+++  Abandonment of military research. Support the University of Karlsruhe/Germany to keep their civil clause ...read on  +++

News

July 1, 2009

This is the moment when we must renew the goal of a world without nuclear weapons

U.S. President Barack Obama, speaking in the new Nuclear Age Peace Foundation video.

In 27 years of working for nuclear disarmament, the INES member organisation Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (www.wagingpeace.org) has never seen a better opportunity to make significant progress towards our goal of a safer and more secure world through the phased, verifiable and irreversible elimination of all nuclear weapons.

The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has created a new DVD featuring U.S. President Barack Obama.

Become a member of INES to support the international movement for a nuclear weapons free world!
» Application form

June 16, 2009

Dispersal of Transgenes through Maize Seed Systems in Mexico

Objectives
Current models of transgene dispersal focus on gene flow via pollen while neglecting seed, a vital vehicle for gene flow in centers of crop origin and diversity. We analyze the dispersal of maize transgenes via seeds in Mexico, the crop's cradle.

Methods
We use immunoassays (ELISA) to screen for the activity of recombinant proteins in a nationwide sample of farmer seed stocks. We estimate critical parameters of seed population dynamics using household survey data and combine these estimates with analytical results to examine presumed sources and mechanisms of dispersal.

Results
Recombinant proteins Cry1Ab/Ac and CP4/EPSPS were found in 3.1% and 1.8% of samples, respectively. They are most abundant in southeast Mexico but also present in the west-central region. Diffusion of seed and grain imported from the United States might explain the frequency and distribution of transgenes in west-central Mexico but not in the southeast.

Conclusions
Understanding the potential for transgene survival and dispersal should help design methods to regulate the diffusion of germplasm into local seed stocks. Further research is needed on the interactions between formal and informal seed systems and grain markets in centers of crop origin and diversification.

See the complete study

For further info please visit the website of the INES member organisation La Unión de Científicos Comprometidos con la Sociedad (UCCS): www.unionccs.net

June 4, 2009

SUMMER-ACADEMY: "Young Scientists Cooperate for Peace" in Hamburg, from 2 to 15 August 2009

Young Scientists Cooperate for Peace Image: © www.znf.uni-hamburg.de/scoop.html

The Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker Centre for Science and Peace Research (ZNF) brings together European young scholars for refinement of their scientific expertise both in the fields of contemporary global conflicts and also in realms of arms-control and conflict-resolution. By doing this, ZNF hopes to promote and secure peace in the years to come. A synergised cognizance of technical and political background history of the armament dynamics as well as scientifically analyzable conflict causation is indispensable for the efficient and timely identification and countervailing of the escalated conflicts and warfares.

Further information can be found at
http://www.znf.uni-hamburg.de/scoop.html

May 25, 2009

Facts on the second nuclear test by North Korea

University of Hamburg Image: © www.uni-hamburg.de

See background information (PDF)

May 5, 2009

Support for recommendation on Nuclear Weapons Convention
negotiations of NPT

PrepCom in session Photo: © Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs

A significant opportunity has arisen this week to make progress on significant multilateral nuclear disarmament steps and to build momentum for the achievement of a nuclear-weapons-free world. On 5 May US President Obama sent an inspiring message to the opening day at the United Nations of the two-week long preparatory meeting (Prep Com) for the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference - the first multilateral intergovernmental forum for non-proliferation and disarmament since President Obama was elected. This set the scene for a speedy adoption of the agenda for 2010 ? something that was expected to be subject to political difficulties and delays. ...read on

May 25, 2009

Abandonment of Military Research. Support the University of Karlsruhe/Germany to keep their Civil Clause

Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Image: © www.kit.edu

See appeal
See background information
See See first signatories list

European Parliament recommends complete nuclear disarmament by 2020

European Council Photo: © Jenny Rollo www.sxc.hu

Strasbourg, April 24, 2009 - Today the European Parliament approved with a majority of 177 votes against 130 an amendment introducing the "Model Nuclear Weapons Convention" and the "Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol" (attached) as concrete tools to achieve a nuclear weapons free world by 2020. The amendment was introduced by the Ana Gomes for the PES and Angelika Beer for the Greens/EFA. The amendment received cross-party support (1) during the Plenary vote here in Strasbourg today. Especially Frieda Brepoels for the EPP-DE and Annemie Neyts and Juul Maaten for the ALDE called to support the vision of a nuclear weapon free world by 2020. The approval of the amendment (2) demonstrates that the EP is increasing pressure to make nuclear disarmament by 2020 a top-priority for the EU member states. Here the EP demonstrates leadership and an intention to become a visible actor following President Obama's statements for a NWFW in Prague. ...read on

President Obama Calls for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons

By David Krieger

Barack Obama 44th President of the United States Photo: © 2008 Jack Thielepape/jmtimages www.flickr.com

In a remarkable speech for any American leader, President Obama, speaking in Prague on April 5, 2009, provided new hope for a world free of nuclear weapons. I state clearly and with conviction,he said, America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons.He told his audience that America, as the only country to have used nuclear weapons, has a moral responsibility to act.

For many years the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation has been calling for US leadership for a nuclear weapons-free world, based on the understanding that if the US does not lead, significant progress will not be possible.For the past two presidencies this leadership has been largely lacking. During the George W. Bush presidency, the US was the leading obstacle to nuclear disarmament. Now, with President Obama, there is a dramatic shift and the goal of US leadership for a nuclear weapons-free world that once seemed far distant, if not impossible, appears at hand.
President Obama's speech in Prague was a world changing moment, a promise of unprecedented historical change on the most profoundly dangerous issue confronting not only America but the world. In this speech he recognized the imperative for our common security of eliminating nuclear weapons and of America's unique moral responsibility to lead this effort.

He made it clear that while America cannot do it alone, it will lead by its actions. He called for concrete steps, including reducing the role of nuclear weapons in US national security strategy and urging other nuclear weapons states to do the same, reducing the number of nuclear weapons in its arsenal, working aggressively for US ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, seeking a new treaty to end production of fissile materials for weapons, strengthenin g the Non-Proliferation Treaty, creating an international fuel bank to reduce the risks of proliferation, assuring that nuclear weapons will not be acquired by terrorists, leading an international effort to gain control of vulnerable nuclear materials throughout the world within four years, and hosting a Global Summit on Nuclear Security within the year.

President Obama recognized that a world without nuclear weapons will not be reached quickly. He cautioned that such a world may not occur within his lifetime, and that achieving it will require patience and persistence. But this was not a speech about timeframes or deadlines. It was a speech setting forth a much needed vision and providing a promise of US leadership. He has taken an important step toward the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world by articulating this vision and committing to work toward it. Now a more comprehensive plan must be formulated and implemented.

With the political will that President Obamahas provided, it is possible that we could move far more rapidly toward a world of zero nuclear weapons than could previously be imagined.Political will and US leadership have been the most significant missing elements for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. Now that these elements are in place, we may be surprised by how quickly the planning and implementation process can proceed toward the total global elimination of these unconscionable weapons.

President Obama is a man of great vision, a leader that sees beyond the horizon. When he encounters a problem requiring change, he addresses it and proposes solutions. His leadership on the issue of a nuclear weapons-free world comes none too soon.In his speech, he has faced the threat of nuclear weapons squarely. The vision and the initial steps toward achieving it that he has articulated deserve our strong support.

As President Obama noted, there will be many who will say that it cannot be done. But these naysayers cannot steal the future from those who seek a world free of nuclear threat or those committed to building a world at peace.The President will need the American people standing with him and saying, Yes, we can.

David Krieger is President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (www. wagingpeace.org).

Unwanted Transgenes Re-Discovered in Oaxacan Maize

Hanging Indian Maize Corn Photo: © Chris Dickson, www.sxc.hu

Molecular biologist Elena Alvarez-Buylla and a team of scientists of the University of Mexico City (UNAM) confirmed the presence of genetically modyfied (GM) DNA sequences in maize samples from the State of Oaxaca in southern Mexico, and show that sampling and molecular methods that had been used before, were not effective to detect transgenes in local maize populations. The cultivation of GM maize is prohibited in Mexico since 1998. However, the import of GM maize for food and feed is legal. Unclear is how the pollution with GM maize occurred.
...read on (in Spanish)

See background articles in English:
http://132.248.49.206/images/library/file/Snow09MTOax.pdf
http://132.248.49.206/images/library/file/ResenaNaturePineyroetal2008.pdf

Nobel Prize Laureates address US President Obama in an open letter to use the existing Model Nuclear Weapons Convention as a starting point for the path into a nuclear weapons free world

Harold Kroto Photo: www.kroto.info

Today, twelve Nobel Prize Laureates and a former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations addressed US President Barack Obama. In an open letter they remind President Obama of his promise to seek a world in which there are no nuclear weapons. Pointing to the shortfalls of the existing international regime for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, Sir Harold Kroto (Nobel Prize for Chemistry), Member of the Advisory Board of INES, and his co-signers remind Barack Obama of the recent suggestion by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to use the existing Model Nuclear Weapons Convention as a starting point for the path into a nuclear weapons free world. ...read on

On John Holdren

John Holdren Photo: www.pugwash.org

President-elect Obama announced his appointment of Dr. John Holdren as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President?s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).
...read on

From 1987- 1997 Prof. Holdren was Chair of the Executive Committee of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. See: http://www.pugwash.org/award/Holdrennobel.htm

Statement form the Climate Justice Now! alliance on the Poznan climate talks

Protester Source: itsgettinghotinhere.org

Poznan statement from the Climate Justice Now! alliance
12 December 2008

Members of Climate Justice Now! ? a worldwide alliance of more than 160 organisations -- have been in Poznan for the past two weeks closely following developments in the UN climate negotiations.

This statement is our assessment of the Conference of Parties (COP) 14, and articulates our principles for achieving climate justice.



THE URGENCY OF CLIMATE JUSTICE
We will not be able to stop climate change if we don't change theneo-liberal and corporate-based economy which stops us from achieving sustainable societies. Corporate globalisation must be stopped. ...read on

Take Action!

Send President-elect Obama a 100-Day Agenda for Nuclear Disarmament

President-elect Obama Source: barrackobama.com

The incoming Obama administration has an historic opportunity to lead the world to complete nuclear disarmament, and all of us have the responsibility to make sure they stay on track.
President-elect Obama has stated, A world without nuclear weapons is profoundly in America's interest and the world's interest. It is our responsibility to make the commitment, and to do the hard work to make this vision a reality.
He's right: the work will be hard, but together we can accomplish this goal. Today we are asking you to take one easy step to make sure the Obama administration keeps nuclear weapons at the top of itspriority list.
We have created a 100-day agenda for nuclear disarmament. If President-elect Obama adopts this agenda for his first 100 days in office, he will set the tone for substantial progress on this essential issue.
Take a moment to read the 100-day agenda and, if you support it, send it to Mr. Obama along with your own comments. With strong leadership from the President-elect and support from you, a nuclear weapons-free world is not only possible, but within reach.

Click here to take action now.

Call for signatures and for large distribution of the appeal
No to War - No to NATO

UN Diplomatic Roundtable on the Nuclear Weapons Convention

United Nations Flag Source: Wikipedia

On November 13, 2008 Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) joined the Costa Rican Mission to the United Nations, the Simons Foundation, the International Network of Engineers and Scientists against Proliferation (INESAP) and the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) in co-sponsoring a day-long diplomatic roundtable at the United Nations in Geneva (Palais des Nations) on Steps toward a Nuclear Weapons Convention: Exploring and developing legal and political aspects. ... read on

President-elect Obama and A World Free of Nuclear Weapons

By David Krieger

Barack Obama 44th President of the United States Photo: © flickr

The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States is a great moment for America and the world - a time of celebration and tears.  The American people have chosen hope over fear, unity over division.  In doing so, we have repudiated policies of violence, lawlessness and closed-door rule.  We have restored hope and made possible the restoration of America's credibility in the world. ... read on

In October 2008 the Chair of the INES Executive Committee, David Krieger, was elected to the Executive Committee of the World Future Council.
... read on

Joseph Rotblat Centennial

Remembering Joseph Rotblat, Remembering our Humanity

Joseph Rotblat awarded for the Nobel Peace Prize 1995 Photo: © The Nobel Foundation

Joseph Rotblat was one of the great men of our time.  As a young physicist from Poland, Rotblat realized that it might be possible to create an atomic weapon and worried that the Germans might succeed in developing such a weapon before the Allied powers.  Due to this realization and his belief that the Allied powers needed a deterrent to a possible Nazi bomb, Rotblat agreed to work during World War II on the British bomb project and then on the US Manhattan Project.  

When it became clear to him in late 1944 that the Germans would not succeed in creating an atomic weapon, Rotblat resigned from the Manhattan Project and returned to London.  He was the only Allied scientist to resign from the bomb project as a matter of conscience. ... read on

See also Nobel Foundation's website

National Peace Jirga of Afghanistan and the Cooperation for Peace (Germany)

Joint Declaration

Logos National Peace Jirga of Afghanistan and the Cooperation for Peace (Germany)

Peace is possible in Afghanistan, yet not by the continuation of the war and the repeated escalation of combat activities. Not only the USA plan reinforce their troops massively.
Since July 1st 2008 the first German combat group is on duty ... read on

6^th INESPE Lecture on the Social Responsibility of Engineers and Scientists

Why don't I take military funding?

Prof. Benjamin Kuipers Photo: The University of Texas Austin

Next lecture:
Prof. Benjamin Kuipers, University of Texas at Austin:
Why don't I take military funding?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 13.15 hours

Venue:
Auditorium D, Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen,
Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen.




Abstract:
I don't take funding from military agencies. Why not?
Mostly it's a testimony that it's possible to have a successful career in computer science without taking military funding. My position has its roots in the Vietnam War, when I was a conscientious objector, did alternative service instead of submitting to the draft, and joined the Society of Friends (Quakers). During the 1980s and 90s, the position seemed to lose some of its urgency, so it became more of a testimony about career paths.
Since September 11, 2001, all the urgency is back. The defense of our country is at stake, so this testimony becomes critical. In short, I believe that non-violent methods of conflict resolution provide the only methods for protecting our country against the deadly threats we face in the long run. Military action, with its inevitable consequences to civilian populations, creates and fuels deadly threats, and therefore increases the danger that our country faces.
I will discuss the origin and evolution of my beliefs and my attitudes toward the role of the military in our society, and towards military-funded research.

Benjamin Kuipers holds an endowed Professorship in Computer Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin. He investigates the representation of commonsense and expert knowledge, with particular emphasis on the effective use of incomplete knowledge. He received his B.A. from Swarthmore College, and his Ph.D. from MIT. He has held research or faculty appointments at MIT, Tufts University, and the University of Texas. His research accomplishments include developing the TOUR model of
spatial knowledge in the cognitive map, the QSIM algorithm for qualitative simulation, the Algernon system for knowledge representation, and the Spatial Semantic Hierarchy model of knowledge for robot exploration and mapping. He has served as Department Chairman, and is a Fellow of AAAI and IEEE.

Appeal

No to War  -  No to NATO

On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the NATO military organisation, we appeal to all people to come to Strasbourg and Kehl in April 2009, to protest against NATO's aggressive military and nuclear policies, and assert our vision of a just world free of war ...read on

Appeal in Danish
Appeal in Dutch
Appeal in French
Appeal in German
Appeal in Greek
Appeal in Italian
Appeal in Spanish
Appeal in Turkish

A resolute pioneer of sustainable management

INES Advisory Board member Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker has won the German Environmental Award from the German environmental foundation Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt (DBU).

See report and Interview with Prof. Dr. Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker

New INES Energy Sustainability Weblog

For further information check here

The IAASTD report and some of its fallout – a personal note

By Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology, Zurich, Switzerland

Harvesting machines in soy bean field Photo: Fernando Weberich/www.sxc.hu

The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) is a unique international effort that will evaluate the relevance, quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology (AKST); and effectiveness of public and private sector policies as well as institutional arrangements in relation to AKST. The purpose of IAASTD is to assess agricultural knowledge, science and technology (AKST) in order to use AKST more effectively to reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development.

The IAASTD report and some of its fallout – a personal note By Dr. Angelika Hilbeck, ETH Zurich, Institute of Integrative Biology, Zurich, Switzerland
Advisory board member of the INES member organisation VDW (Federation of German Scientists, www.vdw-ev.de)

You will find the Executive Summary of the Synthethis Report of the IAASTD here

INES at
European Social Forum (ESF)

Malmö/Sweden
September 17-21, 2008

INES seminar at ESF:

Towards a nuclear-weapons free Europe and a nuclear-weapons free world

in cooperation with:

World Court Project UK
Swedish Scientists and Engineers Against Nuclear Arms (SEANA)
Pugwash Denmark
IPPNW Sweden

Friday, September 19, 2008
9:30 - 12:30

Speech by Dominique Lalanne, Abolition 2000-Europe; Stop Essais
Dominique Lalanne is Director of Research in nuclear and particle physics at the French Center for Scientific Research (CNRS).
Speech by John Scales Avery, Against Nuclear Weapons

visit ESF website

Special Edition

INES Special Edition
for the European
Social Forum, Malmö Sweden 17.-21.09.2008
Download

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Rememberance Events in India

The A-bomb dome in Hiroshima Photo: Alexander Warnolf/www.sxc.hu

The Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament & Environmental Protection (IIPDEP)
in collaboration with INES and International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is organizing events on the occasion of remembering
Hiroshima - Nagasaki Bombing Days, from 6th August to 9th August 2008 at Nagpur, India. ...read on

View photos of the event

International Preparatory Conference for the

Anti-NATO activities related to the 60th anniversary of NATO 4^th and 5^th October 2008 Stuttgart, Germany

NATO flag Photo: de.wikipedia.org

We will discuss NATO's 60th anniversary in May 2009, which will be celebrated with an official summit in Strasbourg and Kehl.
We believe:
Sixty years of NATO are enough. NATO is the main driving force behind global war. NATO stands for the missile defence system, military bases around the world, nuclear weapons and military interventions and expenditure. NATO is a rival to the UN and the system of international law. NATO is intertwined with the European security and defence system. But NATO is not all-powerful, indeed it is under extreme pressure right now in Afghanistan. ...read on

INES and NAPF Appeal to the University of California

Stop your involvement in the development and
improvement of nuclear weapons!

Nuclear fireball Photo: wikipedia.org

To the President and Regents of the University of California:
Universities play an important role in society. They are institutions that bring together experts to transmit knowledge to successive waves of young adults coming of age. In the process, they train citizens and future societal leaders. Universities should set an example to the youth they train and to the general society, reflecting the highest standards of civilization and ethical behavior. ...read on

An Idea Whose Time Has Come

Sustainable Energy: Shifting the Paradigm - by Alice Slater

Solar cells Photo: Rainer Sturm, pixelio.de

Today’s dominant world energy systems, relying on fossil, nuclear and biofuels, endanger the very existence of humanity. The world is faced with a crisis that requires a total transformation in the way we create energy, shifting to sustainable energy that flows freely from the sun, the wind, the tides, and the center of the earth. Accelerating weather catastrophes – tsunamis, hurricanes, drought, the melting of the polar ice caps – underline the urgency to heed the scientific consensus that we are endangering our very survival on the planet with the continued use of carbon-based fuels ... read on

See also at the Energy Sustainability Weblog

For information on the Preparatory Conference for the Foundation of the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) check here

and

The World Council for Renewable Energy http://www.wcre.org/

David Krieger

The Non Proliferation Treaty Turns Forty

United Nations General Assembly Hall Photo: UN Website

July 1, 2008 marks the 40th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) being opened for signatures.The true purpose of this treaty has always been two-fold: to prevent nuclear proliferation and to achieve nuclear disarmament; in other words, to create a level playing field in which there are no nuclear weapons.In the preamble to the treaty, the parties declare their intention to achieve at the earliest possible date the cessation of the nuclear arms race and to undertake effective measures in the direction of nuclear disarmament. ... read on

13.06.08

Behind Closed Doors

A Report on the Military Influence in UK Universities

Lab work Photo: Jean Scheijen/sxc.hu

New report by INES member Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) published June 12, 2008.

A report by UK scientists reveals the secrecy surrounding the growing influence of the military on the research agenda in British universities. Behind Closed Doors, published today by Scientists for Global Responsibility, is the result of an in-depth investigation into 16 of Britain's universities, including some of the most prestigious. Using new data gained under the Freedom of Information Act, the report's authors estimate that the average level of ... read on

11.06.08

Last Exit Disarmament. World at the Crossroads -

New INEASP Information Bulletin #28 released

Contents: Nuclear Winter; US Nuclear Weapons; Iran's Missiles; Missile Defense in Europe; Nuclear Weapons Convention; Fissile Cutoff; Uranium Detection; Scientific Advisory; Biological Weapons; Nanotechnology

Editorial by Jürgen Scheffran

In January 2009, George W. Bush’s second term as President of the United States will come to an end. Where is the world after eight years of his presidency?

• The Iraq War, justified by false accusations, has cost more than $500 billion
  in direct costs and may end with total costs of more than $3 trillion. It has taken
  the lives of more than 4,000 US soldiers, and a much larger number of Iraqis, estimated from between 150,000 and one million people.
• Preemptive strike doctrines threaten states with nuclear capabilities and ambitions, making nuclear war more likely. US missile defense programs in Eastern Europe provoke harsh reactions from the Russian government, reminiscent of the Cold War. The relationship with China is undermined by US missile defense programs and plans for dominance in space. Both China and the US have tested ...read on
  
  

28.04.2008

Sign the OAXTEPEC DECLARATION:
Science for Peace and Sustainability

on the occasion of the INES-UNAM Conference
Oaxtepec, Mexico, March 2008
read on

If you want to sign the declaration please send a positive statement to: officeinesglobalcom
Online signature will be possible soon!

If you want to publish a comment please also send it to the INES office: officeinesglobalcom

Read the comments and see the subscribers list

5^th INESPE Lecture on the Social Responsibility of Engineers and Scientists

Berkeley, Biology and British Petroleum: Public Academics and the Academician in a Corporatized World

Dr. Ignacio Chapela Photo: www.mindfully.org

Next lecture:
Ignacio Chapela:
Berkeley, Biology and British Petroleum: Public Academics and the Academician in a Corporatized World
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 14.15 at Auditorium A

Venue:
Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen
Blegdamsvej 17, DK-2100 Copenhagen.




Abstract:
In 1997, and then again in 2007, the University of California at Berkeley was the epicenter of key developments in the history of public research institutions, universities and academe in general.The proposal to have intimate and very substantial financial relationships with two major transnational corporations (Novartis and British Petroleum, a.k.a. BP) was met, in both occasions, with opposition on the part of some faculty and many members of the public. The dynamics of these local developments can be seen as emblematic of much larger processes taking place within the Modern enterprise of a social programme based on innovation and RD&D (Research, Development and Delivery). This presentation will discuss the incorporation of Biology, through biotechnology, into the paradigm of RD&D progress, specifically from the viewpoint of Berkeley and the University of California. Here, the forces driving much of science and academe in our days are clearly discernible: on the side of industrial development those forces include corporatization, entrepreneurship, reliance on intellectual property protection and venture-capital, while on the other hand academia is impacted by the rise of big science, politization and militarization. How these forces work in tension with each other will be analyzed using the case-study of the presenter, who has been engaged in opposition to privatizing forces in Berkeley and to the final incorporation of Biology into the world of corporations and large, concentrated venture capital. In discussion with the audience, we will scrutinize the options available to individual scientists, engineers and academicians in general, in the face of forces that would appear overwhelming. What are the alternatives? How to balance public principles with personal interests? How is the public represented in the work of academe? Whence has academic freedom wandered?

Ignacio Chapela is an Associate Professor at Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management. University of California, Berkeley.

See: www.inespe.org

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10.04.2008