sponsored by our section or co-sponsored with other section at the 2009 Annual meeting.   Dr. Marcus asked for ideas and suggestions.  A discussion followed with everyone present contributing ideas. At the end, the ideas were grouped into three hot topics that would encompass many symposia that could be planned and sponsored by our section.  A summary of these topics is given below.

9.1 Assistive Technologies

This symposium, suggested by Ted Conway, will look at how technologies to assist the aging population and people with disabilities have gone from largely external devices to those that tie into the nervous system.  Dr. Marcus mentioned that she was approached by the Neuroscience Section about the possibility of co-sponsoring a similar symposium on Neural Networks and Artificial Intelligence.  She suggested that the Section on Information, Computing, and Communication might also be involved.  The contact person for this symposium is Ted Conway (taconway@vcu.edu)

 

9.2 Designing Complex and Interdependent Structures for the Future

This symposium will focus on the topic of sustainable infrastructures to meet long term and short term goals. These infrastructures must be able to sustain extreme events such as technological or natural hazards; homeland security, etc. The contact person for this symposium is incoming section chair Priscilla Nelson (pnelson@njit.edu)

 

            Sustainable American Competitiveness in a Global Society

This symposium will consider strategies to maintain/improve American technological and scientific edge through win-win partnered innovation implementations. An example of such a strategy is the development of small technologies with a big impact. The contact person for this symposium is George Klinzing (klinzing@pitt.edu)

 

Other possible symposia topics that were suggested and discussed include:

 

·         Science and Engineering for a Sustainable Planet:  A symposium to address how industry and government are mobilizing technology to tackle environmental problems (i.e. air pollution).

·         Colossal Failures in Engineering:  This is a popular freshman course at MIT and could be the basis for a symposium that would look at what is happening in engineering today to ensure that such colossal failures wouldn’t happen again.

·         Sustainable Nuclear Power for 10,000 Years:  A symposium that would look at how nuclear power can be a source of energy well into the future.

·         Science on the International Space Station:  A symposium that focuses on the scientific activities conducted on the International Space Station (for example, earth observation and monitoring).

·         Overcoming Outsourcing:  This was proposed to look at government and industry collaborations to overcome some of the negative issues associated with outsourcing. 

·         Acoustics for the Classroom of the Future:  The idea of this symposium is that classrooms have become very noisy and that kids in these classrooms are not able to learn because they cannot hear well.  This topic has global implications since the World Health Organization has already established standards and guidelines for classroom noise.  It was suggested that such a symposium might be of joint interest to the linguistics and education sections.

·         Astronomy using mm waves:  This potential symposium would look at telescopes and have how they have been unlocking the origins of the universe by identifying chemical traces in space.  It was suggested that this might be more appropriate for the astronomy or physics sections to lead, perhaps with engineering support.

·         Computational Thinking /Simulation:  This symposium would look at how to validate complex engineering models with simulation and would link to cloud computing.

·         Nanotech Payback:  A symposium that would look at what the payback has been for US investment in the nano-technology area.

·         Non-lethal Weapons:  Engineering and Violence:  A symposium that shows how engineering advances in weapons design have allowed for urban combat that minimized collateral damage.  If such a symposium is acceptable, it would include speakers from low enforcement agencies, DoD, DARPA, etc.

·         Engineering and the Entertainment Industry:  Looking at advancements in virtual reality in the video gaming and entertainment industry.  It was then decided that this topic is more suited for a topical lecture.

 

Dr. Marcus encouraged all those who have suggested these ideas to develop them further and submit them on the AAAS proposal submission website the deadline of April 28, 2008.

                                                                                                                                                                              

Finally, Dr. Marcus asked for suggestions for Plenary and Topical lectures speakers.  The following are some of the names and topics that were suggested.

 

For plenary lectures:

Brad Jim Clifton (CEO of Gallup Company): “How we do Science in the Future”. 

Robert Iger (CEO of Disney): “The Future of the Entertainment Industry”. 

Kelvin Droegemeier (University of Oklahoma): “Tracking Hurricanes”.

 

For topical lectures: 

Brad Allenby (Arizona State University): “Sustainability and the Transformative Character of Technology”.

Jeanette Wing (NSF): “Computational Thinking”.

Henry Petroski (Duke): “Engineering and Design”.

Joe Bordogna (Penn): “The Global Science Enterprise”.

Jack Lenahan (Whitaker Foundation and Northwestern): “Bioengineering”. 

Dan Atkins (NSF): “Cyberinfrastructure”.

10.     New Business:  Dr. Marcus invited all attendees to get more involved in Section activities.  Dr. Nelson, the chair-elect, brought up the question of what could the section do to increase the involvement of our members in the section activities. More specifically, should we try to recruit more engineers to come to the AAAS Annual Meeting?  Should we look to partner more with other sections?

 

11.   Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 12:30 PM.

 

 

Submitted by:

Marwan A. Simaan

Section Secretary

February 20, 2008

 

 

 

 

Appendix A

Attendance List

 

 

1.                   Gail H. Marcus, Chair

2.                   Marwan Simaan, Secretary

3.                   Linda Katehi, Board Member

4.                   S. K. Sundaram

5.                   Steve Carleton

6.                   Sarah Banas, AAAS International Office

7.                   Peter Bainum, Representative, American Astronautical Society

8.                   George Klinzing, Newly Elected Fellow

9.                   K.T. Thulasiraman, Newly Elected Fellow

10.               Ching-Chung Li, Newly Elected Fellow

11.               Jeffrey Freidberg, Newly Elected Fellow

12.               Priscilla Nelson, Chair-Elect

13.               Anice Anderson

14.               Ted Conway

15.               Raphael Lee, Newly Elected Fellow

16.               Paul Dimotakis, Newly Elected Fellow

17.               David Lubman, Representative, Acoustical Society of America

18.               Frank Severance

19.               C. L. Max Nikias, Newly Elected Fellow

20.               Peter T. Cummings, Newly Elected Fellow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix B

AAAS

2008 Engineering Section Business Meeting

Friday February 15, 2008

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Place: Sheraton Boston Hotel

Room: Fairfax A

 

TENTATIVE AGENDA

 

1.    Introductions

2.    Approval of minutes of previous meeting

3.    Announcements

(a)   Officers for 2008-2009

(b)   New Engineering Section AAAS Fellows

4.    Discussion of Fellow nomination process

5.    Discussion of proposed symposia and seminars for the 2009 Annual Meeting

6.    New Business

 

Appendix C

 

2008-09 AAAS Section on Engineering Steering Group

 

(Officers and Members-at-Large, effective February 19, 2008)

 

Officers

Members-at-Large  

Priscilla P. Nelson, Chair (2009)

New Jersey Institute of Technology

Fenster Hall 380

323 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Newark, NJ 07102-1982

Tel: (973) 596-3220

Fax: (973) 642-4079

E-mail: pnelson@njit.edu 

Frances H. Arnold (2009)

Div. of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering

MC 210-41

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA 91125-4100

Tel: (626) 395-4162

Fax: (626) 568-8743

E-mail:frances@cheme.caltech.edu

Gail H. Marcus, Retiring Chair (2009)

Consultant, Nuclear Power Technology

    and Policy
8026 Cypress Grove Lane

Cabin John, MD 20818
Tel: (301) 229-7714

E-mail: ghmarcus@aol.com

 

Herbert H. Richardson (2010)

Texas Transportation Institute

The Texas A&M University System

College Station, TX 77802

Tel: (979)-845-8552

Fax: (979)-845-9356

E-mail: herbert-richardson@tamu.edu

Robert M. Nerem, Chair-Elect (2009)

Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Biological Science

315 Ferst Dr.

Atlanta, GA 30332-0363

404-894-2768

Fax: 404-894-2291

Robert.nerem@ibb.gatech.edu

 

Debbie A. Niemeier (2011)

Dept. of Civil and Environ. Engineering

University of California, Davis

Davis, CA 95616

Tel: (530) 752-8918

Fax: (530) 752-7872

E-mail: dniemeier@ucdavis.edu

 

Marwan A. Simaan, Secretary (2010)

Department of Electrical Engineering

348 Benedum Hall

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, PA 15261

Tel: (412) 624-8099

Fax: (412) 624-8003

E-mail: simaan@pitt.edu 

Cristina H. Amon (2012)

Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering

University of Toronto

35 St. George Street, Room 170

Toronto, ON M5S 1A4  CANADA

416-978-3131

Fax: 416-978-4859

dean@ecf.utoronto.ca

 

 

 

Appendix D

New AAAS Fellows elected in October 2007

Engineering Section

·         Pulickel M. Ajayan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

·         Nadine N. Aubry, Carnegie Mellon University

·         Alexander A. Balandin, University of California, Riverside

·         Sanjay Banerjee, University of Texas at Austin

·         Robert F. Cleveland Jr., Federal Communications Commission

·         Thomas A. Cruse, Air Force Research Laboratory

·         Peter T. Cummings, Vanderbilt University

·         Paul E. Dimotakis, California Institute of Technology

·         Brig Elliott, BBN Technologies

·         Jeffrey P. Freidberg, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

·         Somnath Ghosh, Ohio State University

·         Steven M. Girvin, Yale University

·         Chennupati Jagadish, Australian National University

·         George E. Klinzing, University of Pittsburgh

·         Julia A. Kornfield, California Institute of Technology

·         Raphael C. Lee, University of Chicago

·         Ching-Chung Li, University of Pittsburgh

·         Bindu N. Lohani, Asian Development Bank

·         Toh-Ming Lu, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

·         Pinaki Mazumder, University of Michigan

·         James L. Merz, University of Notre Dame

·         Chrysostomos L. Nikias, University of Southern California

·         Patrick G. O'Shea, University of Maryland

·         Yannis A. Phillis, Technical University of Crete

·         Fritz B. Prinz, Stanford University

·         Govind Rao, University of Maryland, Baltimore County

·         Robert J. Schoelkopf, Yale University

·         Edmund G. Seebauer, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

·         Marion J. Soileau Jr., University of Central Florida

·         Joseph M. Sussman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

·         Krishnaiyan Thularsiraman, University of Oklahoma

·         Nai-Chang Yeh, California Institute of Technology

·         Peter W. Zandstra, University of Toronto

·         Jean W. Zu, University of Toronto

 

 

 

 

Appendix E

 

 

 

2008 Annual Meeting Symposia and Seminars of Interest to Engineers

 

1. Symposia and Seminars Sponsored by the Engineering Section

 

Friday February 15:

 

Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-054. World Biofuels Production Potential in the Next Decade

 

Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-049. A Thirst for Power: The Global Nexus of Energy and Water

 

Friday, 1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-025. A Comparative Look at Markets, Media, and Emerging Attitudes About Nanotechnology

 

Friday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-024. Power of the Internet To Facilitate Science Education and Networking: The Supercourse

 

Friday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-099. Coal Gasification: Myths, Challenges, and Opportunities

 

Friday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-030. Grand Challenges and Opportunities for Engineering in the 21st Century

 

 

Saturday February 16:

 

Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-081. Quantum Information Theory

 

Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-106. Interdisciplinary Research and Integrated Policy-Making for Sustainable Development

 

Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-144. Forum for Sustainability Science Programs

 

Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-159. Nuclear Reactor Systems of the Future: Costly Illusion or Promising Breakthrough?

 

Saturday, 1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-153. Information, Computing, and Communications: Keys to Sustainable Global Development

 

Saturday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-035. Biomass-to-Biofuels Conversion: Technical and Policy Perspectives

 

Saturday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-105. Global Partnerships for Sustainability Science

 

 

Sunday February 17:

 

Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-042. Improving Public Understanding of Engineering: From Research to Practice

 

Sunday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-158. Materials Synthesis Opportunities for Global Energy Needs

 

Sunday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-029. Looking Across the Ocean: Increasing Science and Engineering Women Faculty

 

Sunday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-024. Nanocatalysis for Clean Energy and Sustainability

 

Monday February 18:

Monday, 9:15 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.

 

90-Minute Symposium
090-043. Producing Scientists and Engineers in Developing Countries: New University Paradigms

 

 

 

 2. Symposia and Seminars Co-Sponsored by the Engineering Section

 

Friday February 15:

 

Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-077. Seeing Science

 

Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-084. 50 Years of the Space Age: Looking Back, Looking Forward

 

Friday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-026. A Crack in the Lab Door: The State of “Upstream Engagement” in Science

 

Friday, 1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-145. Inside the Double Bind: Women of Color in STEM

 

Friday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-052. Mars Rovers: The Exploration of Mars

 

Friday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-126. Turning the Tide? Current Climate and Energy Technology Policy Negotiations

 

 

Saturday February 16:

Saturday, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-035. Blogs, Boards, and Bonding: Using Electronic Communities To Support Women in Science

 

Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-039. Emerging Research for Women in Science in the New Century

 

Saturday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-087. High-Powered Lasers: Fusion Ignition and Concomitant Scientific Opportunities

 

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-070. Enhancing Science Globally Through High-Performance Computing and Simulation

 

Saturday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-104. Design of Mechanical Puzzles

 

Sunday February 17:

Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-065. Burn or Bury? Global Proposals for Managing Highly Radioactive Nuclear Waste

 

Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-101. Universities Without Walls: Endeavors in Global Interinstitutional Education

 

Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-107. Science and Technology for Sustainable Development: The African Context

 

Sunday, 1:45 p.m. - 3:15 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-073. Global Diffusion of Nanotechnology: Lessons from China, Italy, and the United States

 

Sunday, 1:45 p.m. - 4:45 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-056. Biometrics in Border Management: Grand Challenges for Security, Identity, and Privacy

 

Sunday, 3:30 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

90-Minute Symposium
090-113. New Diamond Age: From Optics and Electronics to Spintronics and Nucleonics

 

Monday February 19:

Monday, 9:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

180-Minute Symposium
180-034. Biofuels from Forest-Based Biomass

 

Monday, 9:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

 

180-Minute Symposium
180-069. The Global Dimension of Research Infrastructures