“Colleges and universities have a vested moral and practical stake in encouraging more diverse interest and participation in STEM fields.”
— President John Fry
This year for the first time, Drexel sponsored the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world’s largest scientific organization. The theme of the event was “Science for Humanity.”
Thousands of researchers and scientists from around the globe attended the meeting in Washington, D.C., which opened with remarks about equity in STEM disciplines by President John Fry. Germany, Canada and Japan sent delegations, while foundations that support science, agencies such as NASA and other universities had a strong presence as well.
“The people who attend AAAS are influencers in the academic and scientific worlds, so we were able to enhance our reputation among the attendees,” says Aleister Saunders, executive vice provost for research and innovation. “The AAAS was founded in Philadelphia at the Academy of Natural Sciences in 1848, so that’s a really big part of why we’re engaged in it, because it’s part of our DNA.”
In addition to myriad panel discussions, the meeting included an E-poster competition, in which Drexel students won 17 of the 39 awards conferred.