Chief Scientist Reports on US Visit. (May 21, 2010)

Australia's Chief Scientist, Professor Penny Sackett, last Friday reported in her blog on her April visit to the United States which began in Annapolis, Maryland.

Some excerpts:

I attended a board meeting of the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA). At the meeting, we discussed several international astronomy ventures including the Gemini telescopes of which Australia is a partner, alongside the USA, UK, Canada, Argentina and Brazil.

After Maryland, I headed north to Washington DC. I was invited to a dinner hosted by the Ambassador for Australia to the US, the Hon Kim Beazley AO which included other esteemed guests such as Dr John Holdren, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dr Arden Bement Jr, Director of the National Science Foundation and Dr Jeremy Berg, Director of the [National Institute of General Medical Sciences, one of the] National Institutes of Health amongst others. The dinner led to a rousing round table discussion on the importance of science in tackling the next great challenges for humanity .  It was a very intellectually stimulating evening – giving food for thought a new meaning! While I was in Washington DC, I also had the opportunity to brief embassy staff about the role and priorities of the Office of the Chief Scientist.

From there, I flew across the country to San Francisco where I was met by Professor Daniel Kammen... [who is] the Director of the Renewable and Appropriate Energy Laboratory (REAL) at the University of California, Berkeley... I was particularly impressed by methods to inform and empower individuals to assess and reduce their carbon emissions.

2008 C0₂ Emissions

Credit: http://www.co2scorecard.org/