Protecting Academic Freedom and Holding Ourselves Accountable

Update (3 March 2015): In the last few days we have received several comments regarding the situation with the Natural Resources Committee, and as such, I want to expand a bit on what I previously wrote here. AGU unwaveringly supports a scientist’s right to academic freedom, and nothing in my previous post should be interpreted … Read more

With Great Technology Comes Great Responsibility

RFID, or radio frequency identification, isn’t something most of us talk about in everyday conversation, but in many ways, this technology has become a regular part of our lives (though we often don’t see it). It’s in the books we check out of the library, the systems used to restock shelves at our grocery store, … Read more

AGU Names Editor for New Journal, Earth and Space Science

I am delighted to announce that John Orcutt, a distinguished professor of Geophysics at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and former president and General Secretary of AGU, will serve as the inaugural editor of our newest open access journal, Earth and Space Science. Over the summer John will recruit the editorial team. The … Read more

Comets, Probes, and Gender Inequality In Science

By Carol Finn, President, American Geophysical Union, Margaret Leinen, President-elect, American Geophysical Union, and Eric Davidson, Incoming President-elect, American Geophysical Union During the Rosetta probe’s successful deployment of Philae on Wednesday, a male European Space Agency scientist speaking for the project was captured by the TV cameras wearing a shirt that featured images of partially naked women. While he … Read more

Moments that Changed History – 9 December 2014

In 59 BC, one of the earliest known newspapers, the Acta Diurna, is believed to have been founded by Julius Caesar. In 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. In 1974, an online only publication, the News Report, was launched on the PLATO system – a predecessor to today’s internet – at the University of … Read more

AGU September Board Meeting: Boring, Not!

Continuing what seems to be a trend, the AGU September Board meeting was both intellectually stimulating and inspiring. Every fall, the Board evaluates AGU’s progress in pursuit of our vision and goals. Last year, we asked staff to create a comprehensive plan to translate these goals into specific strategies and tactics, mapped over multiple years. … Read more