Tag Archives: Rising Above The Gathering Storm

Take 5: Top Books for Engineers

Got scientists and engineers on your holiday shopping list? Take five and check out our top gift ideas. NAP books and merchandise make thoughtful gifts for thinking people.

	Technology for a Quieter America Exposure to noise at home, at work, while traveling, and during leisure activities is a fact of life for all Americans. At times noise can be loud enough to damage hearing, and at lower levels it can disrupt normal living, affect sleep patterns, affect our…
	Changing the Conversation: Messages for Improving Public Understanding of Engineering Can the United States continue to lead the world in innovation? The answer may hinge in part on how well the public understands engineering, a key component of the ‘innovation engine’. A related concern is how to encourage young people–particularly girls and…
	Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5: Condensed Version In 2005 the National Academiesreleased Rising Above the Gathering Storm, a book focused on the ability of all Americans to compete for quality jobs in the evolving global economy. Rising Above the…
	Engineering in K-12 Education: Understanding the Status and Improving the Prospects Engineering education in K-12 classrooms is a small but growing phenomenon that may have implications for engineering and also for the other STEM subjects–science, technology, and mathematics. Specifically, engineering education may improve student learning…
	Systems Engineering to Improve Traumatic Brain Injury Care in the Military Health System: Workshop Summary This book makes a strong case for taking advantage of the best of two disciplines–health care and operational systems engineering (a combination of science and mathematics to describe, analyze, plan, design, and integrate systems with complex interactions.

Resources to Inform a Fiscal Future from the National Academy of Sciences

The plan offered by the President’s bipartisan deficit commission, released last Wednesday, has drawn reaction across the political spectrum.

Want to better understand how consistent this plan is with long-term fiscal stability? We provide a practical framework to assess budget proposals like this in Choosing the Nation’s Fiscal Future, a report released in January 2010 by the National Research Council together with the National Academy of Public Administration. This report also features four representative scenarios that illustrate a wide range of available policy choices to put the nation on a path toward a stable fiscal future. Which one would you choose?

And for insight into how we can stay economically competitive in the global economy, don’t miss our new report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5. Science plays a vital role in our nation’s fiscal future. Read the report for actionable recommendations for funding research, improving science and mathematics education, and changing the nation’s tax, patent, immigration and litigation policies.

Links to these books and other National Academies reports that may also interest you are listed below.

	Choosing the Nation’s Fiscal Future A mismatch between the federal government’s revenues and spending, now and in the foreseeable future, requires heavy borrowing, leading to a large and increasing federal debt. That increasing debt raises a serious challenge to all of the goals that various…
	Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5 In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges, U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface. Five years ago, the National Academies prepared Rising Above the Gathering…
	Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and…
	Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future In a world where advanced knowledge is widespread and low-cost labor is readily available, U.S. advantages in the marketplace and in science and technology have begun to erode. A comprehensive and coordinated federal effort is urgently needed to bolster U.S….

Free from NAP: Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited; The Future of Nursing; and more

The National Academy of Sciences is committed to making its headquarters, built on the National Mall in 1924, more energy efficient and environmentally advanced. Learn more about this major restoration project.

	Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5 In the face of so many daunting near-term challenges, U.S. government and industry are letting the crucial strategic issues of U.S. competitiveness slip below the surface. Five years ago, the National Academies prepared Rising Above the Gathering…
	The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health Prepublication Available The Future of Nursing explores how nurses’ roles, responsibilities, and education should change significantly to meet the increased demand for care that will be created by health care reform and to advance improvements in America’s increasingly…
	Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation: America’s Science and Technology Talent at the Crossroads Prepublication Available In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and…
	Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Research and Development on Urban Systems More than half of the world’s people now live in cities. In the U.S., the figure is 80 percent. It is worthwhile to consider how this trend of increased urbanization, if inevitable, could be made more sustainable. One fundamental shortcoming of urban research…
	New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics Driven by discoveries, and enabled by leaps in technology and imagination, our understanding of the universe has changed dramatically over the course of the last few decades. The fields of astronomy and astrophysics are making new connections to physics…

	Assessing the Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill on Human Health: A Summary of the June 2010 Workshop From the origin of the leak, to the amount of oil released into the environment, to the spill’s duration, the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill poses unique challenges to human health. The risks associated with extensive, prolonged use of dispersants, with oil…
	Biometric Recognition: Challenges and Opportunities Forthcoming Biometric recognition–the automated recognition of individuals based on their behavioral and biological characteristic–is promoted as a way to help identify terrorists, provide better control of access to physical facilities and financial accounts…
	Implementing the New Biology: Decadal Challenges Linking Food, Energy, and the Environment: Summary of a Workshop, June 3-4, 2010 Prepublication Available As the second decade of the 21st century begins, the challenge of how to feed a growing world population and provide sustainable, affordable energy to fulfill daily needs, while also improving human health and protecting the environment, is clear and urgent…
	Antibiotic Resistance: Implications for Global Health and Novel Intervention Strategies: Workshop Summary Prepublication Available Years of using, misusing, and overusing antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs has led to the emergence of multidrug-resistant ‘superbugs.’ The IOM’s Forum on Microbial Threats held a public workshop April 6-7 to discuss the nature and sources of…
	Progress Toward Restoring the Everglades: The Third Biennial Review–2010 Prepublication Available Although the progress of environmental restoration projects in the Florida Everglades remains slow overall, there have been improvements in the pace of restoration and in the relationship between the federal and state partners over the last two years….
	Assessment of Sea-Turtle Status and Trends: Integrating Demography and Abundance All six species of sea turtles found in U.S. waters are listed as endangered or threatened, but the exact population sizes of these species are unknown due to a lack of key information regarding birth and survival rates. The U.S. Endangered Species Act…
	Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles Technologies and Approaches to Reducing the Fuel Consumption of Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles evaluates various technologies and methods that could improve the fuel economy of medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, such as tractor-trailers, transit…
	Modeling the Economics of Greenhouse Gas Mitigation: Summary of a Workshop Prepublication Available Models are fundamental for estimating the possible costs and effectiveness of different policies for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. There is a wide array of models to perform such analysis, differing in the level of technological detail, treatment…
	S&T Strategies of Six Countries: Implications for the United States An increase in global access to goods and knowledge is transforming world-class science and technology (S&T) by bringing it within the capability of an unprecedented number of global parties who must compete for resources, markets, and talent. In…

Watch compelling videos from the National Academies on YouTube

	A New Biology for the 21st Century
	Sustaining Global Surveillance and Response to Emerging Zoonotic Diseases
	America’s Climate Choices: Advancing the Science of Climate Change

Engineering Innovation Podcast and Radio Series

The National Academy of Engineering works with the Washington, DC region’s only all-news radio station, WTOP Radio, and the nation’s only all-news radio station for federal employees, WFED 1500 AM, to provide weekly features highlighting engineering innovations and stories that add technical context to issues in the news.

Interviews from NAS

InterViews provides first-person accounts of the lives and work of National Academy of Sciences members. In this series of one-on-one conversations, scientists talk about what inspired them to pursue the careers they chose and describe some of the most fascinating aspects of their research.

Science Sessions from PNAS

Listen to 5-minute, nontechnical conversations with cutting-edge researchers, Academy members, and policy makers as they discuss topics relevant to today’s scientific community. Learn the behind-the-scenes story of work published in PNAS, plus a broad range of scientific news about discoveries that affect the world around us.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month Featured Podcast

Meeting the Psychosocial Needs of Women with Breast Cancer

In this podcast the National Cancer Policy Board of the Institute of Medicine examines the psychosocial consequences of the cancer experience, specifically on breast cancer in women because this group has the largest survivor population (over 2 million) and this disease is the most extensively studied cancer from the standpoint of psychosocial effects.

Read this report online for free
Visit the IOM report page

Listen to Podcast

The National Academy of Sciences’ neoclassical building is a symbol of the important role of science in our nation’s history. The restoration project includes sustainable designs and green technologies, including the use of some solar power and green construction materials. These efforts will reduce the building’s energy use by an estimated 40 percent. Workers will also recycle materials removed from the building during construction.

Restoration of the Historic National Academy of Sciences Building

	Constitution Ave. side of the NAS building covered in scaffolding
	The Lecture Room under construction
	Deinstalling Albert Herter’s mural, Prometheus Bound, from the north wall of the Great Hall
	Deinstallition of Albert Herter’s mural, Prometheus Bound, continues
	Deinstalling Albert Herter’s mural, Founders of the Academy, from the Lincoln Board Room

Learn more about the restoration project.