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PGA is pleased to celebrate our 10th Anniversary as a program division of the National Academies. Please enjoy the timeline below of milestones from 2001-2011.
Richard Bissell Executive Director
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Fearing Bioterrorism, Government Panel Asks: What Research Should Be Secret? In an unprecedented step, the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity asked prominent journals Science and Nature not to publish some of the details of biological experiments on the avian flu virus. Created in response to a recommendation in Biotechnology Research in an Age of Terrorism (2004) the board said that the general conclusions were ok for print but the methodology could possibly be used to replicate the experiments by those who intend harm. This is the first time the NIH board has advised restricting information since its inception.
Applications are available December 1 for 2012 NRC Research Associateship awards; the submission deadline is February 1, 2012. These awards offer graduate, postdoctoral, and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions.
The seventh annual conference of the African Science Academy Development Initiative (ASADI) took place November 14-16 in Kampala, Uganda, hosted by that country’s National Academy of Sciences. Officials from several African science academies met with counterparts from the U.S. National Academies, European science academies, and other experts from around the world to discuss aid effectiveness in Africa's health sector. The Uganda National Academy of Sciences unveiled a new report linked to the theme of the conference -- Informing Strategies, Improving Results: The Role of Civil Society Organisations in Managing for Results in Africa's Health Sector – presenting the results of a questionnaire of civil society organizations in Uganda and throughout sub-Saharan Africa.
Workshop on Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Developing Regional Innovation Environments Continuing state initiatives to implement recommendations in Rising Above the Gathering Storm, the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy (COSEPUP) conducted a workshop September 20-22 in Madison, Wisconsin, to examine how states and regions can address today’s challenges for strengthening leadership in innovation. The workshop participants explored information, ideas and innovative examples that are crucial for state and regional initiatives in the broad areas identified by the Gathering Storm report (K-12 education, higher education and research, government-university-industry partnerships, and technology and entrepreneurship) and discussed effective strategies for sustaining and accelerating progress.
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Patent Reforms Recommended by Research Council Report President Obama has signed into law the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which introduces some of the most significant reforms to the U.S. patent system in decades. The law enacts key recommendations of a 2004 National Research Council report, A Patent System for the 21st Century. Provisions in the new law that were recommended in the report include providing an "open review" procedure for third parties to challenge recently issued patents before U.S. Patent and Trademark Office administrative judges and converting to a first-inventor-to-file priority system to reduce disputes over who invented first and bring the U.S. patent system into conformity with patent systems of other nations. Several other recommendations in the 2004 report have already been addressed in administrative actions and federal court decisions intended to raise patent quality, reduce litigation costs, and improve USPTO efficiency.
Sustainability at the U.S. EPA A new report from the National Research Council presents a framework for incorporating sustainability into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s principles and decision making. The framework, which was requested by EPA, is intended to help the agency better assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various options as it makes decisions.The report is available for free as a PDF.
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