Remembering Walter Cronkite

The following is a statement by Arden L. Bement, Jr., Director, National Science Foundation.

As the funeral for Walter Cronkite is held today in New York, we at the National Science Foundation want to add our voices to the many others who have saluted the veteran journalist and broadcaster. As the anchor of the CBS Evening News from 1961 and managing editor from 1963 until he retired in 1981, Cronkite brought the news of the world into our homes, often during turbulent times in America's history. He was the one who told many of us of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Much has been said and written about the impact of Cronkite's extensive reporting on Civil Rights, the country's involvement in Vietnam, the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, and, of course, America's daring journey into space and landing on the moon.

Cronkite's enthusiasm for science extended beyond aeronautics and space. In 1982, he accompanied marine biologists aboard the Alvin on a deep-sea dive off the coast of Mexico. In 2000, he remembered the adventure in the foreword for America's Investment in the Future, a book NSF published to mark the agency's 50th anniversary. He began: "It may seem ironic that I--a man who failed first-year physics at the University of Texas--am writing the foreword to a book about the National Science Foundation." The admitted non-scientist went on to commend NSF for funding the "kind of exploratory research that quietly plants seeds today that make headlines tomorrow." And, he expressed appreciation for the years of trial and error, experimentation and analysis put forth by men and women dedicated to bringing about a better understanding of the world around us.

Cronkite took news seriously, and for him, news included science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The person many people called "the most trusted man in America" provided a remarkable example of how to communicate science broadly.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends.

-NSF-

Of Mutts and Men

Domesticated animals provide man with benefits such as food, clothing and muscle power. Dogs, which descend from gray wolves that originated in Eurasia, were the first animals domesticated by man. Since that time, man has imposed a strong artificial selection pressure for desirable traits, resulting in the various dog breeds we have today.A recent study published in the August 3 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides insight into the origin of some ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115370&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

New Hope for Fisheries on the Horizon?

Scientists have joined forces in a groundbreaking assessment on the status of marine fisheries and ecosystems.The two-year study, led by Boris Worm of Dalhousie University and Ray Hilborn of the University of Washington and including an international team of 19 co-authors, shows that steps taken to curb overfishing are beginning to succeed in five of the 10 large marine ecosystems that they examined.The paper, which appears in the July 31 issue of the journal Science, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115279&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Membrane Breaks Through Performance Barrier

Engineers have developed a new method for creating high-performance membranes from crystal sieves called zeolites; the method could increase the energy efficiency of chemical separations up to 50 times over conventional methods and enable higher production rates. The ability to separate and purify specific molecules in a chemical mixture is essential to chemical manufacturing. Many industrial separations rely on distillation, a process that is easy to design and implement but consumes ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115332&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

Researchers Link Jellyfish, Other Small Sea Creatures to Large-Scale Ocean Mixing

The ocean's smallest swimming animals, such as jellyfish, can have a huge impact on large-scale ocean mixing, researchers have discovered."The perspective we usually take is how the ocean--by its currents, temperature, and chemistry--is affecting animals," says John Dabiri, a Caltech bioengineer who, along with Caltech graduate student Kakani Katija, discovered the new mechanism. "But there have been increasing suggestions that the inverse is also important, ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115295&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.

NSF Selects University of Michigan Historian to Head Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has selected University of Michigan historian Myron Gutmann, director of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research, to head its directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE). The directorate supports research that builds fundamental knowledge of human behavior, interaction, social and economic systems, and organizations and institutions.Gutmann, who specializes in historical demography and ... More at http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=115316&govDel=USNSF_51 This is an NSF News item.