District of Columbia Area
On January 7, the DC Science Writers Association heard all about “The Great Problems of the Universe Today,” from the Astronomer Royal, Sir Martin Rees, F.R.S., of Cambridge University. The session, organized by Curt Suplee of The Washington Post and Steve Maran of the American Astronomical Society [AAS], was held at the American Geophysical Union. Since the meeting was held in conjunction with a AAS meeting, all reporters attending AAS were invited to the DCSWA session at the DCSWA member price.
A February 26 session on “biological terrorism” considered what might happen in a domestic terrorist attack. Liz Pennisi and Rob Taylor organized the session , which included a tour of the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Frederick, Md.—the facility featured in Richard Preston’s “The Hot Zone.”
Speakers included Dr. Raymond Zalinskas, University of Maryland Biotechnology Center, former UNSCOM inspector in Iraq, Dr. Brad Roberts, Institute for Defense Analysis, and Col. David Franz, USAMRIID commander. The tour included visits to the “hot zone” laboratories, patient isolation suites, mobile isolation facilities, and protective gear.
North Carolina
Once again, the loosely constructed group of science writers in North Carolina, aka SW@NC, has resumed meeting on a regular basis, thanks to the largess of the editors of American Scientist magazine and its parent organization, Sigma Xi. The first Tuesday of each month Sigma Xi hosts a pizza lunch and informal talk by an area scientist for Research Triangle area science journalists and PIOs. The first talk, in December 1997, was a fascinating first-hand account by JoAnn Burkholder of NC State University of the discovery and subsequent battle over the dangers of the Pfiesteria organism, which has caused massive fish kills along the Atlantic coast. For more info, contact Michelle Hoffman at American Scientist magazine, mhoffman@amsci.org or Karyn Hede, local coordinator, SW@NC, KarynH@nasw.org.