News

2015 AMC Re-energizes ARCS Forward Momentum!

The glorious crisp blue skies of autumn framed Chicago’s skyline and fourteen miles of park and nature-preserved lakefront while attendees at ARCS All Members Conference gathered on the Magnificent Mile from September 30th through October 3rd. A four-scholar alumni panel enamored us with stories of the impact of the ARCS Award on their research and expressed their gratitude. Our esteemed Science and Engineering Advisory Council presented provocative data, questions, and insights we must consider to remain relevant in our current culture. Spirited and instructional workshops—including Informational Strategies and Finance—were well attended and equipped us to take our current processes to levels of best practices.

Conference attendees enjoyed a variety of fascinating Chicago excursions. University of Chicago professor of paleontology and National Geographic explorer-in-residence Paul Sereno charmed us with tales and tails of new dinosaur species. We then ducked into museums, the Art Institute, explored Millennium Park, and enjoyed an architectural tour of the river. Following a live show in Adler Planetarium that took us on a tour of the Solar System, its easterly island setting provided a spectacular night skyline during our dinner.

Indeed, we renewed our enthusiasm to preserve a legacy of faithfulness to the mission initiated by a few women committed to contributing to the competitiveness of this great nation, one scholar at a time.

View photos in the Media Gallery.

Article by Bennetta Kelly, President, ARCS Foundation Illinois Chapter
Photograph by Ronnie Martin

 

 

"Peak Experience: - Cutting Edge Science in the Wasatch"
National Annual Meeting 2014

The 2014 ARCS Foundation National Annual Meeting, Peak Experience: Cutting Edge Science in the Wasatch, was scheduled September 17–20 in Salt Lake City. Members from ARCS Foundation’s 17 chapters stayed at the elegant Grand America Hotel, located in the vibrant heart of a city that combines old and new in one of the nation’s most accessible downtown areas.

Meeting highlights included:

• Opening Reception at the University of Utah’s Huntsman Cancer Institute at The Point overlooking Salt Lake Valley.
• An opportunity to attend the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rehearsal in the Tabernacle on Temple Square.
• Keynote address by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, whose challenge to Utah businesses resulted in “STEM Utah: Curiosity Unleashed,” a $2-million-plus media campaign to increase interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The campaign was launched at a January Neil Armstrong Academy event attended by 30 business owners and officers including representatives from companies that included Goldman Sachs, eBay, Adobe, Merit Medical, Energy Solutions, Chevron, Fidelity and Boeing.
• Presentations by University of Utah scientists Dr. Chris Johnson, founding director of the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute, and Dr. Nassir Marrouche, who created the Comprehensive Arrhythmia Research and Management Center.
• Dinner at The Leonardo Science and Technology Museum and a visit to the Natural History Museum of Utah at the Rio Tinto Center, an architectural marvel and a case study in “green” design.

Useful workshops and fun optional tours will round out the National Annual Meeting, which has been shifted to a fall date in response to member requests to avoid conflicts with graduations and weddings.

View photos in our Media Gallery.

Read Governor Herbert's Welcome Letter. 

 

 

The backdrop of the magnificent Pacific Ocean, the broad sweep and openness of the Hawaiian sky and the friendliness and hospitality of the people of Hawaii and particularly the Honolulu Chapter members, all set the stage for a fantastic National Annual Meeting.

Workshops on Grant Writing, Integrating Planned Giving Into Your Fund Development Plan, and Harnessing the Power of the National Website to Increase Chapter Effectiveness were offered to members.  National provided a personalized consulting session on the use of the website with Information Strategies Committee members. Plus there were countless opportunities for informal networking with peers across the country.

Our science speakers and panelists fascinated the members with topics ranging from the ancient science of Polynesian navigation to the fate of the universe to the Mariana Trench to volcanoes near and far. In addition, the NAM committee scheduled a number of wonderful optional excursions that included a private garden tour, Kaena Point hike, big island volcanoes, and Na'Aina Kai Botanical Gardens on Kauai.

Thank you Honolulu Chapter for a successful NAM!  

See event photos.

 

 

“Celebrating Learning” - National Annual Meeting 2012

The 2012 National Annual Meeting was held in Denver, CO May 30th – June 2nd.  The event drew representatives from all 17 ARCS Foundation Chapters, spouses, guests, members being honored with the prestigious ARCS Light award, and leaders in the science, medical research and engineering communities.   The celebration was opened by National President Jeanne Berdik  at a welcome reception at the Governor’s mansion.  Guests were honored with remarks by  Lt. Governor of Colorado, Joseph Garcia.  who applauded the mission and work of ARCS Foundation.  Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company was represented by Mr. John Karas, VP and General Manager, Human Space Flight, who provided remarks as event sponsor.

The Thursday and Friday schedules included member training and orientations as well as behind-the scenes tours of the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and also the Anschutz Medical Center. Throughout all the speeches, tours, workshops, luncheons and dinners, ARCS Foundation members and guests learned and celebrated learning, celebrated being together and the camaraderie of a shared mission and shared accomplishments, and had FUN!. 

The next edition of the ARCS Foundation National “Achievements” Newsletter will include a full story on the 2012 NAM, along with more complete background information on the distinguished speakers.

We would like to thank Diana Alexander, National Meetings Director, Sherrye Berger, Chair of Denver Local Organizing Committee, and Antonio Schierling, 2012 NAM Director for another successful NAM!

Click Here for event photos.

 

 

“Science by the Sea” - National Annual Meeting 2011

Florida’s Amelia Island on the Atlantic Coast was the site of the 53rd ARCS® Foundation National Annual Meeting (NAM) in June. ARCS Foundation members and guests traveled from across the country to participate with long-time colleagues and friends.

At NAM, members received critical training in fund development and networking and heard from distinguished speakers.

American University Professor, speaker, author and environmental and wildlife film producer Chris Palmer led the very dynamic workshops, and he also gave the keynote address "Science and Communications: Friends or Enemies?"

In response to invitations from the newest ARCS Foundation Chapter, Tampa Bay, attendees heard from the following University of South Florida speakers. Karen Holbrook, PhD, senior vice president for Research, Innovation & Global Affairs, spoke at the ARCS Light Awards Luncheon. The Distinguished Science Panel speaking on marine science comprised College of Marine Science faculty members 2006 San Diego ARCS Scholar alum Mya Breitbart, PhD, and 1976 Hawaii ARCS Scholar alum Pamela Hallock Muller, PhD, along with graduate student Holly Rolls and PhD candidate Julia Galkiewicz. 

Also speaking was Sylvia Earle (left), PhD, oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer, Explorer in Residence of the National Geographic Society, and former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Click here for more photos from this event.

 

 

“A Capital Celebration” - National Annual Meeting 2010

The Metropolitan Washington Chapter served as the host Chapter for NAM 2010, “A Capital Celebration.” NAM 2010 was based at the Cosmos Club in Washington, D.C., with a special dinner at the U.S. Supreme Court.

The June event included meetings with Senate and House officials, tours of Washington museums, the ARCS Lights Luncheon and speakers from the scientific community.

The membership workshops featured speakers Melanie Gibson, director of Membership, and Illana Maze, senior vice president of Marketing & Development, at the National Association of Health Underwriters. 

Following more than a year of defining requirements for the new website and database and meeting with vendors recommended by the National Board, two ARCS Foundation members gave a status report and illustrated how this new website will be instrumental to the continued growth of ARCS Foundation and all the Chapters.

Dr. James Diorio, ARCS scholar alum from the University of Minnesota Duluth's Applied Physics Lab, spoke about his work, and the Distinguished Science Panel's topic was "Exploring and Assessing the Dimensions of Climate Change."  The panel moderator was Dr. Berrien Moore, executive director of Climate Central.  Panel members were Dr. Mollie Macauley, research director and senior fellow at Resources for the Future; Dr. Anthony Janetos, director of the Global Change Research Institute; and Dr. Jonathon Cannon, director of the University of Virginia Law School, Environmental and Land Use Program.

The keynote speaker was NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver.

 

 

“Some Like It Hot” - National Annual Meeting 2009

At the May National Annual Meeting in San Francisco, we received cutting-edge scientific information from some of our nation’s top scientists in the field. The science panel included Panel Moderator Dr. Bruce Alberts, who is editor-in-chief of Science Magazine and past president of the National Academy of Sciences. Also speaking on global energy issues were Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, a venture capital company that focuses on clean technology ventures; Professor Franklin Orr, director of the Precourt Institute for Energy at Stanford University; Professor Chris Somerville, director of Energy Biosciences Institute at UC Berkeley, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Barton Thompson, Jr., Robert E. Paradise Professor of Natural Resources Law at Stanford University.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Ashok Gadgil, professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Berkeley and senior scientist in the Environmental Energy Division of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. He is one of the main inventors of the Darfur Stove. He spoke about his involvement in developing a utilitarian stove with Engineers Without Borders and its use in Darfur. He saw a need to protect women and children traveling long distances to find firewood  who had no assistance from the refugee camps. It was a fascinating discussion about how engineers can work to solve some of the basic problems of the world if they devote time and energy to do so.

Significant workshops on databases as well as fund development in the current financial environment were especially timely. For those not attending the work sessions, there were field trips to the Asian Art Museum and a special behind-the-scenes tour of the recently reopened California Academy of Sciences’ “world’s greenest museum.”