Biophysical Society Bulletin | May 2019

Public Affairs

Annual Meeting BPS 2019 in the Press

Around theWorld Young Researchers Discuss Brexit Science recently profiled 50 early career researchers in Britain and shared their concerns around Brexit. Several researchers have stopped applying for the European Union’s Horizon 2020 funding and others are afraid to leave the United Kingdom at all until their immigration status is confirmed. An estimated 50 percent of postgraduate research scientists in the United Kingdom come from abroad. Science is asking for young scien- tists to share their story on Twitter using #ECRsChatBrexit. Japanese Companies Fear Shortage of Science Grads According to a report in Nikkei , Japanese companies are brac- ing for another disappointing hiring season. Many companies will miss on their top STEM recruits as the supply of science graduates continues to fail to keep up with demand. Busi- nesses aim to hire 11.7 percent more science and technology college students graduating in spring 2020, marking a sixth straight year of double-digit increases, according to a Nikkei survey. Japanese corporate titans like Sony and Bridgestone are seeking data scientists and semiconductor experts, but are struggling to recruit candidates. The Japanese govern- ment projects a shortage of 50,000 engineers in advanced technology fields next year. Funding Squeeze Affecting African Innovation and Science According to a report in Standard Media , there are growing concerns from African educators that their governments are failing to fully invest in science. Statistics show that Africa produces an alarmingly few number of junior scientists and scholars. On average, sub-Saharan countries spend less than 0.5 percent of their gross domestic product on research and development. These findings were shared during a recent conference dubbed “Young Scholars in Africa – Challenges and Opportunities .” Gender Equality andWomen in STEM The countries with less gender equality have the more wom- en in STEM caqreers according to a recent article published in The Atlantic . One theory is that women in countries with higher gender inequality are seeking a path to financial freedom. Read the article at https:/www.theatlantic.com/ science/archive/2018/02/the-more-gender-equality-the- fewer-women-in-stem/553592/

The Society’s press efforts generated at least 37 media men- tions of the Biophysical Society’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore and research being presented at it. Of the 37 clips, 9 can be considered to be original reporting meaning the news outlet developed a story around our press release, as opposed to just reprinting it. Prominent publications like The Independent (UK), The Daily Mail (UK), Earth.Com and The Science Times covered the meeting. Importantly, as science is an international field, several stories were picked up by non-United States based media outlets. We received press coverage from outlets in China, India, Italy, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Check out the BPS Annual Meeting releases at www.biophysics.org/news-room. Public Affairs Committee at BPS 2019 The Public Affairs Committee was extremely busy at the 2019 BPS Annual Meeting in Baltimore. The committee hosted five sessions and conducted finalist interviews for the 2019– 2020 BPS Congressional Fellowship program.

Brexit & Science: Consequences for Research Funding and Immigration Flows Session. From left, Tony Watts, Oxford Univerisity; Dorothy Beckett, Public Affairs Committee; Andrew Price, British Embassy Washington; and Matthias Willmans, EMBL.

The Nuts and Bolts of your NSF Grant. Arnold Revzin and Engin Serpersu, NSF

Understanding the Congressional Budget Process: How Science is Funded. Tiffany Kaszuba, Coalition for Health Funding; Debbie Weinstein, Coalition on Human Needs; and Jonathan King, Public Affairs Committee.

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