by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor, University Marketing and Communications
Wayne Pennington, chair of geological and mining engineering and sciences, is participating in discussions to help the United Nations’ advance peoples’ right to “enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its applications.”
Pennington, who is also president of the American Geosciences Institute, is part of a focus group led by the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS) Science and Human Rights Coalition. Historically, this process has not included input from scientists and engineers; but this year the geoscience community is contributing.
“It may surprise some, but most inequities in the world start with a geologic situation,” Pennington said. “Earthquakes, volcanoes, and floods are obvious examples but so are mineral wealth and its management or soil quality and farming practices.”
Pennington and AGI President-Elect Sharon Mosher join members of the Geological Society of America (GSA), the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, and AAAS to promote different scientific interests, including those from early-career geoscientists. Findings generated from this and other focus groups will be presented to the United Nations.
The AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition is a network of scientific and engineering organizations that includes the Association of American Geographers, the Council on Undergraduate Research, and the American Society of Civil Engineers. AGI, GSA, the Association of Earth Science Editors, and the Soil Science Society of America are Affiliated Organizations.
The American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists.