Francis Collins
carlyo | October 3, 2014Teachers- the USASEF Team is thrilled to announce the launch of our video resource library featuring presentations from our 2014 X-STEM Symposium! The 2014 X-STEM Extreme STEM Symposium- presented by Northrop Grumman Foundation and MedImmune- featured interactive presentations and workshops by an exclusive group of visionaries who aimed to empower and inspire elementary through high school students about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Now, you can bring these STEM Professionals into your classroom with our FREE library of 15-20 minute videos covering a…
carlyo | May 9, 2014Guest Blog by Festival X-STEM Speaker Dr. Joe Schwarcz
How do you inspire students toward careers in science, and combat scientific illiteracy at the same time?
First, you spend two years planning the USA Science & Engineering Festival, the largest of its kind in the world. Then you rent the gigantic Washington Convention Center to host it and line up 3,000 displays, many of which feature hands-on activities.
You organize more than 150 stage presentations by Nobel laureates, athletes, astronauts, engineers and scientists of all kinds. You invite the likes of Bill Nye the Science Guy,…
carlyo | January 7, 2014By Larry Bock
Co-Founder of USA Science Science & Engineering Festival
Like many who follow research developments in high technology, I am constantly amazed at the power of science, engineering, technology and mathematics (STEM) to solve real-life problems -- especially problems across diverse venues and disciplines.
Take for example the research of mathematician Lloyd Shapley and economist Alvin Roth, two Americans who shared the 2012 Nobel Prize in Economic Science for their work in market design and matching theory -- a fascinating mathematical framework which is shedding light on…
carlyo | April 27, 2012
The excitement is filling the air at Sneak Peek Friday today as we are gearing up for an amazing weekend! The Festival takes place Saturday from 10-6 and Sunday from 10-4 at the Walter E Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. Please visit our "Plan Your Day" section on our website for important information regarding attending this FREE event. Those attending the Festival will be in for quite a treat with over 3,000 hands-on science and engineering activities and over 150 stage shows!
We have had some incredible events leading up to this weekend including our AT&T Sponsored…
kcollins | October 20, 2010Find the full schedule of NIH events here But can't miss some special stage shows like the director of NIH, Dr. Francis Collins performing!
This weekend, October 23 and 24, NIH will bring our science to the people at the inaugural USA Science and Engineering Festival ExpoExternal Web Site Policy in Washington, D.C. From 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., 1,500 interactive exhibits and 75 stage shows will be held across four downtown DC locations on and near the National Mall. Details on the festival websiteExternal Web Site Policy, including a mapExternal Web Site Policy.
Here's the lowdown on all of…
kcollins | October 15, 2010Make sure you keep up with the happenings of the Nifty Fifty program. We have had a lot of speakers go to DC schools telling kids about STEM education and why they like science. Check out some photos on our facebook pages. Here is an interview with Dr. Francis Collins the Director of NIH.
kcollins | August 3, 2010We need your help to get the word out about the USA Science and Engineering Festival. Social Media cannot be done in a vacuum so we continue to ask those of you who are listening to help us get the word out through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and blogging. I think this is just another great example of how to help us get the word out. This blog was posted on Forbes Wolfe blog, Josh Wolfe is one of the Festival's Nifty Fifty Speakers as well as Francis Collins. Dr. Collins then gives insight into the role the USA Science and Engineering Festival will play in inspiring the future of science in…
ddobbs | March 31, 2010
Double helix, courtesy NIH/National Genome Research Institute
It's the 10th anniverary of the coding of the human genome. Snuck up on me -- but not on Nature or Reuters. Both of these outfits â two of the best science/med reporting teams out there â published big, beautiful, multipart packages today. They're worth a look even if you're not a genome geek.
Reuters looks at what NIH director and former director of the National Human Genome Research Institute Francis Collins found when he finally had his genome run last summer: a disposition for type-2 diabetes, among other things. Collins was…
ddobbs | March 19, 2010
Cordyceps in glass, by glass artist Wesley Fleming -- a strange depiction of a rather horrid business. For more, do go to the source, the lovely Myrmecos Blog, which is all about bugs.
Now, the best of the week's gleanings. I'm going to categorize them from here out, and at least try to keep them from being from completely all over everywhere about everything.
Mind, brain, and body (including those gene things)
While reading Wolpert's review of Greenberg's book about depression (he didn't much like it), I found that the Guardian has a particularly rich trove of writings and resources on…
kcollins | February 22, 2010 Francis Collins and Larry Bock
I was attending the AAAS annual meeting last week in San Diego, and Dr. Collins was speaking to several groups at the conference. After living in Washington, DC for almost a decade, and having worked for various federal agencies, I am used to the reverence people have for senior federal officials.
In DC, the head of an organization like NIH is essentially the CEO of a big company who has people who meet with people like me. My professional contact with federal officials at Dr. Collins' level has been limited to a quick introduction and handshake before a…
emjohnson | July 10, 2009
The "Revelation" as described by St. John, though likely inspired through the
use of hallucinogens (see The Mystery of Manna).
The title for this post comes from a terrific book by the neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, but I think it's appropriate for a discussion on faith, feeling and reason. Francis Collins' nomination as Director of the National Institutes of Health has effectively gotten people talking about religion, science and what, if anything, each should have to do with the other. I recently brought up Sam Harris' critique of the editor's at Nature for their praise of Collins' book…
emjohnson | July 10, 2009
Science and religion bicker in the backseat. Collin Purrington / Creative Commons
With Francis Collins' nomination as head of the National Institutes of Health I felt it was appropriate to bring up Sam Harris' letter to the journal Nature objecting to what he called "high-minded squeamishness" on the part of the editors for their praise of his book The Language of God. In the book Collins states:
As believers, you are right to hold fast to the concept of God as Creator; you are right to hold fast to the truths of the Bible; you are right to hold fast to the conclusion that science offers no…
sporte | May 28, 2008After leading the Human Genome Project and the National Human Genome Research Institute at the NIH for many years, Francis Collins is retiring.
No matter what you think of Francis Collins, he's been successful in getting the genome project done and he's done some amazing things during the 15 years that he's headed NHGRI.
My friend, Dr. Joan Messer, told me many times about the hours he spent talking with students at one of the AAAS meetings. I will always remember him from the NWABR fund-raising dinner where he pulled out his guitar and had the entire audience singing about DNA.