The workshop will feature overview presentations from experts in various aspects of nanomaterials, summaries of ongoing description development work, and small discussion groups to identify needed future actions. The workshop will be on an invitation basis and held in Paris.
The Workshop report and recommendations will be published in the CODATA Data Science Journal.
]]>For further details see the event website: http://scar2012.geol.pdx.edu/.
]]>ICSU is tweeting about various things: new publications, conferences we’re attending, articles we’ve read and project news on Future Earth and Rio+20.
Our Twitter username is @ICSUnews and we're looking forward to connect with you on Twitter. Don't hesitate to follow us, reply to our tweets and retweet our tweets.
]]>Dr. Wilson will take up his duties on 1 April 2012. The President of ICSU, Professor Yuan-Tseh Lee, is delighted by Dr. Wilson’s acceptance of the post. Prof. Lee said: ‘It is a pleasure to welcome Dr. Wilson as the new Executive Director. His experience as the interim Chief Executive and a Director at the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), which has been a supporter and partner of ICSU, means that he will bring the perspective and dynamism of a Research Council leader to us. His close involvement with a number of international research programmes over the years will help him in his new role.’
Dr. Wilson is a co-chair of the Belmont Forum, an international partnership of major environmental research funders, which is now working closely with ICSU in the development of the new co-designed initiative, Future Earth: research for global sustainability.
Following a degree in Chemistry from the University of Oxford, Dr. Wilson graduated from the University of Bristol in 1995 with a PhD in Chemistry. After working for the UK Meteorological Office, he joined NERC in 1998, and has held positions which include Director of Earth Observation, Director of Science and Innovation, and Director of Strategy and Partnerships.
Dr. Wilson expressed his eager anticipation to take up the exciting and challenging position of Executive Director: ‘I am very excited at the prospect of leading ICSU, as it continues to be one of the world’s foremost organizations for science. I look forward to bringing scientists together from all parts of the world, and helping to mobilize the international scientific community to provide new knowledge to tackle the grand societal challenges of the day – be they concerning environmental change, food security or human health.’
Dr. Wilson succeeds Professor Deliang Chen, who will return to the University of Gothenburg in Sweden after three years at the helm.
Prof. Lee expressed his appreciation of Professor Chen: ‘For the past three years, Professor Chen has worked with extraordinary dedication, and made a tremendous contribution to the rejuvenation of ICSU. It was during his tenure that several major initiatives got off the ground, including Future Earth and ICSU’s key role at Rio+20. The international visibility of ICSU also increased, thanks in large part to his efforts. His outstanding service deserves the deep gratitude of our entire community. While we will dearly miss his full-time presence, Professor Chen will continue to work with ICSU as a concerned scientist.’
Dr. Carthage Smith, the Deputy Executive Director of ICSU, will be the acting Executive Director during February-March 2012.
]]>It is based on CFRS's co-sponsoring and engagement in the International Symposium "The Case for International Sharing of Scientific Data: A Focus on Developing Countries", organised by the US National Academies in Washington in April 2011.
The ICSU Committee on Data for Science and Technology (CODATA) and World Data System (WDS) approved the document unreservedly, and it has been endorsed by the ICSU Regional Offices.
Read the Advisory Note.
]]>Occurring at a pivotal time for the environment of our planet, the Conference draws international attention to the Polar Regions and global change. Science continues to enhance our understanding of the critical role that the Polar Regions play in the Earth’s systems. What happens at the Poles will not only alter the polar environments, but also change the course of human and economic development at a planetary scale.
From Knowledge to Action will bring together over 2,000 Arctic and Antarctic researchers, policy- and decision-makers, and a broad range of interested parties from academia, industry, non-government, education, Arctic communities, and circumpolar indigenous peoples. Together, these groups will address challenges, share and apply knowledge of the Polar Regions and discuss opportunities and solutions for adapting to global change.
The IPY 2012 Conference will contribute to the translation of new polar scientific findings into an evidence-based agenda for action that will influence global decisions, policies and outcomes over the coming years.
More information on ICSU and IPY.
Early bird registration until 29 February 2012. Register at the International Polar Year 2012 From Knowledge to Action Conference website.
]]>Read the workshops synthesis report
Natural scientists, social scientists and engineers from across each region participated in the workshops, along with high level policy-makers and representatives of other Major Groups. This gave each region's scientific and technological community the opportunity to prepare joint positions and concerted inputs for the regional preparatory processes, in collaboration with policy-makers and other key actors.
]]>Mokrane holds a MSc and PhD from the Université de la Méditerranée, Marseille, France in the field of Biology/Bioinformatics, having carried out work on developmental, genetic and cellular aspects of eukaryote biology. His postgraduate research experience includes a spell at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, Germany.
In 2002 Mokrane joined the ICSU Secretariat as Information Technology Officer, taking up responsibility for planning and upgrading ICSU’s information systems and developing several websites. Since 2009 he has been responsible for the coordination of ICSU’s Scientific Data and Information activities. This has included supporting the work of two international scientific committees, and back-stopping the development of WDS itself. He helped draft the scientific programme of the first World Data System Conference (Kyoto, September 2011).
As Executive Director, Mokrane will head the newly established WDS International Programme Office, which is hosted by the Japanese National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) in Tokyo. The Office is to manage and coordinate the establishment and operations of the WDS, and take responsibility for outreach and promotional activities, under the guidance of the ICSU WDS Scientific Committee.
]]>The meeting summary is now available here.
For more information on Future Earth, go to the Future Earth portal.
]]>From an ICSU perspective, the next step is to develop a ‘success scenario’ for 2031 and extrapolate back to identify feasible steps that ICSU can take to help realize this scenario. Of course, the future cannot be predicted, and this is not the aim of the foresight exercise. However, ICSU and international science can make a significant contribution to shaping the future; exploring where we would like to be two decades from now can help in selecting the best pathways to achieve this vision.
Publication of Report 2 devoted to the ‘success scenario’ is expected during the first half of 2012.
]]>The World Science Forum is a biannual event organized by the Academy, and the 2011 meeting was convened in partnership with ICSU and UNESCO.
]]>From an ICSU perspective, the next step is to develop a ‘success scenario’ for 2031 and extrapolate back to identify feasible steps that ICSU can take to help realize this scenario. Of course, the future cannot be predicted, and this is not the aim of the foresight exercise. However, ICSU and international science can make a significant contribution to shaping the future; exploring where we would like to be two decades from now can help in selecting the best pathways to achieve this vision.
Download the ICSU Foresight powerpoint presentation referred to in Nature article.
]]>