Association Affairs: Pacific Science Association

I. Updates

The 22nd Pacific Science Congress

The Pacific Science Association (PSA) concluded a very successful 22nd Pacific Science Congress on 14–17 June 2011 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The 22nd Congress theme was “Asia Pacific Science in the 21st Century: Meeting the Challenges of Global Change”. The Congress meeting hosted many outstanding science sessions and keynote speeches, and was attended by 824 scientists from 44 countries in the Asia and Pacific region and beyond.

The Congress was composed of eight subthemes: “A Changing Climate”; “Global Change and Ecosystems”; “Oceans”; “Earth Systems and Risk Management”; “Globalization”; “Resource Constraints and Sustainability”; “Health Challenges”; and “Science for Policy and the Future”. These included 32 convened sessions with hundreds of individual talks.

There were many outstanding Keynote Presentations on each day of the Congress. These included Dr. Wenju Cai (CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Australia), who presented a talk on “The Changing Climate of the Pacific Ocean”; Dr. Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, F.A.Sc. (Vice Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia), who discussed “Sustainable Asia 2060”; Dr. Kenneth Sherman (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA) who presented on “Sustainable Development of Large Marine Ecosystems During Global Climate Change”; Prof. Dr. Kiyoshi Kurokawa (National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies [GRIPS], Japan), who discussed “The Age of Uncertainty: Have We Become Wiser?”; Emeritus Prof. Dato’ Dr. Zakri Abd Hamid (Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of Malaysia), who discussed “The Role of Science in Halting Biodiversity Loss”; Prof. Dr. Gordon McBean (The University of Western Ontario, Canada [and] Chairman, Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences), who presented on “Integrating Research to Reduce Disaster Risk”; Dr. Duane Gubler (Director, Program on Emerging Infectious Disease, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Singapore), who gave a talk on “Emerging Infectious Disease in SE Asia: Lessons Learned and Challenges for the Future”; and Prof. Dr. KunMo Chung (Korean Academy of Science and Technology [and] Former Minister of Education, Science and Technology, South Korea), who discussed “Human Resources Development for a Nuclear Renaissance”.

PSA thanks the Government of Malaysia and, in particular, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Malaysia for hosting this very successful Pacific Science Congress, as well as our co-hosts at the Malaysian Academy of Sciences (ASM), the Asia-Pacific Regional Office of ICSU, and the International Science, Technology and Innovation Centre for South-South Cooperation (ISTIC). We also thank the supporting organizations, including the University of Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, and Universiti Putra Malaysia. Finally, but not least, PSA extends its thanks and congratulations to the Local Organizing Committee in Malaysia for their strenuous efforts in carrying out this very successful meeting, and to all the hosts in Malaysia for their hard work, generosity, and hospitality.

II. Announcements

1. New PSA Executive Board

Dr. Nancy Lewis, Director of the East-West Center’s Research Program, was elected President of the Pacific Science Association. Dr. Lewis, who also heads PSA’s initiative on human resources for the future, is the first woman to head the Pacific Science Association. Nancy was the Secretary General of the 17th Pacific Science Congress, held in Honolulu in 1991. During Nancy’s long association with the PSA, she has been particularly active in promoting the participation of women, young scientists and Pacific Island colleagues in PSA activities.

Other new PSA Board Member positions include PSA Vice President Prof. Chang-Hung Chou (Director, Research Center for Biodiversity, China Medical University, Taiwan); PSA Secretary-General and Treasurer Dr. Makoto Tsuchiya (Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of the Ryukyus); PSA Past-President Prof. Congbin Fu (Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China); and Ordinary Board Members: Dr. Marie-Lise Chanin (Academie des Sciences [and] Centre national de la recherche scientifique / Institut Pierre Simon Laplace); Dr. Soottiporn Chittmittrapap (National Research Council of...