George Mason University is pleased to announce the establishment of The Center for Science and Society. The opportunity for such an endeavor on this campus connects to the University’s position to be a leader in research and education on the many and varied topics at the intersections of society, science, and technology. The world faces enormous challenges. Global climate change, the rapid spread of infectious diseases, revolutions in health care, energy crises, biological diversity, food safety and security are but a small set of the issues that confront the planet. Many of the problems and their eventual solutions lie at this crucial intersection of scientific advance and societal needs.

Mason’s response to these challenges is, in part, the establishment of the Center for Science and Society. The Center is a joint venture spearheaded by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the College of Science and is administratively supported by both colleges. Matt Zingraff, CHSS Associate Dean for Research, and Paul Schopf, COS Associate Dean for Research and Computing, have been named Interim Directors. Searches for a permanent Director and Associate Director will be conducted in the fall.

The Center and its activities are intended to be focal points for cross-disciplinary intellectual exchanges, research, and education regarding the implications and the role of science in society. In anticipation of growing collaborative efforts among university units, an academic minor in science and society has been created and is available to undergraduate students in fall, 2007. The core research faculty of the Center will play a prominent role in the minor intended to foster strong ties between research and academic affairs.

The primary goals of the Center are to examine: (a) the ways in which social structures (including cultural, educational, political, philosophical, and monetary/commercial systems) influence the organization and conduct of natural science; (b) the ways natural scientists communicate their findings to one another and to other audiences and how this information is used by various constituencies; (c) the ways science develops and interacts with its social contexts; and (d) the social, economic, ethical and environmental implications of natural science activity.

The Center will become a regional, national, and international nexus for exceptional scholarship, for evolving discussions of complex, multifaceted issues regarding appropriate uses of science; the ways in which scientific findings are communicated, understood and utilized; and the complex and often reciprocal interplay that exists between science and the social, political, and institutional contexts in which it is embedded. The Center, in leading this discussion, will also train graduate students across the disciplines as the next generation of scholars and prepare George Mason undergraduates to become educated participants in evolving societal discussions regarding science, as a part of their role in becoming responsible citizens.

An immediate first step is to assemble faculty representing the broad range of Mason scholars with research interests relevant to the study of science and society. A meeting for interested faculty will be held on September 6 at 3:00 p.m. in Room 163, Research I.

The overarching goal of the Center is to promote an environment for serious, deliberate, and open discussion about central issues from multi-faceted perspectives. Specific foci of these discussions will be to identify what we need to learn and to develop appropriate strategies to apply what we learn. To the extent the Center is successful in expanding our knowledge base and applications, the welfare of all societies will benefit. I hope you will participate in this important initiative.