- Association AffairsPacific Science Association
Announcements
Call for Hosts for 2020 Congress
The Council of the Pacific Science Association (PSA) invites expressions of interest (EOI) from organizations interested in hosting the 24th Pacific Science Congress (PSC-24) in 2020 and the 13th Pacific Science Inter-Congress (PSIC-13) in 2018.
Previous PSCs and PSICs have been held in major cities around the Pacific Rim and in Hawai'i, Australia, and New Zealand and have typically attracted about 1,500 participants (PSCs) and about 800 participants (PSICs). Typically, PSCs are held in larger cities in or close to the Asian, Australian, or North American mainland, and PSICs are generally located in the Pacific Islands region. For more information, please access the PSA website.
The host organization will be asked to designate a Conference Chair and a Local Organizing Committee (LOC) that will work closely with PSA's Committee on Scientific Affairs in planning a PSC or PSIC. A Technical Program Committee, composed of LOC members and individuals appointed by the PSA Council, will be responsible for planning the PSC/PSIC agenda, selecting keynote speakers, and reviewing submitted abstracts for presentation. The LOC will be responsible for:
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• Providing a meeting venue that will be of interest to scientists;
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• Managing the conference arrangements or hiring a conference management company;
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• Obtaining partial funding of the conference from cosponsors to keep Congress registration fees in an acceptable range, typically US$400 for PSA members, US$500 for nonmembers, and US$200 for students.
Institutions in PSA member countries are invited to express their interest in hosting PSC-24 or PSIC-13 by contacting Burke Burnett, PSA Executive Secretary (burnett@pacificscience.org). Please include the name and contact information for the proposed Conference Chair. Expressions of interest are requested by 15 November 2017.
Full applications to host PSC-24 and PSIC-13 should be prepared according to the following Guidelines and should be submitted to Burke Burnett by 15 December 2017. These applications will be reviewed and approved by the PSA Council. [End Page 547]
PSA Activities
March for Science
The Pacific Science Association (PSA) formally endorsed the worldwide March for Science on Earth Day, 22 April 2017. PSA Executive Secretary Burke Burnett was a member of the local organizing committee for the Honolulu chapter of the March for Science, which was held at the University of Hawai'i Mānoa campus and was attended by approximately 2,700 people.
Given the scope and magnitude of the problems facing the Asia-Pacific region and indeed the entire planet, science is more important than ever to provide the tools and understanding to help meet these enormous challenges. Public understanding of how science plays a critical role in these efforts is vastly underappreciated, and so PSA endorses this worthy endeavor aimed at increasing and enhancing public awareness of and support for science and technology and how they fundamentally underpin the prosperity and progress of our technological civilization.
We were pleased to learn that the March for Science aims to be the kick-off event for galvanizing public support for scientific research, and we emphatically agree that such an organization is urgently needed.
Since our founding in 1920, PSA has advanced science, technology, and sustainable development in the Asia-Pacific region by actively promoting interdisciplinary and international meetings, research, and collaboration. We focus on key issues and problems in the region to engage science in the service of human needs and to improve both the environment and quality of life of the region's peoples and to foster more effective communication between scientists, policy makers, and the public. As such, PSA's goals are well aligned with the March for Science.
We look forward to the success of the March for Science and its follow-on efforts to enhance awareness of the essential role of science and technology in developing solutions to the monumental challenges of global environmental change and human security in the region and beyond.
New PSA Website
PSA launched a new website in May 2017. The last major refresh of the PSA website was in 2005, practically a different era in internet terms. The basic intent is simply to bring the coding up to...