Farmlab Public Salon
Ben Sullivan, Bonnie Bills, Bo Oppenheim & Caroline Heldman
Friday, October 24, 2008 @ Noon
Free Admission

Obama, McCain and the Sciences


About the Salon

Barring catastrophe, either Barak Obama or John McCain will be the next president of the United States. As such, he will be the single most influential figure in U.S. science funding for at least the next four years. But where do the candidates stand on the sciences, and to what extent will ideology affect their funding choices?

With the nation facing ballooning deficits, and the possibility of a risk-averse Wall Street pulling back from private sector investment, will alternative energy, stem cell research, space exploration, climate change and other important science fields be left by the way? Or will one of these two men lead the charge to a new era in U.S. science dominance?

About the Salon Participants

Panelists
Bo Oppenheim is Professor of Mechanical and Systems Engineering at Loyola Marymoung University and Graduate Director of Mechanical Engineering. He is also Director of the US Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Center and Co-Chair of the Lean Systems Engineering Working Group, for the International Council for Systems Engineers.

Caroline Heldman is an Assistant Professor of Politics, Occidental College, Los Angeles. She has published in the top journals in her field, and has co-authored Rethinking Madame President: Are we Ready for a Woman in the White House. She specializes in the presidency, media, gender, and race in the American context. She holds a bachelors degree in business administration from Washington State University, and has worked as the General Manager for Bio-Energy Systems and a Research Manager for Consumer Health Sciences. Dr. Heldman has also been active in "real world" politics as a congressional staffer, campaign manager, campaign consultant, and political activist.

Bonnie Bills is writing her MA thesis in philosophy on the ethical obligations of science journalists. An Echo Park-based writer and editor, she spent many years developing consumer and professional books on digital photography and computer hardware and software for the publisher Sybex, and she has written about public health, women's health care, AIDS, and the environmental and social effects of technology for various print and online news publications. Her philosophical interests include critiques of scientific realism, the demarcation between science and pseudoscience, science research and social accountability, the presentation of risk and probability, bioethics, environmental ethics, and philosophy of technology.

Moderator:
Ben Sullivan is editor and publisher of ScienceBlog.com. He has written about science, health care and business for publications including the Los Angeles Times, the Economist Intelligence Unit, the New York Times Magazine and the LA Weekly. He lives in Highland Park.

Image from masspoz.com via Ben Sullivan

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