Obama moving science and technology to the top of nation's priority list

The US appears set to elevate the status of S&T within government and the nation as a whole with the announcement of the team that will advise president-elect Barak Obama. Citing the need for leadership and emphasizing respect for "the integrity of the scientific process", Obama is making clear that he intends to break with the current administration's inherent distrust of science and failure to heed the advice of the nation's top scientists and business leaders.

"Promoting science isn't just about providing resources –—it's about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology," stated Obama at a press conference introducing his science team. "It's about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient — especially when it's inconvenient."

Leading the S&T team is Dr John Holdren, an expert on climate and energy who will serve as assistant to the president for S&T and director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. (see page 6). Holdren will also co-chair the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology along with Dr Harold Varmus and Dr Eric Lander. The three are tasked with recasting PCAST as a source of external policy advice to the president. Varmus is a former director of the National Institutes of Health who also headed a large committee of researchers advising Obama during the election campaign. Lander was a driving force behind the mapping of the human genome.

Rounding out the S&T team is Dr Jane Lubchenco as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Lubchenco is a former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

"Today, more than ever before, science holds the key to our survival as a planet and our security and prosperity as a nation," said Obama. "It's time we one again put science at the top of our agenda and worked to restore America's place as the world leader in science and technology."

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