‘Government and Science’ topic of Sept. 22 presentation at ISU by Union of Concerned Scientists’ Michael Halpern

“Government and Science” is the topic of a presentation by Michael Halpern of the Union of Concerned Scientists on Sept. 22 at the Pond Student Union Ballroom.

The presentation is sponsored by the ISU Friends of Oboler Library (FOOL). Halpern is the scientific integrity program manager for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

A reception for Halpern will be held at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6:30 p.m. and his lecture at 7:15 p.m. Reservations are required to attend. Call Friends of Oboler Library at (208) 282-2997 to make a reservation.

“Science works best in an open and collaborative environment; we all benefit when scientists are free to share their research with their peers and the public,” Halpern says. “Yet as science has become more important to policymaking, federal government scientists are increasingly subject to censorship, distortion, and other misuse of their work.”

Halpern will explore the following questions:

• How does the government constrain the intellectual freedom of its scientists?

• What level of intellectual freedom should federal government scientists enjoy?

• How do we ensure an appropriate balance between personal intellectual freedom and governmental prerogative?

• How do the rights and responsibilities of government scientists differ from those of private sector or academic scientists?

• Will the Obama administration act any differently than its predecessor?

•  What can people in Idaho do to protect the integrity of government science?

For more information on Halpern’s topic, visit www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity.

The Friends Of Oboler Library, or FOOL, is a library support organization for ISU’s Oboler Library.  Michael Halpern is the most recent in a series of speakers on Intellectual Freedom, a major interest of Eli M. Oboler, former library director.