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Panel Discussion 3:00pm-5:00pm
Reception honoring
Dr. Zafra M. Lerman
immediately to follow, 5:00pm-7:00pm
AAAS
1200 New York Avenue, Washington, DC
To RSVP, please fill in all of your information at this
page!
Zafra Lerman |
Each year, the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program sponsors
a topical lecture and reception to honor a US-based scientist who has made significant
contributions to advancing human rights within the scientific community. The
event is coordinated with international observation of Human Rights Day, the
anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights by the
General Assembly of the United Nations.
The event provides the science community an opportunity to recognize one of
its members who is making explicit the connections between fundamental freedoms
and the conduct of science. The AAAS Science and Human Rights Program's mission
is based on the principle that the full realization of human rights is a precondition
for the scientific endeavor and should be defended and encouraged as a matter
of scientific freedom and responsibility.
This year, the AAAS Science and Human Rights Program is honoring Dr. Zafra
M. Lerman, Distinguished Professor of Science and Public Policy and Head of
the Institute for Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College,
Chicago. Zafra is the chair of the American Chemical Society's (ACS) Subcommittee
on Scientific Freedom and Human Rights, a position she has held since the committee
was formed in 1987. On behalf of the subcommittee and in her own personal capacity,
Zafra has been and outstanding advocate for human rights and has worked tirelessly
on behalf of many persecuted scientists around the world. She has also been
very involved in working to address US government restrictions on travel for
academics and researchers interested in traveling to Cuba. Speaking about the
subcommittee, Zafra has stated that, "Chemists are one family dedicated
to improving life through chemistry. If we have members of our community wrongly
accused for their beliefs, ethics or activities, then we should stand up for
them. The rest of the community should help."
Zafra also once famously told a reporter, "I am very busy. I am trying
to achieve peace in the Middle East and teach the world about science."
Her work at the Columbia College Institute for Science Education and Science
Communication, an institute she founded in 1991, fulfills the latter portion
of her personal mission. As for achieving peace in the Middle East, Zafra has
organized two major conferences in Malta that draw research chemists from the
region to discuss some of the key issues facing the Middle East-the environment,
health, education and economic development-and the role that chemists can play
in addressing these challenges. The Malta conferences (the first was held in
2003 and the second in November 2005) are also an exercise in diplomatic relations.
Billed as a "Pugwash" for chemical scientists, a goal of the conferences
is to forge relationships of trust and mutual tolerance and respect.
On December 2nd, a high profile panel of chemists will discuss the Malta Conferences,
future plans for collaboration within the region, and the role of scientists
as peacemakers. A reception to honor Zafra will follow the panel discussion.
Panel Discussion:
- Zafra M. Lerman,
Distinguished Professor of Science and Public Policy and Head of the Institute
for Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia College, Chicago
- Ahmed Mohamed,
Welch Visiting Professor of Chemistry, Texas A & M University
- E. Ann Nalley, President-Elect
of the American Chemical Society
- Charles Kolb, President
and Chief Executive Officer of Aerodyne Research, Inc
- Arthur B. Ellis,
Director of the Division of Chemistry, National Science Foundation
Reception to Follow. This event is open to the public. Please forward this
invite on to any interested parties.
Congressional
Record from May 2004 on Malta Conference
On the Malta Conference
from the Institute for Science Education and Science Communication at Columbia
College Chicago
Science
For Peace in The Middle East, from Chemical and Engineering News
To see past Human Rights Day events, click here.
(site updated 12/01/2005)
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