Science Meets Parliament EU Style. (October 4, 2007)

Fourteen Scientists are heading for Brussels this week in a European version of Science Meets Parliament.

It's part of the pan European MEP-Scientist Pairing Scheme, in order to help Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) to gain a better understanding of science and scientists and vice versa.

The Scheme differs significantly from the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) initiative in that it will bring 14 scientists from around Europe to Brussels for a week where they attend meetings, seminars and networking events. Afterwards thirteen of the MEPs will visit the labs of the scientists to find out more about their work first hand.

Professor Volker ter Meulen, chair of the European Academies Science Advisory Council  said: "The scheme is a powerful contribution towards the overall goal of raising the profile of science within the European Parliament. This is vital as science is central to more and more of the major policy issues which are facing the European Union and the world," while according to Dr Jacqueline Cole, a participant in the scheme who is a Senior Research Fellow in Physics at the University of Cambridge: "Science is key to both the policy agenda and the future economic wellbeing of Europe. If we want to capitalise on the possibilities presented by science, scientists and policy makers need to be talking to each other. This scheme helps to make that a reality."

Following is the list of participating pairings in the inaugural run:

Lambert VAN NISTELROOIJ (EPP-ED, NL)

     Dr. Gail Goldberg, MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge, UK

Jorgo CHATZIMARKAKIS (ALDE, DE)

     Dr. Ansgar Bernardi, Deutsche Forschungszentrum für Künstliche Intelligenz, Kaiserslautern, Germany

Pier Antonio PANZERI (PES, IT)

     Dr. Silvia Zane, Mullard Space Science Laboratory, University College of London, Surrey, UK

Philippe BUSQUIN (PES, BE)

     Dr. Loic Lepiniec, Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, INRA, Versailles Cedex, France

Nikolaos VAKALIS (EPP-ED, EL)

     Dr. Jacqueline Cole, Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge, UK Cambridge, UK

Saïd EL KHADRAOUI (PES, BE)

     Dr. Wilfred. G. van der Wiel, MESA+ Institute for Nanotechnology, Universiteit Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands

Teresa RIERA MADURELL (PES, ES)

     Dr. Valdis Pirags, P. Stradins University Hospital, University of Latvia, Riga, Latvia

Joel HASSE FERREIRA (PES, PT)

     Dr. Sandra Eriksson, Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion, Ångströmlaboratoriet, Uppsala, Sweden

Silvia-Adriana ŢICĂU (PES, RO)

     Dr Michel Renovell, LIRMM CNRS, Montpellier Cedex, France

Paul RÜBIG (EPP-ED, AT)

     Dr. Thomas Hamacher, Max-Planck-Institut für Plasmaphysik, Garching, Germany

Umberto GUIDOoNI (GUE/NGL)

     Dr. Tiziana Ventura, Istituto di Radioastronomía, Bologna, Italy

Bill NEWTON DUNN (ALDE, UK)

     Dr. Volker Springel, Max-Planck-Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany

Satu HASSI (Greens/EFA, FI)

     Professor Lynne Macaskie, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK