November 23, 2005 —
|
Patrick Pantel: “As leaders of critical
thinking, it is not only our responsibility to understand the nature of
our world, but as importantly to implicate ourselves in the policies
that shape our society.” |
ISI’s Patrick Pantel was part of an elite group of ten young
scientists representing the United States at the November 10-12 World
Science Forum in Budapest.
National Science Foundation leaders selected Pantel, a specialist in
natural language processing who has an appointment as a research
assistant professor in the USC Viterbi School department of computer
science to attend the gathering, the second in a series meeting under
the auspices of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and UNESCO.
Pantel (right) and his nine colleagues spanned a wide range of
disciplines from CS and biology to social sciences and philosophy. They
came together during the intensive two and a half days of speeches,
meetings and activities in the Hungarian capital focusing on
“Knowledge, Ethics, and Responsibility.”
“In the past,” the WSF organizers write, “the main role of science has
been the production of new knowledge in order to satisfy the inherent
curiosity of the human mind. Most recently, scientific advancement has
become the main driver for development in society.”
The meetings set themselves the ambitious goal of reaching “a common
ground for the new roles of knowledge and science in today’s global
society.” If this was not totally achieved, the conference concluded
with a set of six “final recommendations” dealing with communication,
education, ecology, sustainability and other societal-scientific issues.
The program was excellent, Pantel said, “but what I really came away with was a great bond” with the other NSF delegates.
Pantel singled out two presentations as exceptional. The first was a speech by
behavioral biologist Jane Goodall who has been a Distinguished Adjunct
Professor in the USC College Department of Anthropology and the
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy since
1990. Goodall argued that our inheritance from our primate
anscestors include "responsibility as to the consequences of our
activities as well, especially regarding the environment which we share
with other species."
Also impressive was 93-year-old Otto van Habsburg, honorary president
of the Paneuropean Union, who. according to the family website, “was the claimant to the thrones of
Austria, Hungary, Bohemia etc. until he renounced his claims in 1961 so
he could re-enter Austria and be more active in current European
politics.”
"He said scientists must to be frank about the reality of our world. We
must engage with the politicians since they are the ones that are
making the policies that shape our world," Pantel recollected.
"Additionally, we were also addressed by the President of Hungary, the
Prime Minister of Hungary, the Director General of UNESCO Koïchiro
Matsuura, and three Nobel laureates,” Pantel said.
Preceding the WSF, the NSF delegates participated in a satellite
meeting of the World Academy of Young Scientists. Under the aegis of
UNESCO, WAYS sets forth to be the global network for young researchers,
providing a forum for exchanging information and for fostering
collaboration between young scientists worldwide. Pantel has the
following advice to fellow young scientists: “As leaders of critical
thinking, it is not only our responsibility to understand the nature of
our world, but as importantly to implicate ourselves in the policies
that shape our society.”