>
>
> ______________________________ Forward Header __________________________________
> Subject: Nat Academy of Sciences Seeks Suggestions for Research
> Author: "Mike O'Neill" <moneill@reeusda.gov> (by way of William Locke
> <wlocke@montana.edu>) at Internet_Gateway
> Date: 2/23/99 1:44 PM
>
> To Geomorphlist Members:
>
> From: Paul Stern <PStern@nas.edu>
>
> Subject: Soliciting ideas--please forward to anyone interested
>
> As you can see from the following, a project that I'm working on is soliciting
> ideas for the big challenges for the environmental sciences over the next few
> decades. The committee is serious about casting a wide net for ideas, and that
> includes people outside the universities and even outside the scientific
> community. Please forward this message to others and to any listserves you
> know of that might reach the authors of good ideas. Also please feel free
> to submit
> your own ideas.
>
> Thank you very much.
>
> Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences: Seeking Input
>
> A new committee of the United States National Research Council (Committee on
> Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences) has been asked by the National
> Science Foundation to identify and prioritize grand challenges in
> environmental sciences that are likely to be relevant over the next 10-30
> years. The
> committee would like advice from the scientific community and others. The idea
> is to describe a few grand challenges that appear to have the greatest
> scientific importance, research potential, and practical value. The definition
> of environmental sciences is broad, including the natural sciences, the social
> sciences, and engineering. A description of the project's scope and a list of
> committee members with brief biographical sketches will be available on the Web
> at <<http://www.nas.edu/gces> as soon as this Web site is
> complete, about February 8, 1999.
>
> The committee invites submission of ideas for grand challenges in
> environmental sciences; it will use those ideas to help it in its task, and
> anticipates
> inviting some respondents to a future workshop for more extended discussions.
> The time and place of the workshop will be announced on the committee's Web
> site.
>
> The committee considers that any grand challenge must be compelling to
> scientists and the public, must require a sustained research effort, and must
> be intellectually exciting. Beyond that, we ask you to provide the following
> information about your candidate grand challenge:
>
> A. A one-sentence summary that will quickly convey your idea to a broad
> audience.
>
> B. A narrative description of the challenge.
>
> C. Evaluation of the challenge in terms of all the following criteria that are
> relevant to your idea:
> * Scientific payoff.
> * Practical payoff (i.e., help in solving environmental problems).
> * Feasibility (likelihood that valuable results would be produced over the
> next ten years).
> * The need for interdisciplinary collaboration, especially if it builds
> capacity for dealing with other challenges.
> * Research resources available or needed, including infrastructure such as new
> technology or information systems.
> * The ability of existing institutions to support the research effort.
>
> We encourage you to think broadly and to provide ideas that make connections
> among the sciences and between science and practical needs. The committee will
> begin to consider suggestions on February 26, 1999 and suggestions will be
> most useful if they are received by then. However, it is likely that
> suggestions
> received even as late as the beginning of May will be at least of some help to
> the committee. We ask for your suggestions, preferably by email to
> GCES@NAS.EDU. Please also provide your name, your affiliation (if any), your
> email address, your mailing address, and your telephone number.
>
> We ask you to keep your suggestion to a maximum of one printed page. You may
> use the email address provided above for questions about our committee and our
> process as well as for your suggestions. You can also find information on the
> committee's activities and its report on its Web site.
>
> We look forward to receiving your suggestions. We also encourage you to share
> this message with colleagues who may be interested.
>
> Committee on Grand Challenges in Environmental Sciences
> National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council
> Room HA-354
> 2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
> Washington DC 20418
> U.S.A.
>
> Michael P. O'Neill, Ph.D.
> USDA/CSREES National Research Initiative
> Mail Stop 2241
> 1400 Independence Ave SW
> Washington, DC 20250-2241
> 202.401.5176 Voice
> 202.401.6488 Fax