Public School Students Attend Atlanta Meeting

This year during the Atlanta SICB meeting, the Division of Neurobiology (DNB) tried an experiment, bringing about 50 students from the local public high school to the meeting during the early evening when posters were being presented. Decatur School's science teacher, Bob Maxfield, said that the students thoroughly enjoyed the visit and that the presenters at posters were very informative when asked questions. Their collective feedback indicates that the students now know better why they need to pay attention in their science classes if they wish to go on to college and study science.

Many thanks to Dr. Don Edwards (Georgia State University) and Dr. Genevieve Edwards for managing the local organization and transportation of these students to and from the meeting. Also a hearty thanks to all the presenters that took the time to communicate their work to these students. I am polling the general SICB audience to learn if they had objections to the students attending the poster sessions. Is there encouragement for such activities at future meetings? Feedback on ways to make the experience even more informative and efficient for the students from public schools at future meetings is being compiled. Please send any suggestions or comments to me at RLCOOP1@pop.uky.edu, and I will post the collective responses in the next newsletter.

Robin L. Cooper, DNB Secretary

John C. Avise, of the Genetics Department of the University of Georgia, presented "The Genetic Gods - Evolution and Belief in Human Affairs"

The 2000 SICB Annual Meeting began with Avise's well-attended plenary session.

Meeting attendees used the coffee breaks as a time to catch up with each other and discuss their research.

The exhibits provided an opportunity to peruse new publications and speak with vendors.

SICB President Martin Feder addresses the audience at the annual business meeting.

David George of CNN gave his insights on how to best work with television media. This session was sponsored by the Public Affairs Committee.

The Educational Council and Public Affairs Committee co-sponsored a panel discussion on the "University of the 21^st Century."

An attendee prepares for the poster session.

The poster sessions gave scientists an opportunity to discuss their work with their colleagues.