Although the number of women among new inventors is edging upward, women still make up only about 13 percent of inventors in the economy overall. What keeps more women from engaging in invention and entrepreneurship? A recent workshop explored that question and how to remove the obstacles.

“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

By 2060, nearly 14 million people in the U.S. will be living with dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. A new report charts a course for the next 10 years of research in the behavioral and social sciences that can point to possible pathways for slowing or preventing dementia and easing its social and economic impacts.

Urban freeways and transit infrastructure projects — often paid for in large part by federal transportation funds — have disproportionately displaced and isolated people living in minority neighborhoods, tearing at the fabric of vibrant communities and compounding issues of equity and access to jobs and essential services.

The Transportation Research Board (TRB) today announced the 2022 class of Minority Student Fellows.

A National Academies summit explored the structural inequalities and biases that lead to a lack of racial and ethnic diversity in STEMM fields, and examined approaches that can increase diversity, equity, and inclusion.​

Congress should consider requiring all projects that are candidates for federal funding undergo resilience assessments to account for natural hazards and the changing risks stemming from climate change.

To improve global preparedness for future pandemics, the science academies of the G20 nations issued a statement urging their governments to promote the creation of a global surveillance network that could detect the harbingers of a potential new pandemic.

When clinicians are stretched thin, patient health often suffers, too. With COVID-19 cases resurging, clinicians continue to grapple with burnout. Six health system leaders shared how they’re intervening to protect clinicians’ well-being during the pandemic and beyond.

The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today announced the eight recipients of its 2021 Science Policy Fellowships.

Since the start of the pandemic, 2.5 million women have departed from the job market. A new rapid expert consultation says direct financial support, greater access to male-dominated jobs, and investing in child care can encourage women to return to the post-COVID workforce.

When shellfish farmers are deciding where to grow clams and oysters, they’re often acting on outdated water quality data — which can interrupt harvesting and cost them income. Gulf Research Program Fellow Natalie Nelson is working to predict water quality trends, so shellfish farmers can make better informed decisions.

“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

As millions of adolescents head back to school, what can science tell us about how the isolation and upheaval of the past year-and-a-half have affected their mental health and development?

The pandemic reshaped a range of human rituals, from handshakes to happy hours to weddings. In a recent Science & Entertainment Exchange webinar, psychologist Cristine Legare discussed why rituals matter and how COVID-19 revamped them.

After more than a year of isolation, remote school, and disrupted routines, how can schools support students’ mental health and development? Read what youth have to say about how they’re doing, and what they need as they return to the classroom.

Sixteen years after Hurricane Katrina, communities across the Southeast are recovering from the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Ida. Learn more about advice that the National Academies have developed on managing evacuations during COVID, predicting storms and flooding, and preparing infrastructure for disasters.

The Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) today announced nine winners of its annual Graduate Research Awards.

Yesenia Aguilar Silvan, a Ford Fellow and a doctoral student in clinical psychology, studies the barriers that keep young people from getting mental health care and what can be done to overcome these obstacles.

Using data science and maps to visualize historical inequities and climate change, GRP Science Policy Fellow, Simone Chapman is working to make strides in environmental justice.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11 and in the years following, the National Academies mobilized expertise and resources to help inform and advance national security priorities and protect the health and well-being of U.S. veterans who served selflessly to defend the nation from acts of terrorism.

The presidents of the National Academies join the nation in commemorating the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

For people who use wheelchairs, air travel comes with many hardships. A new report assesses the feasibility of securing travelers’ personal motorized wheelchairs in the cabin of an airplane as well as the safety and other considerations that must be analyzed.

Monica Feit has been named executive director of the National Academies’ Health and Medicine Division, effective Nov. 1, 2021. She brings to the position a wealth of leadership experience in health policy, international health, and cross-Academies collaboration.

President Biden announced the members of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), 20 of which are also members of NAS, NAE, and NAM. PCAST is the sole body of external advisers that makes science, technology, and innovation policy recommendations to the president and the White House.

To explore the complex interactions between the natural world and society and enhance our understanding of Earth’s systems, the National Science Foundation should create a next-generation Earth systems science initiative.

How can engineers help the nation mitigate and adapt to climate change? In advance of the National Academy of Engineering’s annual meeting — which will explore that question — NAE President John L. Anderson sat down to discuss the contributions engineering can make.

Social distancing, disrupted routines, and a lost sense of security and safety have made some kids and teens vulnerable to stress, anxiety, and depression during the pandemic. A new set of tools from the National Academies helps kids and adults build skills to cope with stress.

“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

For the first time since the pandemic struck, many colleges and universities are bringing students back to campus at full capacity. Their administrators are turning to new strategies and incentives to get students vaccinated against COVID-19.

Eight scientists have been selected for the Gulf Research Program’s Environmental Protection and Stewardship track of the 2021 Early-Career Research Fellowship (ECRF), announced the Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine today.

Nathaniel P. Ford Sr. and Shawn Wilson have been appointed as chair and vice chair, respectively, of the 2022 Transportation Research Board (TRB) Executive Committee by Marcia McNutt, president of the National Academy of Sciences and chair of the National Research Council.

Read a new NAE Perspective by Christopher A. Hart, former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and the founder of Hart Solutions LLC, on whether the time is right for driverless motor vehicles.

A recent discussion hosted by the National Academies examined the extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent as the climate changes, and how the nation can better prepare for them.

This Guidance Document is a product of the National Academies’ Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, which presents information and identifies guidance based on existing research literature.

The Gulf Research Program has launched its first undergraduate education initiative, the Gulf Scholars Program. The five-year, $12.7 million pilot program will prepare undergraduates to address the Gulf of Mexico’s most pressing environmental, health, resilience, and infrastructure challenges.

State policymakers should prioritize science and engineering education from preschool through fifth grade, and ensure it is taught comprehensively, frequently, and consistently.

Some of NASA’s robotic missions to Mars could be subject to less stringent bioburden requirements, which are designed to prevent the unintentional transport of Earth-based microbes, without interfering with searches for indigenous life on the planet.

In advance of the National Academy of Medicine’s annual meeting on Oct. 17-18, NAM President Victor Dzau sat down to talk about the compounding crises of COVID-19, climate change, and systemic racism — and how health and medicine can help respond to these threats.

When communicating with parents about getting their children vaccinated against COVID-19, emphasize the safety and efficacy of the vaccines, encourage them to talk with their family doctor, and leverage parents’ social networks.

Safe, effective antimicrobial medicines are essential to modern medical procedures and pandemic preparedness. A new National Academies report recommends a range of policy, regulatory, and financial actions to tackle antimicrobial resistance, spanning human, animal, and environmental health.

A multidisciplinary committee representing 11 nations will plan the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, to be held in London March 7-9, 2022. The NAS and NAM join other international partners in organizing the summit, which will build upon previous events held in Washington, D.C. and Hong Kong.

Projects that bring engineering expertise to bear on the questions addressed by evolutionary medicine promise major advances. In a new NAE Perspective, Randolph M. Nesse discusses how applications of evolutionary biology to medicine are giving rise to new opportunities for engineering to enhance understanding of disease.

National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt discusses science and solutions to climate change ahead of the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), which begins Oct. 31, 2021.

Despite legal protections for health care workers in combat zones, attacks on them are a continuing problem. From 2016 to 2020 there were more than 4,000 violent incidents against health care workers and facilities. A recent webinar explored what’s driving the violence and steps that should be taken to stop it.

In a new NAE Perspective, Chris Hendrickson says there are opportunities in the next few decades to reshape the landscape of familiar transportation systems, with transformations emerging in vehicle propulsion, automation, and telecommunications.

“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The presidents of the U.S. National Academies said in a statement that the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) presents a historic global opportunity to agree on emissions reduction targets to avoid the most intolerable impacts of climate change.

In many university departments, graduate students may be wholly dependent on their advisers for funding and academic support — a difference in power that raises the risk of sexual harassment. At a recent summit of the Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education, speakers explored how to diffuse those power differences.

Using lessons learned from COVID-19, a new report outlines recommendations to strengthen the U.S. Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise (PHEMCE) to better protect the nation from future threats, and ensure it can deliver the vaccines, medicines, and personal protective equipment needed during a public health emergency.