Highlights from the 177th AAAS Annual Meeting

The 2011 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) just wrapped up in Washington, DC.  Thousands of scientists, engineers, policymakers, educators, and journalists from close to 50 countries met for the 177th annual meeting to explore a broad range of recent discoveries and looming global challenges.

If you didn't make it to the meeting in person, you can watch, listen to, and read content from the 2011 Annual Meeting on the AAAS website. 

Topics covered include the advancement of women in science, scientists as politicians, the use of photographs to engage and instruct, the regulation and security of DNA sequencing, the decline in oceanic biomass, and a case study on one woman's exposure to environmental toxins.

There was an interesting lecture last year on the history of dealing with experimental error. Modern scientists try to account for variation and error by running an experiment or making a measurement multiple times. Often, the results will all be slightly different, and scientists deal with that by taking an average.  But they didn't always do it that way. The first scientist to use averages to address error was Isaac Newton, who privately started taking averages in his notebooks in 1671.  According to historian Jed Z. Buchwald, scientists viewed themselves as craftsmen: if one built a piece of fine furniture, one wouldn't pick the average to display, but would choose the finished version that was the best, and best displayed your woodworking skill. (Read more at Boing Boing and on the AAAS website.)

The 2012 meeting will be held at the Vancouver Convention Center, in Vancouver, British Columbia.  The focus of the 2012 meeting is on using the power of electronic communications and information resources to tackle the complex problems of the 21st century on a global scale through international, multidisciplinary efforts.  The call for symposium proposals is now open.  The deadline for submission is Tuesday, April 26, 2011, 11:59 pm PST.

Battelle Bioremediation and Sustainable Environmental Technologies Symposium - Call for Abstracts

Abstracts are requested for the Battelle Bioremediation and Sustainable Environmental Technologies Symposium, which will be held in Reno, Nevada, June 27-30, 2011.  Abstracts are due by November 15, 2010.

This conference will incorporate topics beyond those addressed by its predecessor, the In Situ and On-Site Bioremediation Symposium. The Symposium’s new name and expanded scope reflect new directions in environmental research and application.  Although bioremediation will continue to be a core area, the Symposium program also will cover sustainable practices in remediation, production, and other human activities.

To help support and encourage student participation, there will be a student paper competition, as well as several new features that will aid students in career planning.  SURF is a proud sponsor of the student paper competition, which will award $1,500 to the winner to defray travel costs.  Student papers are due by December 15, 2010.

International Conference on Sustainable Remediation 2011 - Call for Abstracts

The Environmental Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the U.S. EPA Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation are pleased to announce the International Conference on Sustainable Remediation 2011: State of the Practice to be held in Amherst, Massachusetts June 1-3, 2011.

Abstracts are encouraged in all areas of green and sustainable remediation as related to hazardous waste cleanup, from basic to applied research, from case studies to demonstration projects.  Presentations must contain a sustainable remediation component.  Submissions are due by November 1, 2010.

Information on abstract submissions available here.

Sustainable Remediation and Life Cycle Assessment

Mike Miller has been asked to chair a session on “Sustainable Remediation and Life Cycle Assessment” at the 26th Annual International Conference on Soils, Sediments, Water and Energy.  The conference will be held at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, on October 18-21, 2010. 

Although the official abstract deadline has passed, Mike has been authorized to continue to accept abstracts.  Please consider being a part of his session. 

You can learn about the conference at http://umasssoils.com/, and see the call for abstracts at http://umasssoils.com/papers.htm.   Please feel free to contact Mike Miller with any questions.

Michael E. Miller, Ph.D.
Senior Environmental Chemist
CDM
50 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-452-6295

Register for Battelle Conference by April 30, 2010

Registration for Battelle's 7th International Conference on the Remediation of Chlorinated and Recalcitrant Compounds is now open.  You can still receive a discount if you register by April 30, 2010.

The conference will be held May 24-27, 2010 in Monterey, California, and will feature a green and sustainable remediation track:

• Net Environmental, Social, and Economic Benefits of GSR
• Metrics and Tools for GSR
• Incorporating GSR into Remedy Selection and Design
• Cost and Value of GSR: Making the Business Case
• System Optimization for Impact Mitigation
• Use of On-Site Renewable Energy
• Programmatic Considerations for GSR
• International Perspective for GSR
• Sustainability in Site Reuse/Revitalization

For more details on the full agenda, visit http://www.battelle.org/Conferences/chlorinated/tech.aspx.

And be sure to stop by the SURF booth in the exhibit hall and learn about all the great reasons to become a member of SURF (if you're not already!).