Core Support for the National Academy of Sciences' Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST) and Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR)

National Academy Of Sciences, Washington DC

Investigators

Abstract

The Divisions of Chemistry (CHE) and Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems (CBET) fund this award to the National Academy of Sciences to support the core activities of both the Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology (BCST) and the Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR). The results of BCST and CSR discussions and workshops are disseminated through workshop reports made available through professional societies, scientific and trade publications, and on the web. The BCST has broad representation from academe and industry and uses its collective expertise to identify the needs of the community and to provide peer-reviewed consensus reports, workshops, and symposia, as broad outreach into the chemical community and beyond. The BCST enhances the impacts of the chemistry and chemical engineering communities by engaging in questions of importance to federal decision-makers. BCST members oversee a portfolio of ad hoc studies in three key areas of education, workforce, and research issues. Specific areas of consideration include: energy and sustainability, safety, and security. By raising issues impacting the conduct of chemistry and chemical engineering research with federal officials, BCST helps assure that the community of practitioners can remain at the forefront of knowledge. The CSR provides an apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences and engineering, with the objective of enhancing understanding of issues that affect government, academic, national laboratory, and nonprofit sectors. CSR discussions provide a vehicle for interaction among the participants, and for education, exchange of information, and discussion of issues and trends that affect the chemical sciences. CSR engages leading scientists and engineers to identify and explore, through workshops, emerging topics of importance to the community of practitioners and beyond.