Today, on this innauguration day, I want to highlight a slightly older story about how science & technology can benefit in this new administration. On December 20, Barack Obama released the following address.
“The truth is that promoting science isn’t just about providing resources—it’s about protecting free and open inquiry,” President-elect Obama said. “It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—especially when it’s inconvenient. Because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth and a greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States—and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.”
In addition to providing science lip service, the Obama administration also named several science appointments featuring prominant biologists to a President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) and The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Obama named John Holdren co-chair of PCAST. Holden, who is president and director of the Woods Hole Research Center, is a leading voice on climate change issues.
Also named co-chair is Harold Varmus. Varmus won a Nobel Prize in 1989 for his discoveries relating to the genetic basis of cancer. Varmus has been CEO of As chairman of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and has chaired the board of directors for the Public Library of Science. In his position, Varmus has advocated for the open access of biomedical papers. The third co-chair to PCAST is Eric Lander, a Harvard Medical School and MIT professor whose work on the Human Genome project significantly impacted our understanding of genetics today.
One final science appointment is marine biologist Jane Lubchenco. Lubchenco will serve as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Click the link below, to see the entire video after the break.
