Initiative Spreads Science Around World

A program announced on Nov. 3 by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will deploy prominent scientists to bolster science and technology collaborations with Muslim communities around the world. "We want to help Muslim majority communities develop the capacity to meet economic, social, and ecological challenges through science, technology, and innovation," Clinton said while speaking in Marrakech, Morocco. The Science & Technology Envoy program is part of an initiative launched by President Barack Obama in June to "appoint new science envoys to collaborate on programs that develop new sources of energy, create green jobs, digitize records, clean water, and grow new crops." The first three scientists selected as envoys are Bruce Alberts, a professor at UC San Francisco and former president of the National Academy of Sciences; Elias A. Zerhouni, senior adviser to the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and former director of NIH; and Ahmed Zewail, a professor at Caltech and a Nobel Laureate. The trio will travel to North Africa, the Middle East, and South and Southeast Asia in the coming months to strengthen science and technology partnerships and encourage collaborations.