Science Diplomacy and Policy Summit to Focus on Climate Change and Water in the Americas
Ambassadors, science and technology advisers and researchers from 10 countries and even more disciplines will gather Feb. 22-24, 2017, at the University of Arizona for Science Diplomacy and Policy with Focus on the Americas, a global conference on practical solutions to some of today’s most pressing environmental and sustainable development challenges, such as ensuring clean water supplies and combating global warming effects.
“This first-of-its-kind gathering at the UA offers students and professionals in science, engineering, international policy and law a rare opportunity to share ideas and gain insights from some of the most important figures in science diplomacy,” said Kevin Lansey, head of the UA department of civil engineering and engineering mechanics and one of the conference organizers.
Thomas R. Pickering, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Israel and Russia, among other countries; former undersecretary of state for political affairs and former science and technology adviser to the secretary of state; senior scholar at the American Association for Advancement of Science Center for Science Diplomacy; vice chair of Hills & Co. international consultants; and distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution.
Peter Agre, winner of the Nobel Prize in chemistry, Bloomberg distinguished professor, and director of the Malaria Research Institute at Johns Hopkins University.
Vaughan Turekian, science and technology adviser to the secretary of state, former program director for the National Academy of Science Committee on Global Change Research, and former director of the AAAS Center for Science Diplomacy.
Dozens of other guests -- geophysicists and geneticists, public health administrators and drug regulators, energy resource economists and biotechnology experts, atmospheric chemists and watershed managers -- will serve on panels on topics such as the role of universities in science diplomacy and climate change challenges for the Americas.
E. William Colglazier, former science and technology adviser to the secretary of state and senior scholar in the Center for Science Diplomacy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is the conference’s honorary chairman and will introduce the program.
The UA College of Engineering is co-sponsoring the conference with the UA Office of Global Initiatives and other units on campus. The program will be held at the Tucson Marriott University Park. Registration is required, with discounts available for students and faculty.
On Wednesday, Feb. 22, at 6:30 p.m., the UA will host a 90-minute panel discussion featuring Thomas Pickering and Peter Agre on the role of nongovernmental and governmental agencies and research scientists in science diplomacy. This roundtable is free and open to the public and does not require conference registration.
Visit the Science Diplomacy and Policy conference website for more information and to register. For additional questions, email Kevin Lansey.
