ByGeorge!

Oct. 21, 2003

Washington Academy of Sciences Hosts Conference for Local Science Groups


The Washington Academy of Sciences (WAS) will present “Capital Science 2004” March 20–21 in the Conference Facility of the National Science Foundation (NSF) in Arlington, VA. More than 25 affiliated associations and societies from the surrounding metropolitan area will participate in the conference that features presentations, seminars, tutorials and discussions.

“This is the first time such a conference has been held in Washington,” said Stuart Umpleby, professor of management science in the School of Business and Public Management. He explained that like the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the WAS is an umbrella organization for the many disparate scientific organizations and chapters in the region.

The goal of the conference “is to allow the member societies to hold a regular conference,” Umpleby said.  “Larger associations hold their own meetings, but it's hard for the smaller societies to do so.  The idea is to get people more active and draw them into their local societies by stimulating the scholarly activities in the Washington area.”
 
Highlights of the two-day event include a keynote address by NSF Director and former WAS President Rita Colwell, as well as luncheon discussions by Nobel prize winner William Phillips and Direcor of the Office of Science and Technology John Marburger III. The meeting also will feature a number of plenary sessions on subjects of general interest.
 
“I think this is an exciting interdisciplinary activity,” Umpleby said.  “It's one more manifestation of the growing intellectual power of Washington, DC.”

For more information visit www.washacadsci.org/website/
index.htm, or contact Peg Kay, conference chair and WAS president-elect, at 703/536-0990, E-mail: pk@vertechinc.com.


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