Secrecy In Science Focus Of AAAS-MIT ...( Washington DC -- March 5 1999 -- F...)

Washington, DC -- March 5, 1999 -- Former CIA Director John Deutch and Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-NY) will join government, industry, and academic representatives in a public colloquium about secrecy in science March 29 on the campus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The colloquium, cosponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and MIT, will bring together individuals with expertise in a number of fields, such as health research, intellectual property, and encryption to examine past and present issues in secrecy.

Historically, the openness of scientific exchange has often been in tension with governmental concerns for national security. Today, issues of secrecy in science more often address the role of non-disclosure agreements between scientists, research institutions and corporations. Non-disclosure agreements can guard a company or university's intellectual property interests. However, these agreements raise issues related to the free and open communication of scientific results and the urgency of reporting on research that has an impact on public health safety.

EVENT: Secrecy in Science: Exploring University, Industry, and Government Relationships
WHEN: March 29, 1999, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m., open to the public, no registration fee
WHERE: Kresge Auditorium, MIT Campus, Cambridge, MA
PUBLIC CONTACT INFORMATION: Amy Crumpton, AAAS, 202-326-6791, acrumpto@aaas.org, website: http://www.aaas.org/spp/secrecy/AAASMIT.htm

Some important questions that the conference will address are:

What is the historical context for examining secrecy in science? How has it changed from being a situation enforced by the government to one self-imposed at the institutional level? Where are university-industry partnerships headed in terms of se
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Contact: Ellen Cooper
ecooper@aaas.org
202-326-6431
American Association for the Advancement of Science
8-Mar-1999