About
The Need
As the 21st century begins to unfold, it is clear that we live in a society in which science plays an increasingly significant role. Citizens and their leaders need to achieve a functional level of scientific literacy to deal with issues ranging from global climate change to stem cell research to viral pandemics. It is estimated that about one in four American adults meets a minimal standard of civic scientific literacy. This level of scientific literacy is insufficient to sustain a healthy democratic society or to assure rational consideration of major scientific issues.
Our Mission
The Chicago Council on Science and Technology's mission is to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of science and technology and their impact on society.
In establishing the Chicago Council on Science and Technology in 2006, the founders sought to bring together Chicago’s scientific leaders – academic, corporate, government, museums, universities and national laboratories- to provide a forum for the discussion of current issues of scientific interest.
Dr. Alan Schriesheim, President of C²ST and Director Emeritus of Argonne National Laboratory, Dr. Jon Miller, Director of the International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy at the University of Michigan and Dr. Paul Knappenberger, President of the Adler Planetarium – began discussing the need for a regional organization that could adopt a role in the science community.
Since September of 2007, C²ST has co-sponsored or produced over 100 programs, and partnered with over 80 regional and national organizations. C²ST is an anchor to catalyze a more robust marketplace for science and gain more visibility for Chicago as a center of innovation and technology.
Goals
- Be a voice and advocate for the scientific community in the metropolitan Chicago area.
- Enhance the public understanding and appreciation of science and technology (S&T) through public discussions of emerging and important S&T policy issues.
- Provide opportunities for members of the scientific community to meet each other and develop a greater sense of identity.
- Link academic, business, and public policy leaders to build consensus for science education, technology innovation, and robust knowledge-economy growth in Chicago and the Midwest.
- Maintain a working relationship with the science journalism community in the metropolitan Chicago area, providing special briefings on selected emerging issues.
- Attract new science, engineering and technology based industries to the Chicagoland area.
Board of Directors
Alan Schriesheim, President C²ST
Director Emeritus
Argonne National Laboratory
John Anderson, Board Chair
Distinguished Professor of Chemical Engineering
Illinois Institute of Technology
Bob Arthur
President
Magellan Corporation
Brenna Berman
Chief Information Officer, Innovation & Technology
City of Chicago
Gerald Blazey
Interim Vice President for Research & Innovation Partnerships
Northern Illinois University
Philip Cable
President
John A. Cable Foundation
Gastone G. Celesia, Ex-Officio Board Member
Professor Emeritus
Loyola University
Charles Cooper
General Manager, Illinois Accelerator Research Center
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
Marten L. denBoer
Provost
DePaul University
Mitra Dutta
Vice Chancellor for Research
University of Illinois at Chicago
Francis Giles, Honorary Board Member
Chief of the Division, Hematology/Oncology
Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine
Lance Grande, Board Representative
Program Committee Chair
Distinguished Service Curator
The Field Museum of Natural History
Mary J.C. Hendrix
President
Shepherd University, WV
Eric Isaacs
Executive Vice President Research, Innovation and National Labs
University of Chicago
Bennetta Kelly
President
ARCS Foundation, Inc., Illinois Chapter
Adam Khan
Founder and CEO
AKHAN Semiconductor
Charles Knapp, Board Representative
VP of Conservation and Research
John G. Shedd Aquarium
Bob Kriss
Partner
Mayer Brown LLP
Richard Lariviere
President
The Field Museum of Natural History
Michelle Larson
President & CEO
Adler Planetarium
Auxiliary Board
Shreaya Chakroborty
Research Assistant Professor, Dept. of Neuroscience
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine & Science
Sara Frank
Program Manager, Center for Health Information Partnerships
Northwestern University
Julia Haried
Co-Founder & Executive Director
MakerGirl
C2ST Staff
Krisztina Eleki, PhD.
Executive Director
keleki@c2st.org
Jessica Weisensell
Assistant Director of Development and Administration
jweisensell@c2st.org
Peter B. Littlewood
Director
Argonne National Laboratory
Walter Massey
Chancellor
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Rabiah Mayas, Board Representative
Director of Science and Integrated Strategies
Museum of Science and Industry
Dawn Miller
Director, Major Gifts
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Jon D. Miller, Co-Founder
Director International Center for the Advancement of Scientific Literacy
Institute for Social Research
University of Michigan
David Mosena
President & Chief Executive Officer
Museum of Science and Industry
Lynn Narasimhan, Board Representative
Professor and Director, STEM Center
DePaul University
Norman Peterson, Board Representative
Director, Government Relations
Argonne National Laboratory
Peter Schiffer
Vice Chancellor for Research
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Thomas P. Shanley
Chairman, Department of Pediatrics
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Arch Shaw
President & CEO
Arch Investors Ltd
Katie Stallcup
Executive Director
Chicago Biomedical Consortium
Jim Sullivan
Vice President, Discovery
AbbVie
Kay Torshen
President
Torshen Capital Management, LLC
Maria Velissariou
Vice President, Global Nutrition R&D
PepsiCo, Inc.
Jay Walsh
Vice President of Research
Northwestern University
Ralph Wanger
Chairman
LZW Group, LLC
TBD
Chicago Botanic Gardens
TBD
Exelon Corporation
TBD
John G. Shedd Aquarium
Shyama Majumdar
Postdoctoral Research Associate, Dept. of Urology
University of Illinois at Chicago
Iredia Olaye
Founder and CEO
OlayIT
Jessica Turner-Skoff
Treeologist
The Morton Arboretum
Andrea Poet
Director of Programs and PR
apoet@c2st.org