AAAS President Lauds Barack Obama for Exhibiting "Intense Curiosity and a Willingness to Listen". (February 13, 2009)

James J. McCarthy assumed the presidency of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) last February. He is the Alexander Agassiz Professor of Biological Oceanography at Harvard University.

Coinciding with the 2009 meeting of the AAAS, Professor McCarthy this week took the opportunity to write an editorial for Science which reads like a heartfelt sigh of relief with the passing of the US presidency to Barack Obama.

It is noteworthy that this meeting is being convened in the land of Lincoln and within a month of the inauguration of another son of Illinois, Barack Obama, as president of the United States.

President Obama assumes his office at a time when exceptional leadership is desperately needed to address urgent domestic and international problems. Unfortunately, the urgency of these and other national priorities does not allow for sequential planning and action, with an expectation that some can be put off for a later time. Over the past few years, scientists have expressed dismay at the lack of opportunity to bring the very best science into the decision-making processes of the U.S. government. The government's scientific integrity was publicly called into question. But the good news is that as the Obama administration coalesces, there are signs of a dramatic shift in the position of science advice... President Obama exhibits intense curiosity and a willingness to listen. Perhaps never before has a president successfully recruited so many scientific stars to his cabinet and other executive positions. We can now hope that their energy and talents will be applied effectively to matters relating to national security and nuclear proliferation, energy security and greenhouse gas reductions, medical research and health care delivery, and more.

It is something of a disappointment that so far, Australia's prime minister, Kevin Rudd, while exhibiting no antipathy toward science has not exhibited particular interest in significantly drawing researchers into the decision making processes of his government even after more than a year of being in office. The holding of reviews and the requests for submissions are not comparable to: "Perhaps never before has a president successfully recruited so many scientific stars to his cabinet and other executive positions."