The National Academies

The National Research Council, at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, has launched a study to strengthen the scientific basis for incorporating sustainability concepts into EPA’s decision-making. “Today I am formally requesting President Cicerone and the National Academies convene a committee of experts to provide to the U.S. EPA an operational framework for sustainability that applies across all of the agency’s programs, policies, and actions,” said EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson at an event held at the National Academy of Sciences’ Koshland Science Museum. NAS President Ralph Cicerone and Bernard Goldstein, chair of the committee that will conduct the study, made remarks as well.

National efforts to strengthen U.S. science and engineering must include all Americans, especially minorities, who are the fastest growing groups of the U.S. population but the most underrepresented in science and technology careers, says a new report from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. Minority participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education at all levels should be an urgent national priority, says the report, which offers a comprehensive road map for increasing involvement of underrepresented minorities and improving the quality of their education.

On Sunday, Sept. 26, a committee of the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council that is conducting an analysis of the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill will hold a public meeting to hear from Mark Bly, group head of safety and operations for BP, and other company representatives about BP's recently released accident investigation report. Also on the agenda are executives from Halliburton and Shell Oil.

On Sunday, Sept. 26, a committee of the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council that is conducting an analysis of the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill will hold a public meeting to hear from Mark Bly, group head of safety and operations for BP, and other company representatives about BP's recently released accident investigation report. Also on the agenda are executives from Halliburton and Shell Oil.

On Sunday, Sept. 26, a committee of the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council that is conducting an analysis of the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill will hold a public meeting to hear from Mark Bly, group head of safety and operations for BP, and other company representatives about BP's recently released accident investigation report. Also on the agenda are executives from Halliburton and Shell Oil.

On Sunday, Sept. 26, a committee of the National Academy of Engineering and National Research Council that is conducting an analysis of the causes of the Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill will hold a public meeting to hear from Mark Bly, group head of safety and operations for BP, and other company representatives about BP's recently released accident investigation report. Also on the agenda are executives from Halliburton and Shell Oil.

The National Research Council released its assessment of U.S. research doctorate programs, which includes data on over 5,000 programs in 62 fields at 212 universities nationwide. The assessment is designed to help universities evaluate and improve the quality of their programs and to provide prospective students with useful information.

To more proactively target potential food safety problems, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should implement a risk-based approach in which data and expertise are marshaled to pinpoint where along the food production, distribution, and handling chains there is the greatest potential for contamination and other problems, says a new report from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council.

At the 2010 annual meeting of the National Research Council’s Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board one of the sessions discussed a potential new study on cancer risk for populations living near nuclear power facilities.

To battle the obesity epidemic in America, health care professionals and policymakers need relevant, useful data on the effectiveness of obesity prevention policies and programs. A new report from the Institute of Medicine identifies a new approach to decision making and research that uses a systems perspective to gain a broader understanding of the context of obesity and the many factors that influence it.