While the average American young person will likely have no trouble detailing the latest antics of such stars as Ashton Kutcher, Lindsay Lohan, or Kanye & Kim, most, sadly, would be hard-pressed to tell you who the following trailblazers in science were:

– Molecular biologist Rosiland Franklin, who was responsible for much of the research and discovery work that led to the understanding of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). This paved the way for James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins to receive the Nobel Prize for the famous double-helix model of DNA in 1962. Franklin died at age 37 from ovarian cancer – four years before the three scientists were awarded the Nobel, based in many ways on her work.

– Charles Drew, the renowned African-American physician and surgeon who overcame barriers of racism and prejudice to pioneer blood transfusion and to become the first person to develop the blood bank. Later, during World War II, he established the American Red Cross blood bank, which today is the largest program of its kind in the world, saving countless lives.

– Fazlur Khan, one of the most influential structural engineers and architects of the 20th century. Born in Bangladesh, he later immigrated to America where his most famous works included designing the John Hancock Center building in Chicago, and Chicago’s Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), which, standing at 1,451 feet and 108 stories high, is the second tallest building in North America behind New York’s One World Trade Center.

While the achievements of these individuals are amazing, most of our children will complete their pre-college and college years without ever hearing of them and other often-forgotten heroes in science, which in many ways is a tragedy. We must ask ourselves: How can young students know where science is going if they do not know its past and the diverse array of innovators who helped mold it?

To celebrate and recognize such pioneers, the USA Science & Engineering Festival has introduced Role Models in Science & Engineering Achievement, an inspiring website to motivate and inform young learners and others from all backgrounds about the noted contributions of women and minorities throughout history to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). I invite you to view the bios on Rosiland Franklin, Charles Drew, Fazlur Khan and a host of other remarkable innovators whom you most likely will not see in contemporary textbooks, by clicking here.

This site – updated on a regular basis with new bios — has not only been extremely well received by students from all over the country, but also by teachers and science professionals who welcome it as a personal and classroom learning resource. In addition, we hope the website serves to help spur an interest in STEM careers among minority and female students by introducing them to role models who in many cases have overcome formidable obstacles towards their achievements.

In fact, inspiring tomorrow’s young innovators is what the USA Science & Engineering Festival (the nation’s largest celebration of science and engineering) is all about — and our 2014 Festival and finale Expo weekend will be no exception. From our high-profile Nifty Fifty (times three) school visit program featuring some of the country’s premiere STEM professionals to our celebrated Lunch With a (Nobel) Laureate sessions, and the exciting X-STEM-Extreme STEM Symposium next April 24 in Washington, D.C. — the Festival is set to inspire students!

Plus, during Expo weekend, April 26-27 in DC, join us at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for an unforgettable celebration of science when more than 750 STEM organizations and institutions from all over the United States will present a wide array of exciting hands-on science exhibits, stage shows and other activities with leading professionals to inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Yes, heroes and role models do matter, and should not be forgotten. We invite you to discover why with us at the Festival!

Follow Larry Bock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usasciencefest

By USA Science & Engineering Festival Founder Larry Bock

The answers to some of the biggest challenges facing us this century lie waiting to be discovered in the laboratories and institutions of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But we must remember, scientists do not operate in a vacuum in such endeavors.

Increasingly, policy makers — often working in the highest seats of government — are playing an important role in the research discovery scenario, including deciding which projects to fund, and assuring that scientific discoveries and their resulting impacts are sound in safety, ethics and effectiveness for the public.

Make no mistake about it, these power players — ranging from Congressional representatives to executives with such top federal agencies as the Food and Drug Administration, NASA, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the National Institutes of Health — are critical to how scientific developments and issues get shaped, interpreted, debated, supported and applied in the public arena.

Which is why we need more scientists and engineers in public policy roles, especially when the citizenry is demanding clear, accurate and informed voices to deal with such issues as the environment, infectious disease, genetic research, science education, renewable energy, the internet, drug and food safety, national security, and the future of space and planetary exploration.

To explore the influence that policy making is having on us all, the 2014 USA Science & Engineering Festival (the nation’s largest celebration of science and engineering) will introduce audiences to some of the country’s top scientists, engineers and physicians who have entered the field of public policy, and how they are making a difference.

For example, Margaret Hamburg, the noted physician and AIDS researcher, heeded the call to public service when she was tapped by President Obama in 2009 to head the U.S. Food and Drug Administration where she now sets and executes policy on a wide range of areas that affect our health — from the foods we eat to the medicines we take.

Dr. Hamburg, who will be participating as a school speaker in the Festival’s elite Nifty Fifty program for the 2013/2014 school year, had not really contemplated a career in government service until medical school when she became intrigued by the emergence of the AIDS epidemic. “As I went on to do internal medicine training in New York City,” she says, “I saw how this disease was causing so much suffering, and how it was disrupting a variety of social, legal, and political issues. That’s when I decided I wanted to work at the intersection of medicine and social and public policy.”

While policymaking in a top government agency like the FDA can be quite complex and involve interacting with multiple stakeholders, including Congress, “I am very committed to running an agency where science and data drive our decision-making,” she says.

In addition to Dr. Hamburg, participants in the Festival — including the event’s exciting X-STEM Extreme STEM Symposium (April 24, 2014 in Washington, DC) — will also meet other high-ranking policy-makers who will engage audiences in the power of policymaking in science and engineering. These experts include:

Francis Collins,  M.D.,Ph.D., Director of the prestigious National Institutes of Health, and renowned geneticist; John Holdren, Ph.D., noted aeronautics and plasma physics researcher who now serves as President Obama’s Senior Advisor on Science and Technology; James Johnson, Ph.D., leading environmental scientist now directing the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Center for Environmental Research; Lori Garver, noted space policy expert now serving as Deputy Administrator of NASA; Reginald Brothers, Ph.D., leading electrical engineer and computer scientist who is currently Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research at the U.S. Department of Defense; and Anthony Fauci, M.D., Ph.D., high-profile scientist and physician now serving as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and White House Advisor on infectious disease threats.

The USA Science & Engineering Festival is also proud of the positive bi-partisan relationship it has built with key policy-makers in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives in Washington. Over 95 of these leaders serve on the Festival’s Honorary Congressional Host Committee.

These include: Senators Kay R. Hagan of North Carolina; Charles Grassley of Iowa; Dianne Feinstein of California; Harry Reid of Nevada, and Jim Webb of Virginia. And Congressional Representatives: Kay Granger of Texas ; Eleanor Holmes Norton of the District of Columbia; Rush Holt of New Jersey; Mike Honda of California, and Bill Foster of Illinois.

Join us next year as the Festival explores why policy-making in science and engineering will continue to pack a powerful punch in the age of high-tech innovation. You can check the wide range of other exciting activities that the Festival and its finale Expo (April 26-27, 2014) has in store for students, teachers and families at http://www.usasciencefestival.org/

Follow Larry Bock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usasciencefest

In what started out as a hopeful trickle more than four years ago has seemingly evolved into a full-blown trend: Suddenly it’s cool and hip to be a scientist in Hollywood. Ranging from such blockbuster films as The Amazing Spiderman, Battleship, The Avengers, and Iron Man 2 to TV hits including House, Fringe, Criminal Minds, and Breaking Bad, an increasing number of Hollywood productions are using real-life scientists as advisors to not only boost the technical accuracy of scripts and video content but to also create more exciting high-tech storylines to wow audiences.

What’s more, Hollywood stars with a science background are being recognized for their scholarly prowess as well. For example, Academy Award-winning actress Natalie Portman, a 2003 Harvard graduate in psychology, is known for being one of only a few professional actors with a defined Erdős-Bacon number — earned while at Harvard when she co-authored a key research paper on memory and brain imaging, titled “Frontal Lobe Activation During Object Permanence: Data from Near-Infrared Spectroscopy,” published in the journal NeuroImage.

Such developments cannot but help to break down long-held misconceptions in popular media and the public about science scholars and researchers as mere geeks and nerds, and provide role models for more young people who are considering careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Join us next April at the 2014 USA Science and Engineering Festival when we take you behind the scenes in exploring how science is portrayed in TV, film and other popular mediums, including meeting and hearing some of the most influential scientists working in Hollywood, such as science advisors for Breaking Bad, House, The Big Bang Theory, and those that help get the science right for those thrilling movie stunts and special effects.

And since young audiences are particularly influenced by TV and film, the Festival will get them personally involved by competing in a world-class video contest sponsored by the Kavli Foundation. Titled Science or Fiction, this cash-prize competition will challenge sixth through 12th-grade students from around the globe to investigate how science is portrayed in TV, film, video games and literature. The contest culminates at the Festival’s finale Expo, April 26-27, 2014 in Washington, DC where winning entries will be shown.

Although scientists have been involved with helping Hollywood in some form or another since the start of cinema, it has been only in recent years that input from scientists has been sought and used on a continual basis for major productions. What is driving this long-overdue trend? It’s really quite simple, says Janet Zucker, a producer and vice chair of the Advisory Board for the Science Entertainment Exchange (a groundbreaking program formed several years ago by the National Academy of Sciences to work with Hollywood to match filmmakers with scientific advisors ). Today’s audiences are becoming more sophisticated, she says, especially younger viewers who have grown up being exposed to the latest in science and engineering, and they want to see these wonders portrayed on the screen in spectacular and believable ways.

As founder and chief organizer of the USA Science and Engineering Festival, I am proud that our event (the nation’s largest celebration of science and engineering) has been ahead of the curve in making students and the public aware of the scientific accuracy (or inaccuracy) of the content they view.

The 2014 Festival Expo slated for the Washington, DC Convention Center will be no exception. Hosted once more by Festival Lead Sponsor Lockheed Martin, the Expo — among its other exciting hands-on activities — will feature unique opportunities to gain insight from some of the most influential scientists working in Hollywood, including:

• Expo “Accuracy in Hollywood” Panel Speakers: David Saltzberg, world-renowned particle physicist at the University of California, Los Angeles, who serves as science consultant for CBS TV’s hit series,The Big Bang Theory; Donna Nelson, professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Oklahoma, who is science advisor to AMC’s popular show, Breaking Bad; and Harvard-trained physician David Foster, medical consultant and writer for the Fox series House, MD.

• Expo X-STEM Speakers: James Kakalios, professor of Physics at the University Minnesota, who gained international attention as scientific consultant for the 2009 superhero hit film The Watchmen and for penning the popular book, The Physics of Superheroes; and Hollywood stunt scientist and special effects expert Steve Wolf.

As you can see, the Expo is the place to be next April for your Hollywood-science connection. Join us then in Washington!

Follow Larry Bock on Twitter: www.twitter.com/usasciencefest

The spotlight on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) at the 2014 USA Science & Engineering Festival just got even stronger as the Festival announces that it will be hosting the U.S. News STEM Solutions Conference at the Festival Expo during the week of April 21, 2014.  This brings together the largest K-12 STEM outreach event and the leading professional STEM solutions conference, making Washington, DC the place to be in April 2014.

The U.S. News STEM Solution Conference, which the Festival is hosting with U.S. News & World Report, will bring more than 2,000 leaders and visionaries in business, education, and government from around the United States to Washington to advance the agenda for national change in STEM education, policy and workforce development. This conference will focus on targeted outcomes that create an impact to fill jobs now and advance the future of the STEM workforce.

Festival Nifty Fifty Speakers are back and ready to inspire! This elite group of STEM professionals have returned once again to visit schools in the greater DC Metro area during the 2013/2014 school year! Our group of rock star Nifty Fifty Speakers include Astronaut and Scientist, Mary Cleave, 15 year old phenom from Baltimore Jack Andraka, Johns Hopkins Neurosurgeon Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa and many more!

On Thursday, April 24, 2014 we are launching a new program called X-STEM: Extreme STEM Symposium! This unforgettable, all-day interaction will give elementary through high school students a unique opportunity to hear, meet and learn from some of the most inspiring leaders in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), including Dr. Bernard Harris, a physician and NASA astronaut and the first African American to walk in space, J. Craig Venter, a successful entrepreneur who is one of the most influential scientists today, John Holdren, Chief Science Advisor to President Obama, and NASA Astronaut Kathyrn Thornton, the second American woman to walk in space!

Our list of performers and speakers is growing as we work hard to recruit the best STEM entertainment in the country! At the 3rd Festival, we will have a panel of experts discuss the accuracy of science in television and movies in our “Getting the Science Right in Hollywood!” segment. Why is it so important to get the science correct in TV and film? Ask that question to advisor to “Breaking Bad” organic chemist Donna Nelson,  science consultant to “The Big Bang Theory” particle physicist David Saltzberg, and medical consultant to ”House, MD” physician David Foster and you’ll get valuable insight into why they serve as science advisers to some of the hottest science/medical TV shows on the air today.

And of course, what makes the USA Science & Engineering Festival so special and unique is our amazing line up of exhibits! If there’s one thing the USA Science & Engineering Festival Expo is known for, it’s phenomenal, hands-on exhibits that give students, teachers and others unforgettable journeys into the frontiers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Exhibitors from all over the country will bring exciting, creative and mind blowing exhibits to the halls of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center! We are thrilled for the return of  Lockheed Martin, Johns Hopkins University, National Science Teachers Association, the FDA,  the Smithsonian, and many more organizations who have already signed up as Exhibitors for the Expo!

Would your organization like to join us to inspire the innovators of tomorrow? We are seeking exhibitors and sponsors for the 2014 Festival to help us achieve our mission to re-invigorate the interest of STEM in our nation’s youth! Space is limited so be sure to contact us as soon as possible to secure a space at the largest celebration of science & engineering!

So once again, mark you calendars for a week filled with STEM April 21-27, 2014! Learn more about the USA Science & Engineering Festival, including how YOU can participate here. 

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I had my tonsils out in 1954. In those days a few bouts of tonsillitis, and out they came. I remember being plied with chloroform before the operation and with ice cream after. I also remember being given a special gum, “imported from America” to chew. It was probably some version of “Aspergum” which contained aspirin and was supposed to relieve the sore throat. The idea of using the gum after a tonsillectomy was introduced in the 1940s by Lawrence Craven, a California physician, who made an interesting observation. Patients who chewed the gum bled more, leading Craven to speculate that aspirin had an anti-clotting effect. At the time it was already known that heart attacks and strokes could be caused by blood clots and Craven began to treat his adult coronary disease patients with aspirin. He noted a reduced frequency of heart attacks! Craven published his result but because he had no controls they were mostly ignored until British biochemist John Vane clearly demonstrated aspirin’s effect on the blood in 1971. Today aspirin is standard therapy in people at risk for cardiovascular disease, tracing back to the serendipitous finding by Lawrence Craven.

The word “serendipity” was introduced into the English language in the eighteenth century by writer Horace Walpole who was taken by the ancient Persian tale of the “Three Princes of Serendip,” who during their travels made a number of discoveries “by accidents and sagacity of things they were not in quest of.” “Serendipity” came into common use as a description of a “lucky turn of events,” with Walpole’s original link to sagacity, defined as “penetrating intelligence, keen perception and sound judgement” being forgotten. Walpole’s intent was to convey the idea that an accidental discovery doesn’t amount to much if the discoverer is not astute enough to capitalize on the chance finding.

The word “serendipity” was introduced into the English language in the 18th century by writer Horace Walpole, who was taken by the ancient Persian tale of the Three Princes of Serendip. (National Portrait Gallery/Wikipedia)

The three princes of Serendip certainly exhibited sagacity after accidentally coming on some strange animal tracks on a road. When they later learned from a merchant that he had lost a camel, the princes give him a remarkable description of the animal. The camel is lame, blind in one eye, is missing a tooth, carried honey on one side and butter on the other and was ridden by a pregnant woman. When asked how they could possibly have come up with such an accurate description, the princes explained that grass had been eaten from the side of the road where it was less green, so the camel was blind on the other side. Because there were lumps of chewed grass on the road the size of a camel’s tooth, the princes inferred they had fallen through the gap left by a missing tooth. The tracks showed the prints of only three feet, the fourth being dragged, indicating that the animal was lame.

That butter was carried on one side of the camel and honey on the other was evident because ants had been attracted to melted butter on one side of the road and flies to spilled honey on the other. There was also an imprint in the dirt from which they deduced the camel had knelt to let down a rider. And why was the rider a pregnant woman? There was some urine nearby and some handprints that suggested a woman had needed to use her hands to get up after urinating, her extra weight requiring a push. Shades of Sherlock Holmes. Maybe Sir Arthur Conan Doyle had serendipitously read about the Princes of Serendip.

The Persian tale may be somewhat far-fetched, but the story does make a point. The three princes of Serendip were able to capitalize on their chance observation when they heard about the lost camel. As Louis Pasteur would famously say, “in the field of observation, chance favours only the prepared mind.”

Pasteur himself furnished a great example of a serendipitous discovery. By 1878 he had formulated his germ theory of disease and had turned his attention to chicken cholera, a problem that plagued the French poultry industry. He managed to isolate a microbe from sick chickens he believed caused the disease and showed that injecting it into healthy birds led to their demise within a day. Scientific evidence requires repetition of an experiment, but a summer vacation intervened. No problem, Pasteur thought, he would just store his bacterial culture. To his astonishment, injecting the culture that had been stored for three months had no effect on the chickens!

He tried again with a fresh culture, and the chickens remained disease free. While many would have concluded that in the original experiment the chickens must have been affected by something other than the suspect bacteria, Pasteur hypothesized that perhaps storage for three months had altered the microbes in a way that resulted in offering protection against infection by fresh bacteria. As it turned out, Pasteur had managed to immunize the chickens with an attenuated microbe! It didn’t take long to prove that a weakened form of an infectious organism could impart immunity against the disease normally caused by a more vibrant version. The French chemist then went on to produce vaccines against anthrax and rabies, laying the foundations to the science of immunology, all because his mind was prepared to exercise sagacity when his chickens serendipitously survived an injection of a supposedly deadly microbe.

One of the most famous drugs in the world is also the result of serendipity. Witty advertising and a clever name conjured up to suggest power (from “vitality” and “Niagara”) has helped make Viagra a best seller. Of course it helps that the drug actually works. But Viagra did not start out life as a treatment for erectile dysfunction. That was a serendipitous finding. The little blue pill was first developed by the Pfizer pharmaceutical company as a possible treatment for angina. In clinical trials the effects on the heart were less than heartening, but some male patients began to report a surprising uplifting effect. Pfizer researchers were perceptive enough to recognize that they had stumbled upon a potential gold mine, and within six years managed to introduce Viagra to the marketplace where it has enjoyed stirring serendipitous success in spite of stiff competition.

Read more about The USA Science & Engineering Festival Nifty Fifty Speaker Dr. Joe Schwarcz here.

Rock and roll as we know it today would not exist without his invention –the solid body electric guitar. Little wonder legends like Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney and Eddie Van Halen consider him an icon. Throughout his life, Les remained an innovator as a guitar player and sound engineering pioneer.

Read the full biography of Les Paul here.

To read the full biography of Bonnie Dunbar click here.

Noted Materials Science Researcher Swati Vilas Pol is creating a new green technology that converts plastic bags and plastic bottles into carbon waste material for a wide range of uses — from water purification to powering electronic devices. Awesome!

To read her full biography click here

Ali Javan’s important work is a major component of what you are doing right now- using the internet. To read his full biography and the profiles of all our STEM Role Models click here.

Long considered a role model in science and space exploration for her achievements, Mary is the recipient of various honors, including  being the recipient of the American Astronautical Society Flight Achievement Award (1989); NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal (1994), and being profiled with Sally Ride, Anna Fisher and other U.S. women astronauts in the Women In Space DVD, and The Women’s Adventures in Science book series.

Our Nifty Fifty Program has tripled in size and will return to the greater Washington, D.C. area for the Fall 2103 and Spring 2014 school year. Featuring some of the most inspiring role models in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or STEM,  this signature program of the USA Science and Engineering Festival presents your students with the latest in green technology, engineering, human health and medicine, astronomy and space exploration, nanotechnology, computer science, and more. Learn more here about how your school can host one the top STEM professionals in the country!

Read the full biography of Dr. Mary Cleave here.