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A native Minnesotan, Peter Agre studied chemistry at Augsburg College (B.A. 1970) and medicine at Johns Hopkins (M.D. 1974). Following Internal Medicine Residency at Case Western Reserve University Hospitals of Cleveland and Hematology-Oncology Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Agre joined the faculty at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine where his laboratory became widely recognized for discovering the aquaporins, a family of water channel proteins found throughout nature and responsible for numerous physiological processes as well as multiple clinical disorders. |
Following a term as Vice Chancellor at Duke Medical Center, Agre joined the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2008, where he is University Professor and Director of the Malaria Research Institute and Program Director of the NIH International Center of Excellence in Malaria Research for Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Agre shared the 2003 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Roderick MacKinnon “for discoveries concerning channels in cell membranes.” Agre has received additional honors including the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award from the Boy Scouts of America.
Agre is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine; he is past-Chair and member of the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academies. From 2009-11, Agre served as President and Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences and led scientific diplomacy visits to Cuba, Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea), and Myanmar (Burma).
Agre and his wife Mary, a teacher, have been married 36 years and have four grown children.
Website: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2003/agre-autobio.html
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"Partnering with the annual meeting of the AAAS, the American Junior Academy of Science convention offers young scientists an opportunity to present scientific papers at a poster session and to participate in activities that are tailored to the interest of high school age scientists. This convention also serves the important function of introducing the students to the wider science community, which is very well represented by the other, older attendees at the AAAS meeting." |
Bruce Alberts, a prominent biochemist with a strong commitment to the improvement of science and mathematics education, serves as Editor-in-Chief of Science and as one of President Obama’s first three Science Envoys. Alberts is also Professor Emeritus in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco, to which he returned after serving two six-year terms as the president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).
During his tenure at the NAS, Alberts was instrumental in developing the landmark National Science Education standards that have been implemented in school systems nationwide. The type of “science as inquiry” teaching we need, says Alberts, emphasizes “logical, hands-on problem solving, and it insists on having evidence for claims that can be confirmed by others. It requires work in cooperative groups, where those with different types of talents can discover them – developing self confidence and an ability to communicate effectively with others.”
Alberts is also noted as one of the original authors of The Molecular Biology of the Cell, a preeminent textbook in the field now in its fifth edition. For the period 2000 to 2009, he served as the co-chair of the InterAcademy Council, a new organization in Amsterdam governed by the presidents of 15 national academies of sciences and that was established to provide scientific advice to the world.
Committed in his international work to the promotion of the “creativity, openness and tolerance that are inherent to science,” Alberts believes that “scientists all around the world must now band together to help create more rational, scientifically-based societies that find dogmatism intolerable.”
Widely recognized for his work in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, Alberts has earned many honors and awards, including 16 honorary degrees. He currently serves on the advisory boards of more than 25 non-profit institutions, including the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
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“Bright creative scientists can be found in the high schools across this nation. The evidence is impressive and the American Junior Academy of Science helps to keep the students engaged in science programs as a career choice. The mentoring, nurturing and guiding of these students through the programs of the AJAS pays huge benefits. I am truly impressed with the maturity and quality of the research these students present at the AAAS annual conference and in their home communities.” |
“It has been my pleasure to visit with the students at the AJAS “Breakfast with Scientists” and also learn about their research at the poster session as a part of the AAAS annual meeting. I promote AJAS to Sigma Xi Chapters and their officers. We also extend to the AJAS students an opportunity to receive subscriptions to the American Scientist magazine”
“While I believe it is never too late to learn I also believe it is never too early to nurture the next generation of scientists. I suggest that all scientists look at the accomplishments of the AJAS scientists and evaluate their contributions to the scientific literature.”
Dr. Jerome F. Baker is Executive Director of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Founded in 1886, Sigma Xi is the international honor society of research scientists and engineers, with 500 chapters in North America and around the world. A recognized leader in animal genetics, he is the former chief executive officer of the Federation of Animal Science Societies and a former faculty member at the University of Georgia, Texas A&M University and the University of Nebraska.
Dr. Baker had a distinguished career in genetics research, graduate student training ,teaching, and research administration. He served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Animal Science and the Professional Animal Scientist. He has been active on four non-profit board of directors and has served on national and international program committees focused on animal genetics. His research has involved collaborative projects between various state and federal agencies as well as with colleagues around the world.
Website: http://www.sigmaxi.org/about/leadership/board.baker.shtml
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“These are both exciting and challenging times in science -- a period when new technological advances, spawned by creative ideas and innovation, stand to impact our everyday world like no time before. This is why I, as an entrepreneur in biotechnology, am particularly pleased to be associated with the American Junior Academy of Science and similar organizations that encourage and motivate young students in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics).” |
"I especially want students to know that in the emerging fields of life and physical science, biotech start-up research companies are making a significant contribution to scientific innovation – from drug discovery, genetics and neuroscience to evolution, renewable energy and materials science. In my continued involvement with AJAS, I look forward to communicating with young people about these and other exciting opportunities the start-up arena has to offer, including how students can combine their interest in science with entrepreneurial skills to make a real impact in biotechnology and nanotechnology.”
Larry Bock is Founder and Organizer of the USA Science & Engineering Festival – the largest celebration of science and engineering of its kind in the country. He is also a successful serial entrepreneur who has founded, co-founded or financed the early stage growth of 40 companies in the life and physical sciences from inception to achieving an aggregate market capitalization in excess of $30 billion.
He was the inspiration and executive director of the Inaugural San Diego Science Festival and USA Science & Engineering Festival which were the world’s largest science festival of their kind in their first year. Bock is now organizing the 2nd USA Science Festival which will take place in the spring of 2012. The Festival culminates with a three-day Expo next year (April 27-29) at the Convention Center in Washington, DC, with more than 500 leading organizations participating. Larry earned his B.A. in Biochemistry from Bowdoin College and his MBA in Finance from UCLA.
For more information on the 2nd USA Science & Engineering Festival, visit: http://www.usasciencefestival.org/
Website: http://www.cchem.berkeley.edu/pagrp/LarryBockinfo.html
Distinguished University Professor
University of Maryland College Park
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health
Senior Advisor and Chairman Emeritus, Canon U. S. Life Sciences
President and CEO, CosmosID, Inc.
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"The American Junior Academy of Science has contributed significantly to recruitment of bright young people to the STEM disciplines. It is an honor to be a part of AJAS."
"In today’s world, science, engineering, mathematics, and technology plan an incredibly important role in sustaining the wellbeing of all countries of the world. For the United States, it is especially critical to maintain leadership in the STEM fields as those nurture innovation and serve as the engine of modern society." |
Dr. Rita Colwell is Distinguished University Professor both at the University of Maryland at College Park and at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Senior Advisor and Chairman Emeritus, Canon US Life Sciences, Inc., and President and CEO of CosmosID, Inc. Her interests are focused on global infectious diseases, water, and health, and she is currently developing an international network to address emerging infectious diseases and water issues, including safe drinking water for both the developed and developing world.
Dr. Colwell served as the 11th Director of the National Science Foundation, 1998-2004. In her capacity as NSF Director, she served as Co-chair of the Committee on Science of the National Science and Technology Council. One of her major interests include K-12 science and mathematics education, graduate science and engineering education and the increased participation of women and minorities in science and engineering.
Dr. Colwell has held many advisory positions in the U.S. Government, nonprofit science policy organizations, and private foundations, as well as in the international scientific research community. She is a nationally-respected scientist and educator, and has authored or co-authored 17 books and more than 750 scientific publications. She produced the award-winning film, Invisible Seas, and has served on editorial boards of numerous scientific journals.
Before going to NSF, Dr. Colwell was President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and Professor of Microbiology and Biotechnology at the University Maryland. She was also a member of the National Science Board from 1984 to 1990.
Dr. Colwell has previously served as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the American Academy of Microbiology and also as President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Washington Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Microbiology, the Sigma Xi National Science Honorary Society, and the International Union of Microbiological Societies. Dr. Colwell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, the Royal Society of Canada, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. She is Immediate Past-President of the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).
Dr. Colwell has also been awarded 55 honorary degrees from institutions of higher education, including her Alma Mater, Purdue University and is the recipient of the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, bestowed by the Emperor of Japan, the 2006 National Medal of Science awarded by the President of the United States, and the 2010 Stockholm Water Prize awarded by the King of Sweden. Dr. Colwell is an honorary member of the microbiological societies of the UK, Australia, France, Israel, Bangladesh, Czechoslovakia, Royal Irish Academy, and the U.S. and has held several honorary professorships, including the University of Queensland, Australia. A geological site in Antarctica, Colwell Massif, has been named in recognition of her work in the polar regions.
Born in Beverly, Massachusetts, Dr. Colwell holds a B.S. in Bacteriology and an M.S. in Genetics, from Purdue University, and a Ph.D. in Oceanography from the University of Washington.
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2002 Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine
HHMI Investigator
Professor of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Dr. H. Robert Horvitz was born in Chicago, IL in 1947. He attended DeWitt Clinton Elementary School and East Prairie Grammar School. After graduating from Niles Township Community High School (East Division) in Skokie, IL, he enrolled at MIT where he received two degrees, in mathematics and economics. He then enrolled in the PhD program in biology at Harvard University where he worked in the laboratories of James Watson and Walter Gilbert studying the bacterial virus T4 and mechanisms of controlling gene expression. He did his postdoctoral work in Cambridge, England in the laboratory of Sydney Brenner. There he began his studies of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. In 1978 he became a faculty member in the Department of Biology at MIT. He shared the 2002 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Sydney Brenner and John Sulston for discovering and characterizing genes controlling programmed cell death (apoptosis) in and organ development of C. elegans.
In his Nobel autobiography, Dr. Horvitz wrote, "It was my mother, with her interest and knowledge as a science teacher, who encouraged my first experiences with experimental science. My sixth grade science project, which I think was her idea, was entitled 'Electricity Produces Light through Heat' and won a third prize. My ninth grade project, in which I used the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster to replicate Gregor Mendel's famed 3:1 and 9:3:3:1 inheritance ratios, required my mother to relinquish her bathroom for my breeding experiments. She helped me prepare the fly food, which smelled awful, and tolerated the fact that to anesthetize the flies I used ether, which smelled worse. This project also won a prize, and earned me a trip to the Illinois State Science Fair, in Champaign-Urbana."
Dr. Horvitz is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the U.S. Institute of Medicine and is a recipient of numerous awards in addition to the Nobel Prize.
Website: http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2002/horvitz-autobio.html
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"The AJAS is a celebration of early successes and an entrance into the community of scientists and engineers. The AJAS helps young scientists build networks within their own states and across the nation. The AJAS activities have become an integral component of the big annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)." "I have participated in the “AJAS Breakfast with Scientists” and met with students at their research poster sessions for many years, before and since my three years as president-elect, president, and board chair of the AAAS during 2004-2007."
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"I have introduced the group at Plenary Lectures of the AAAS meetings, and encouraged others to do the same. And I greatly enjoy the chats with individual students."
"Our country needs a growing number of diverse and ambitious young scientists, engineers, and physician-scientists. We also need much greater science literacy among the rest of the population in all the roles in which people depend upon or utilize science and engineering. AAAS encourages members to get involved locally and statewide all across the country, which makes AJAS a key partner. Such activities are a great way to help our university students get involved with K-12 science."
Gil Omenn’s research interests include cancer proteomics, chemoprevention of cancers, public health genetics, computational biology, science-based risk analysis, and health policy.
He was principal investigator of the beta-Carotene and Retinol Efficacy Trial (CARET) of preventive agents against lung cancer and heart disease; director of the Center for Health Promotion in Older Adults; creator of a university-wide initiative on Public Health Genetics in Ethical, Legal, and Policy Context; and a Howard Hughes Investigator while at the University of Washington and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle from 1969 to 1997.
He served as Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs at the University of Michigan and Chief Executive Officer of the UM Health System from 1997 to 2002. He now leads the Michigan Proteomics Alliance for Cancer Research, the international Human Plasma Proteome Project, and the UM Center for Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics.
He was a White House Fellow at the Atomic Energy Commission in 1973-1974. He served as Associate Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Associate Director, Office of Management and Budget, in the Executive Office of the President in the Carter Administration during 1977-1981. He has served on the board of Amgen Inc. since 1987.
Omenn is the author of 487 research papers and scientific reviews and author/editor of 18 books. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the American College of Physicians. He chaired the presidential/ congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management (“Omenn Commission”) and the NAS/NAE/IOM Committee on Science, Engineering and Public Policy.
He received the John W. Gardner Legacy of Leadership Award from the White House Fellows Association in 2004 and the Walsh McDermott Medal from the Institute of Medicine in 2008. He received his BA from Princeton, MD from Harvard Medical School, and PhD in genetics from the University of Washington.
Website: http://www.med.umich.edu/omenn.
President Emeritus, Missouri Botanical Garden
George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis
National Medal of Science, 2001
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“The encouragement of students to become scientists and engineers is one of the most important functions of our community. By given them the opportunity to attend AAAS meetings and mix with professionals, AJAS goes a long way toward encouraging them to take this direction in their lives. Also, the chance to mix with other students with common interests can be a powerful stimulus to taking up a meaningful scientific career. I have greatly enjoyed the AJAS breakfasts that I have been able to join at the meetings, and to have the chance to exchange views with the bright young students who attend. ”I have served as an AJAS Board member in the past and will be pleased to continue helping to look for sponsors to enable students to travel to the annual meeting. I am extremely enthusiastic about the potential of the organization to inspire and assist in the development of young scientists. The association of students and their teachers in promoting, teaching, and implementing real research programs would certainly be encouraged by these activities, which definitely deserve the investment of time, resources, and money.” |
Peter Raven, a leading botanist and advocate of conservation and biodiversity with a notably international outlook, is president emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden and George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis. In addition, Dr. Raven is a Trustee of the National Geographic Society and Chairman of the Society's Committee for Research and Exploration. For more than 39 years, Dr. Raven headed the Missouri Botanical Garden, an institution he nurtured to become a world-class center for botanical research, education, and horticulture display. During this period, the Garden became a leader in botanical research and conservation in Latin America, Africa, Asia, and North America.
Dr. Raven first realized in the mid 1960s that the rapid growth of the human population, consumption, and the spread of polluting technologies were threatening biological diversity to a degree that had not been realized earlier. He soon became an outspoken advocate of the need for conservation throughout the world based on efforts to attain sustainability and social justice everywhere. He was described by TIME magazine as a "Hero for the Planet," and has received numerous prizes and awards, including the International Prize for Biology from the government of Japan; Volvo Environment Prize; the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement; the Sasakawa Environment Prize; and the BBVA Prize for Ecology and Conservation, Madrid. Earlier in his career, Dr. Raven held Guggenheim and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowships.
In 2001, Dr. Raven received the National Medal of Science, the highest award for scientific accomplishment in the United States. He has been president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sigma Xi, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and a number of other organizations. He served for 12 years as Home Secretary of the National Academy of Sciences, to which he was elected in 1977. He is also a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and of the American Philosophical Society, of the academies of science in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Brazil, Chile, China, Denmark, Georgia, Hungary, India, Italy, Mexico, New Zealand, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, the U.K. (the Royal Society), and of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS).
Dr. Raven is Co-editor of the Flora of China, a joint Chinese-American international project that is leading to a contemporary, 50-volume account on all the plants of China scheduled for completion in early 2013.
Dr. Raven has authored numerous books and publications, both popular and scientific, including Biology of Plants (co-authored with Ray Evert and Susan Eichhorn, W. H. Freeman and Company/Worth Publishers, New York), the internationally best-selling textbook in botany, of which the seventh edition appeared in 2007; and Environment (co authored with Linda Berg, Wiley & Sons, New York), a leading textbook on the environment, now in its seventh edition (2009).
Dr. Raven received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 1960 after completing his undergraduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley. He has been awarded a number of honorary degrees by universities in the United States and throughout the world. Married to Dr. Patricia Duncan Raven, he has four children.
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