NAS InterViews Podcasts
Listen to audio interviews in which members talk about their research, why they became scientists, and other aspects of their research and careers.  

News:

  NAS President Addresses Climate Science Controversy
Feb. 4, 2010: In an editorial in Science magazine, NAS President Ralph J. Cicerone says that the publicity surrounding the case of climate scientists’ e-mails that were stolen from a U.K. university has raised concerns about the standards of science and damaged public trust. While he says that scientists' understanding of climate change is undiminished by this incident, he calls for action to preserve the trust between science and society.

  NAS, NAE, and IOM to Hold African-American History Events
Feb. 1, 2010: The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine will hold a series of events for African-American History Month including a lecture on Feb. 18 by Wanda M. Austin (NAE) about how living by your values and working for an employer with values you admire can make a difference for communities, companies, and citizens; Counting America and the 2010 Census at the Koshland Science Museum's Family Day on Feb. 6; and a concert on Feb. 14 by Ritz Chamber Players.

  Natural Gas Supplies Could Be Augmented With Methane Hydrate
Jan. 28, 2010: Naturally occurring methane hydrate may represent an enormous source of methane -- the main component of natural gas -- and could ultimately enhance conventional natural gas supplies, although some technical challenges remain before commercial production is feasible, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council. Moreover, the U.S. Department of Energy has made considerable progress toward understanding and developing methane hydrate as a possible future energy resource.

  Disaster Experts Available In Wake of Haiti Earthquake
Jan. 27, 2010: Several researchers and other experts affiliated with the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine who specialize in managing emergency operations and responding to medical and infrastructure needs when disasters strike are available to answer questions from officials leading relief and recovery efforts in Haiti. In particular, experts from the Disasters Roundtable, Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events, and the Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment may be able to provide useful information to those responding to the disaster in Haiti.

  Federal Government Should Reconsider Selling Off Nation's Helium Reserve
Jan. 22, 2010: Helium is used in applications ranging from medical devices such as MRIs to surveillance balloons for national security. In the Helium Privatization Act of 1996, Congress directed the government to sell essentially all of the U.S. helium reserves by 2015. A new report finds that selling off the reserves has adversely affected critical users of helium and recommends that the federal government reconsider whether selling the reserves is still in the nation’s best interest.

  NAS Honors 17 for Major Contributions to Science
Jan. 20, 2010: The National Academy of Sciences will honor 17 individuals in 2010 for their extraordinary scientific achievements in the areas of biology, chemistry, geology, astronomy, and psychology. Achievements include establishing the existence of the solar wind; development of a fundamental building block for nanoscience; pioneering studies of the dominant photosynthetic organisms in the sea; contributions on the theory of fluvial erosion, sedimentation, and landscape evolution; and the development of fast algorithms in mathematical physics, operator compression, and linear algebra.

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