5 November 2014
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 Illinois. In 1979, AGU began printing its formerly monthly publication, Eos, as a weekly newspaper. …
31 October 2014
Pedaling for Sustainability
Living in Washington, D.C. for 30 plus years I have seen more than my fair share of police-escorted motorcades and had the opportunity to attend several high-profile events, such as Presidential inaugurations and the march commemorating the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington. Despite all of that, there is still a first time for everything . . . A little over a month ago, I was able to – …
13 October 2014
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. We asked that it be cohesive, measurable and quantifiable from a resource and financial perspective. …
7 October 2014
The Symphony that is AGU’s Fall Meeting
By Denis-Didier Rousseau (École Normale Supérieure), Fall Meeting Program Committee Chair During the recent Fall Meeting Program Committee meeting, I had an opportunity to reflect on my first year as chair of this important group and I found that I have a new appreciation for everything AGU does to advance the Earth and space sciences. Planning for an event with nearly 24,000 attendees, 1,700 sessions, 23,000 presentations and 275 exhibitors comes …
24 September 2014
The Changing Face of Publishing at AGU
A recent Eos article discussed how AGU’s data policy for publications is going to foster an even better understanding and increase the lasting impact of our Earth and space science research. In reading it, I was struck about how much of an impact the changes we are making in our publishing work enhance on our ability to “promote discovery in Earth and space science.” (If you missed the article from …
4 September 2014
Serving the Worldwide Earth and Space Science Community
Throughout our history, AGU has evolved to reflect the needs of our members and the broader scientific community. In her last blog post, AGU’s president, Carol Finn, offered a glimpse into how AGU is collaborating with societies and scientists around the world by discussing our recent meeting with the Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU). You may wonder though, how global of an organization is AGU? The answer is very global. Although our …
15 August 2014
Building Global Collaboration, One Relationship at a Time
Science is global, and international scientific collaboration is increasing. Solutions to the world’s most pressing problems require the efforts of the entire global scientific community, but how can individual scientists and organizations like AGU build, support, and participate in those efforts? As a post-doctoral fellow at the Geological Survey of Japan in the early 1990s, it was my job to identify a mostly buried Cretaceous magmatic arc with gravity and …
8 August 2014
72 Hours in the Life of the AGU Fall Meeting – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
A lot can happen in 72 hours. With the deadline for abstract submission looming, I’m sure you were feeling a sense of excitement. I have submitted an abstract to the Fall Meeting myself, so I know the exhilaration that comes from hitting the submit button. Unfortunately, for many of you that excitement turned into frustration as, in the last day or two before the deadline, you experienced delays—including some very …
5 August 2014
The Value of Science and the Benefits of Investing
As I sat down to compose this post, the irony of the situation was striking to me. A few weeks ago, AGU and NASA released a press statement regarding new findings of serious water decline in the Colorado River Basin, potentially posing an even greater threat to water availability in the West than previously thought. This discovery was made possible through the GRACE mission. GRACE uses satellite data to measure …
28 July 2014
Welcome to From the Prow!
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you to AGU’s newest blog, From the Prow . . . The first question you might ask is why we are calling the blog From the Prow? The answer has a lot to do with the intent behind this new effort. In a 1994 Eos article about AGU’s new headquarters it was noted that the building’s glass prow – which now houses …
From the Prow is a two-way conversation between AGU’s leaders and the broad Earth and space science community they serve. It features discussions on trends, Union programs and initiatives, and reflections on the strategic direction of the organization.