Last night during Obama’s first State of the Union address, science was mentioned no less than three times.

To quote:

On international competition: “They're (nations like China, India, Germany) putting more emphasis on math and science.”

On Education: “Instead of funding the status quo, we only invest in reform -- reform that raises student achievement; inspires students to excel in math and science;”

And on foreign relations: ”We're working with Muslim communities around the world to promote science and education and innovation.”

Wait, what was that last one???

Yes, although this fact may only be known to scientists, the Obama administration has made a concerted effort to improve foreign relations by using science diplomacy.  Secretary of State Clinton has been working with three specially appointed ‘Science Envoys’ since November, as reported in the journal Science (Nov. 13). 

To quote the Science article:

“Clinton said the new envoys will help “to fulfill

President Obama’s mandate to foster scientific

and technological collaboration” and

to “develop the capacity to meet economic,

social, and ecological challenges.” She

announced the selection of Egyptian-born

Ahmed H. Zewail, a chemistry Nobelist at

the California Institute of Technology in

Pasadena; Algerian-born Elias Zerhouni, a

radiologist who stepped down last fall as

director of the National Institutes of Health

(NIH); and biochemist Bruce Alberts, former

president of the U.S. National Academy

of Sciences (NAS) and current editor-inchief

of Science."

In Obama’s June speech in Cairo, he also promised that three centers of excellence in technology would be opened in the Middle East.  This initiative and the science envoys will mainly focus on the 57 Muslim-majority countries (see image below from AAAS).

In January of this year, British Foreign Secretary David Miliband echoed the sentiments of the Obama administration by outlining the UK’s intent to increase the role of science in foreign policy.  The UK’s Foreign Office also recently appointed a science advisor. 

Why are scientists uniquely equipped to serve as envoys, diplomats and improve foreign relations?  For centuries, science and its flow of ideas have traveled across the globe, uniting humanity in the search for knowledge and the application of newly discovered facts to create technologies, businesses and to form the basis of education.

Scientists all over the world collaborate on issues of common concern, and they regularly meet at international conferences to discuss their ideas and initiate collaborative research.  While the US was once the unequivocal leader in science and technology, growing competition from countries like India and China, and from the EU, make the case for global cooperation even greater.  And specifically, the Middle East and the Muslim-majority countries are home to much innovative technology and groundbreaking science.  It seems like a no-brainer to improve relations with these countries by utilizing the already strong bond held between scientists across borders.

The US Government is not the only body embracing these initiatives.  The National Science Foundation’s Civilian Research and Development Foundation. the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Center for Science Diplomacy, and the New York Academy of Sciences’ Scientists Without Borders are all working on similar issues.  Recent editorials in the journals Cell and Science show that scientists are already beginning to think about their roles on a global scale.  To quote the editorial in Science:

The widespread increase in scientific activity throughout the

world reflects great confidence in science's ability not only

to reveal the nature of the natural world but also to

contributeto the betterment of humankind. To exploit its full

potentialpower, however, those involved in science and

technology mustbecome better able to function as a truly global

community.

 Further Reading:

Seed article on Science Diplomacy:

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/science_diplomacy_in_the_spotlight/

Civilian Research and Development Foundation:

 http://www.crdf.org

Center for Science Diplomacy:

http://diplomacy.aaas.org

Scientists Without Borders:

http://scientistswithoutborders.org/Splash.aspx?ReturnURL=/default.aspx

Office of Science and Technology Policy, article on the Pioneer of Science Diplomacy:

http://www.ostina.org/content/view/3747/1115/

Cell Editorial:

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/116385.pdf

Science Editorial:

http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/326/5959/1459