Sigma Xi 2003 Forum in Los Angeles
The theme for Sigma Xi's 2003 Forum, November 12-13, is Science and Engineering: Keys to International Understanding. The plenary topics will be: scientific outreach of global organizations; regional efforts and scientific development; and scientific capacity and communication with Mexico. Several prestigious leaders in international science will be participating, including: Mary T. Kalin Arroyo, Francisco Ayala, Norman Borlaug, Mohamed Hassan, José A. de la Peña, Peter Raven, José Sarukhán, and Gerson Sher.

The 2003 Forum will serve as the culmination of Sigma Xi's Packard International Science Networking Initiative and the bridge to the Society's future international programs. Incoming Sigma Xi President Peter Raven will convene this exciting meeting November 12-13 at the Hyatt Macy's Plaza in Los Angeles. All of the sessions will tie into the role of scientific and engineering communication and collaboration as an enabler for international understanding, and the conference will be held in conjunction with the Society's annual meeting November 13-16. Online registration for the meeting will begin July 1st.

Back to top

Moscow Symposium a Great Success
by John Kelley, University of Alaska, Fairbanks
It was a pleasure to represent Sigma Xi at the recent Rally of Scientific Schools held at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Moscow on April 28-30. The purposes of this conference were: 1) to provide interaction with colleagues across all science, mathematics and engineering disciplines; 2) to honor the memory of important persons in the Moscow scientific community; 3) to encourage promising young students and scientists; and 4) to appreciate the activities that helped to promote scientific research. The schools represented at this event were: Prof. Yurii Svirejev's School of Mathematical Ecology; Prof. George Golitsyn's School of Climate Theory and Atmospheric Physics; Prof. Gleb Dobrovolsky's School of Soil Science; and the Moscow State University Department of Microbiology, organized by Prof. Alexandre Semenov. Prizes were awarded for Outstanding Teaching, Research Excellence from a Young Scientist, and Promising Graduate Student. One of the organizers, Dr. Georgii Alexandrov, is coordinating the publication of the symposium proceedings.

Student poster session at the Rally of Scientific Schools, including Prof. Yurii Svirejev (1st row, far left), Prof. John Kelley (1st row, center) and Prof. Alexey Stepanov (2nd row, 2nd from right)

Back to top

Improving S&T Communication in Latin America
In May, SciDev.Net Latin America, a regional branch of the Science and Development Network (SciDev.Net), was launched to enhance communication about science and technology within the Latin American/Caribbean region. A new Latin American Gateway debuted on the SciDev.Net Web site shortly thereafter, providing relevant news, opinions and information in Portuguese, Spanish and English. With the addition of the Latin American gateway, there is now a total of four different regional gateways on the SciDev.Net site.

Back to top

Colombian Science and Technology News Agency Established
by Carolina Osorio Posada, NOTICyT, Bogotá
The Colombian Association of Science Journalism (Asociación Colombiana de Periodismo Científico, ACPC) recently established a news agency in Colombia dedicated to science and technology. This agency, called NOTICyT, has as one of its goals to sensitize Colombian journalism about the importance of the public understanding of science. NOTICyT has been sending weekly bulletins to the Colombian mass media since February, with a terrific utilization record. As of May 30th, 62 articles have been sent; 44 have been published in 12 newspapers around the country. Another NOTICyT goal is to train future science journalists. Therefore, four journalism students are working on a daily basis with real journalistic responsibilities. The ACPC recently received a networking award through Sigma Xi's Packard International Networking Initiative to support these efforts.

Back to top

Directory of Open Access Journals
The Directory of Open Access Journals, a project of the University of Lund Libraries, the Open Society Institute and the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition, was launched last month. This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals. and aims to cover all subjects and languages. [Source: FOS NEWS].

Back to top

Did You Know?
European Public Awareness of Science (EuroPAWS) is accepting nominations for the 2003 Midas Prizes until June 30, 2003. These awards will honor the best television dramas broadcast within Europe bearing on science or technology.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) established the APC Betinho Communications Prize to recognize and document outstanding examples of how the Internet can make a real difference for the world's communities today. In 2003 the prize will recognize "people-centered information and communication technology initiatives" based in Latin America and the Caribbean. The nomination deadline is August 15, 2003. [Source: Digital Dividend Digest]

The International Foundation for Science (IFS) and the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies (UNU/IAS) are pleased to announce a new joint initiative offering fellowships for research on the theme of "Agriculture for Peace." The deadline for fellowship applications is August 15, 2003. Agriculture for Peace Fellowships are available to citizens of Sub-Saharan African countries that are 45 years of age or younger, holders of at least an MA degree or equivalent, and at the beginning of their research career. Researchers awarded a fellowship will receive up to USD 12,000 for the period of one year to carry out their research; will be invited to participate in a mentorship program that includes a one-month research stay at the United Nations University Institute of Advanced Studies in Japan; and will benefit from a range of other supporting services provided by IFS and UNU/IAS.

Back to top

Upcoming Meetings
10th Latin-American Association of Technology Management (ALTEC) Seminar Knowledge, Innovation and Competitiveness: Challenges from Globalization; Mexico City, Mexico; October 22-24, 2003.

The Global Biodiversity Forum, GBF18-Cancun/WTO5: Biodiversity, Trade and Sustainable Development; Cancun, Mexico; September 5-7, 2003.

Sigma Xi's 2003 Forum, Science and Engineering: Keys to International Understanding; Los Angeles, California, USA; November 12-13, 2003.

For more information on any of the programs mentioned in this newsletter, please contact:

Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society
P. O. Box 13975, 3106 East NC Highway 54
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 USA
Telephone: +1-919-549-4691 or +1-919-547-5246
Fax: +1-919-547-5263
E-mail: international@sigmaxi.org