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Fall 2023 Bulletin: Annual Report

Science, Engineering & Technology

An aerial view of a road beside a planetarium on a mountainside. Clouds hover in the background, obscuring the view of the ground below.
Photo by iStock.com/joebelanger.

The Ƶ’s record of distinction in Science, Engineering, and Technology dates to its founding mission “to cultivate every art and science which may tend to advance the interest, honor, dignity, and happiness of a free, independent, and virtuous people.” Rather than generate new scientific research, the role of the Ƶ has been uniquely interdisciplinary, bridging the social sciences and arts with the physical sciences to support a national understanding, belief, and trust in science and discovery. Perhaps no better example of this can be found than in the mid-1800s when the Ƶ hosted hotly contested debates about a new scientific theory–the theory of evolution.

Ƶ projects in Science, Engineering, and Technology seek to strengthen the capacity of science and engineering to improve the human condition. This goal has never been more important for the nation or for the world than it is today. Global challenges increasingly require collaboration across disciplinary, professional, and national boundaries. Likewise, rapid advances in information processing and transmission raise new issues for the management of scientific knowledge and for action on new discoveries.

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Commission on Accelerating Climate Action
 

People in hard hats and construction vests pass sandbags down a line through a flooded agricultural field.
Photo by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The scientific consensus is clear: climate change is upon us, and its impacts will be devastating and increasingly difficult to prevent and address if we do not take action now. While most Americans express support for a broad array of climate policies and government action, polarization and a continued partisan divide have impeded the United States’ efforts to craft a long-term plan for climate action. Recent legislative successes have begun to create momentum for change, yet the country still lacks a broad and politically durable coalition to ensure that progress does not stall. To address this challenge facing our global society, the Ƶ formally launched a project on climate action in September 2021.

Unlike other climate change studies, the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action will not produce or analyze climate science data; it will not limit its recommendations to certain disciplines or economic sectors. Rather, the Commission will seek to leverage the full toolkit of its broad membership to reveal unique and creative interdisciplinary solutions: novel, specific, targeted actions that, if taken, would dramatically alter the trajectory of U.S. action on climate change.

In the past year, the Commission drafted recommendations based on comments of the seventy expert interviewees from its assessment of the national landscape on climate action. The findings from these interviews have been published in three workstreams: Communication, the Private Sector, and Human & Military Security. Throughout the year, the Commission met several times virtually and twice in person to hone the recommendations, which fall under five strategies: Prioritize Equity and Justice in Climate Action, Engage and Educate Across Diverse Communities, Mobilize Investment, Deploy Diverse Options for Controlling Emissions, and Ensure Adaptation at All Levels of Society.

The Commission has developed a theory of change that emphasizes the importance of simultaneously implementing short-term changes while experimenting with bold, transformative ones. Justice is a central component of the recommendations’ guiding philosophy. In fall 2023, the Commission published its recommendations in a consensus final report, Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America.
 

Commission Chairs
 

Mustafa Santiago Ali
National Wildlife Federation; Revitalization Strategies

Christopher Field
Stanford University

David G. Victor
University of California San Diego

Patricia Vincent-Collawn
PNM Resources

 

Commission Members
 

Benjamin Backer
American Conservation Coalition

Phyllis L. Bayer
Dumbarton Strategies, LLC

Mitchell Bernard
Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc.

Philip Bredesen
State of Tennessee; Silicon Ranch

Patricia Cochran
Alaska Native Science Commission

Ertharin Cousin
Food Systems for the Future

Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

L. Kealoha Fox
Institute for Climate & Peace

Tim Guinee
Climate Actors

Rebecca Henderson
Harvard University

Mitchell C. Hescox
Evangelical Environmental Network

Charles O. Holliday, Jr.
Mission Possible Partnership

Russel L. Honoré
Joint Task Force Katrina, Leadership, Safety & Global Preparedness Authority

Bob Inglis
republicEn.org

Kathleen Hall Jamieson
University of Pennsylvania

Alexander Karsner
X (Alphabet Inc.)

Elizabeth Kolbert
The New Yorker

John Paul Mejia
Sunrise Movement

Katherine Orff
SCAPE

David W. Oxtoby
American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences

Gary Roughead
Hoover Institution

Linda Rudolph
Public Health Institute; Medical Society Consortium on Climate and Health

Roger Sant
The Summit Foundation

J. Marshall Shepherd
University of Georgia

Doreen Stabinsky
College of the Atlantic

Hilary Tompkins
Hogan Lovells

Elke Weber
Princeton University

 

Project Staff
 

Carson Bullock
Program Associate for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Kate Carter
Program Officer for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Leo Curran
John E. Bryson Program Director for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Peter Robinson
Interim Chief Program Officer and Morton L. Mandel Director of Strategic Implementation

Kelsey Schuch
Hellman Fellow for Science and Technology Policy

Jennifer Smith
Program Coordinator for Science, Engineering, and Technology

 

Former Project Staff
 

Sophia Charan
Hellman Fellow for Science and Technology Policy

Islam Qasem
John E. Bryson Program Director for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Rebecca Tiernan
Program Associate for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Amanda Vernon
Program Officer for Science, Engineering, and Technology

 

Funders
 

John E. Bryson and Louise Henry Bryson

Hansjörg Wyss

Bob Higgins

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

The Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment

The David and Ellen Lee Family Foundation

William and Helen Pounds

Roger Sant and Doris Matsui
 

Commission Publications
 

Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2023)

Proven Principles of Effective Climate Change Communication (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2023)

Climate Change Security Risks and Opportunities (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2023)

Barriers to Private Sector Action (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2023)
 

Commission Meetings
 

Fourth Meeting of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action

January 9–10, 2023
John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Miami, FL

At this meeting, the Commission finalized the five overarching strategies around which its consensus report will be organized. The Commission also met with several local organizations, including Miami Waterkeeper, the CLEO Institute, and the Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience, to learn how issues of community empowerment and climate action have manifested at the local level.

Two dozen of the members of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action and project staff stand in a grassy expanse near a meeting hall.
Members of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action and project staff gathered with staff from the Miami-Dade County Office of Resilience and the CLEO Institute for a walking tour of Miami’s Little River neighborhood during the fourth meeting of the Commission. Photo by Angel Valentín.

 

Fifth Meeting of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action

April 21, 2023
House of the Ƶ, Cambridge, MA

At this meeting, the Commission reached consensus on the list of recommendations for its forthcoming report, making sure that the recommendations are balanced to reflect both readily achievable goals and bold, transformative ones. The participants also discussed how to ensure each recommendation aligns with the Commission’s core principles of justice, pragmatism, and accountability.

Members from the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action and project staff sit at a conference table with computers and microphones to discuss the project.
Members of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action convened at the House of the Ƶ for the fifth meeting of the Commission. Photo by Jen Smith.

 

Report Launch: Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America

Washington, D.C.
October 24, 2023

To celebrate the release of Forging Climate Solutions: How to Accelerate Action Across America, Laura Helmuth (Scientific American) moderated a panel discussion with the Commission’s cochairs. The event  offered a unique opportunity for the cochairs to reflect on their time working with a diverse group of climate experts and discuss a whole-of-society plan to combat the climate crisis. The event also marked the beginning of the Commission’s outreach phase with government, industry, and nonprofit organizations.

A view from the aisle of the commission cochairs addressing the audience at the launch event to promote Forging Climate Solutions.
To officially launch Forging Climate Solutions, the Commission’s cochairs participated in a panel discussion moderated by Laura Helmuth (Scientific American). They described the report’s vision for fair and durable climate policies to an audience that joined in person and virtually. Photo by Noah Willman.
Attendees gather in a dark-paneled room at a formal venue for the launch event in Washington, D.C. to promote Forging Climate Solutions.
Members of the Commission on Accelerating Climate Action mingled with D.C.–area Ƶ members to celebrate the release of Forging Climate Solutions. Photo by Noah Willman.

 

Meeting with Environmental Organizations

Washington, D.C.
October 24, 2023

At this meeting, Commission members met with a foundational set of stakeholders in the climate movement: representatives from environmental nongovernmental organizations. The attendees discussed the Commission’s final report, Forging Climate Solutions.

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Challenges for International Scientific Partnerships
 

A tunnel view of a particle-accelerator collider, creating a prism of color with warm light appearing at the far end of the apparatus.
Photo by iStock.com/-Dant-.

Challenges for International Scientific Partnerships (CISP) articulates the benefits of international collaboration and recommends solutions to the most pressing challenges associated with the design and operation of international partnerships. The initiative identifies policy recommendations and best practices to mitigate challenges for international science collaborations, including physical facilities, distributed networks, and peer-to-peer partnerships.

The project released its first report, America and the International Future of Science, in December 2020, its second report, Bold Ambition: International Large-Scale Science, in June 2021, and a third and final report, Global Connections: Emerging Science Partners, in January 2022.

The Large-Scale Science (LSS) working group approaches international collaborations through the lens of issues particular to large-scale science, not peer-to-peer or small-scale international work. This group has been tasked with exploring how the United States can enhance its role in these partnerships, both in physical facilities (such as CERN) and distributed networks (such as the Human Cell Atlas). This group is focusing on recommendations that will bolster the United States’ ability to partake in large-scale collaboration efforts as meaningful and engaged partners.

The Emerging Science Partners (ESP) working group explores issues particular to U.S. scientific collaborations at all scales with countries seeking to boost their scientific capacity, particularly those with limited resources to do so. This working group frames discussions around how the United States can be a better collaborator in its partnerships with emerging science partner countries and work to increase equity in these collaborations.
 

Project Chairs
 

Arthur Bienenstock
Stanford University

Peter Michelson
Stanford University

 

Steering Committee Members
 

Claude R. Canizares
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Matthias W. Hentze
European Molecular Biology Laboratory

John G. Hildebrand
University of Arizona

Kerri-Ann Jones
Pew Charitable Trusts

William F. Lee
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, LLP

Shirley Malcom
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Cherry A. Murray
University of Arizona

Venkatesh Narayanamurti
Harvard University

Olufunmilayo I. Olopade
University of Chicago

Geraldine L. Richmond
U.S. Department of Energy

Vaughan C. Turekian
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Caroline S. Wagner
The Ohio State University

 

Large-Scale Science Working Group
 

Arthur Bienenstock, Cochair
Stanford University

Peter Michelson, Cochair
Stanford University

Claude R. Canizares
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

E. William Colglazier
American Association for Advancement of Science

Inez Fung
University of California, Berkeley

Michael Holland
University of Pittsburgh

Kaye Husbands Fealing
Georgia Institute of Technology

Cherry A. Murray
University of Arizona

Philip Rubin
Yale University

Gary Sanders
California Institute of Technology

Diane Souvaine
Tufts University

 

Emerging Science Partners Working Group
 

Shirley Malcom, Cochair
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Olufunmilayo I. Olopade, Cochair
University of Chicago

Alice Abreu
Federal University of Rio de Janeiro

Bruce Alberts
University of California, San Francisco

Bernard Amadei
University of Colorado at Boulder

Arthur Bienenstock, ex officio
Stanford University

Jared Cohon
Carnegie Mellon University

Rita Colwell
University of Maryland

James W. Curran
Emory University

Ali Douraghy
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
(concluded participation in the working group on January 19, 2021)

Nina Dudnik
Seeding Labs

Mohamed Hassan
The Sudanese National Ƶ of Sciences

John G. Hildebrand
University of Arizona

Nkem Khumbah
University of Michigan

Peter Michelson, ex officio
Stanford University

Peggy Oti-Boateng
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

Jamil Salmi
Diego Portales University

Flavia Schlegel
United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

Vaughan C. Turekian
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Caroline S. Wagner
The Ohio State University

 

Project Staff
 

Carson Bullock
Program Associate for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Kate Carter
Program Officer for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Leo Curran
John E. Bryson Program Director for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Peter Robinson
Interim Chief Program Officer and Morton L. Mandel Director of Strategic Implementation

Kelsey Schuch
Hellman Fellow for Science and Technology Policy

Jennifer Smith
Program Coordinator for Science, Engineering, and Technology

 

Former Project Staff
 

Sophia Charan
Hellman Fellow for Science and Technology Policy

Islam Qasem
John E. Bryson Program Director for Science, Engineering, and Technology

John Randell
John E. Bryson Program Director for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Gregory Savageau
Program Associate for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Rebecca Tiernan
Program Associate for Science, Engineering, and Technology

Amanda Vernon
Program Officer for Science, Engineering, and Technology

 

Funders
 

The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation

William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
 

Project Publications
 

Global Connections: Emerging Science Partners (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2022)

Bold Ambition: International Large-Scale Science (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2021)

America and the International Future of Science (American Ƶ of Arts and Sciences, 2020)
 

Project Meeting
 

Virtual Roundtable on Funding Discovery Science in Africa

cohosted with the Science Philanthropy Alliance

September 19, 2022

At this event, which included opening remarks from the CISP project cochairs, France Córdova (Science Philanthropy Alliance) moderated a panel conversation with Amina Abubakar (Kenya Medical Research Institute), Yaw Agyeman (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation), Karen Makar (Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation), and Anne Petersen (Global Philanthropy Alliance). The discussion centered on co-creation of capacity-building programs and long-term partnerships between the United States and the Global South.

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