Jetpacks, self-driving cars, hoverboards. These are the next five minutes. What about the next decade? Advances in genetics, theoretical physics, space science, and more will reshape not only our understanding of the world, but of what is possible for us to do in it. Premier researchers in psychology, nanoscience, energy, and physics will discuss and answer questions about what we can expect in theoretical science and how it will translate into our every-day world over the next ten years.
Gadi Ben-Yehuda is the Social Media Director for the AAAS, the American Association for the Advancement of Science . He is a frequent speaker, panelist and moderator for events with State Department, Department of Labor, Department of Defense, General Services Administration, and other agencies. He has also delivered presentations both nationally and internationally, at SxSW Interactive, the Global eGovernment Forum in Seoul, South Korea, and conferences in venues ranging from Washington, DC, to New York City, and Las Vegas, NV, to Burlington, VT. He is a prolific writer, with articles appearing on the Center's blog, in Government Executive and Fast CoExist. He is active on Facebook, Twitter, and Vine. Mr. Ben-Yehuda has worked on the Web since 1994, when he received an email from Maya Angelou through his first Web site. He has an MFA in poetry from American University, has taught writing at Howard University, and has worked in Washington, DC, for nonprofits, lobbying organizations, and government.
Liane Young is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Boston College and the director of the Morality Lab. Her lab investigates the psychological and neurological basis of human moral decision-making. Her research has been featured in The Boston Globe, The New York Times, NPR, and CNN. Before she came to BC in 2011, Young received her B.A. in Philosophy in 2004 and her Ph.D. in Psychology at Harvard in 2008 and completed her post-doctoral training at MIT.
Rush D. Holt, Ph.D., became the 18th chief executive officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and executive publisher of the Science family of journals in February 2015. In this role, Holt leads the world's largest multi-disciplinary scientific and engineering society. Over his long career, Dr. Holt has held positions as a teacher, scientist, administrator, and policymaker. From 1987 to 1998, Holt was assistant director of the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), a Department of Energy national lab, which is the largest research facility of Princeton University and one of the largest alternative energy research facilities in the country. At PPPL, Holt helped establish the lab's nationally renowned science education program. From 1980 to 1988, Holt served on the faculty of Swarthmore College, where he taught courses in physics and public policy. In 1982, he took leave from Swarthmore to serve as an AAAS/American Physical Society Science and Technology Policy Fellow on Capitol Hill. The Fellowships program, dating to 1973, places outstanding scientists and engineers in executive, legislative, and Congressional branch assignments for one or two years; by early 2015, the program had served nearly 3,000 alumni working worldwide in the policy, academic, industry, and nonprofit realms. Holt has said that his AAAS S&T Policy Fellowship was "life changing," and served as a springboard to his role in Congress. He also served as an arms control expert at the U.S. State Department, where he monitored the nuclear programs of countries such as Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and the former Soviet Union. In 1981, Holt was issued a patent for an improved solar-pond technology for harnessing energy from sunlight. Before coming to AAAS, Holt served for 16 years as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New Jersey's 12th Congressional District. In Congress, Holt served as a senior member of the Committee on Natural Resources and the Committee on Education and the Workforce. On Capitol Hill, Holt established a long track record of advocacy for federal investment in research and development, science education, and innovation. He served on the National Commission on the Teaching of Mathematics and Science (known as the Glenn Commission), founded the Congressional Research and Development Caucus, and served as a co-chair of the Biomedical Research Caucus. Holt served eight years on the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and, from 2007 to 2010, chaired the Select Intelligence Oversight Panel, which worked to strengthen legislative oversight of the intelligence community. His legislative work earned him numerous accolades, including being named one of Scientific American magazine's "50 National Visionaries Contributing to a Brighter Technological Future" and a "Champion of Science" by the Science Coalition. He has also received awards from the American Chemical Society, the American Association of University Professors, the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, the Council of Scientific Society Presidents, the American Geophysical Union, and the Biotechnology Industry Organization. Holt is also a past recipient of two of AAAS' highest honors: the William D. Carey Lectureship Award (2005) and the Philip Hauge Abelson Award (2010). From December 2014 to February 2015, Holt was appointed a Director's Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey.
Seth B. Darling is a Scientist at Argonne National Laboratory and a Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. His group's research is motivated by humankind's grand challenges and centers around molecular engineering with a particular emphasis on solar energy and water treatment. Dr. Darling has published over 100 papers and a popular book on climate change, holds several patents, and lectures widely on topics related to energy, climate, and water.