Newswise — McLean, VA —Join the Society for Risk Analysis annual meeting in San Diego to celebrate and explore Risk and Resilience: Viva la Revolución. The meeting will highlight the peaceable revolution in science and technology innovation, participation of global citizens, and service—emphasizing advances that positively impact our health, environment, and cultural and social responsibility.
Reporters can secure press credentials at the Sheraton San Diego Hotel and Marinameeting registration area. Ask for Brett Burk.
The December 11-15 meeting features an exciting lineup of keynote speakers.
• During the December 12 opening plenary on Resilience and Impact: Empowering Global Citizens, attendees will hear how “citizen scientists” and “scientist citizens” together are empowering people around the world to make an impact for good by collecting and synthesizing data for science, to better understand our planet and help address shared risks. Speakers are Heather Fleming, founder and CEO, Catapult Design, and Darlene Cavalier, Professor of Practice at Arizona State University's Center for Engagement and Training.
• The following day’s plenary session is on Collaborations and Explorations: From Earthly Challenges to Outer Space. These are exciting times as national programs work with interested communities to develop approaches and share information for solving challenges such as managing spent fuel from decades of commercial electricity generation and evaluating new chemicals. Speakers include Andy Griffith, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Spent Fuel and Waste Disposition, U.S. Department of Energy, Gerlinde Knetsch, Chemical Safety Division, German Environment Agency, and Mike Massimino, Hubble Astronaut, and Columbia University professor who has published a new book, Spaceman: An Astronaut's Unlikely Journey to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe.
• Anyone who cares about the revolution that is advancing societal values and social responsibility will want to hear Wednesday’s keynote speech on Moral Deficiencies in the Arithmetic of Compassion by Paul Slovic, Decision Research founder and president and University of Oregon psychology professor, whose groundbreaking work on human judgment, decision making, and risk analysis has received national and international awards. Join him as he considers the morally troubling response to mass casualty risks described by the phrase “the more who die, the less we care.”
As always, the SRA annual meeting is where hundreds of experts gather to share new findings and discuss the many risks and challenges confronting an increasingly crowded and complex world. A series of roundtables and sessions will take on vital current issues.
On Monday, a roundtable on Post-Election Prospects and Challenges for Risk Policy will feature James K. Hammitt of Harvard University, Jonathan Wiener of Duke University, Richard Williams of George Mason University and other politically astute observers commenting on what the November 8 elections have wrought. Another roundtable, Opportunities and Obstacles to More and Better Use of Risk Perspectives in Development Settings, will explore the potential for risk analysis as a formidable tool for helping decision-makers take public decisions that improve the welfare of society, including in Latin America, Singapore, and Canada.
Speaking of risk and resilience, how resilient are the electric power systems upon which modern societies depend? At an important Monday symposium on Understanding Infrastructure Network Risks at National and Global Scales, speakers will explore the theme: “National infrastructures such as energy, transport, water, waste and Information Communication Technology are essential for social and economic sustainability and wellbeing.” On Wednesday, symposium speakers will tackle the intriguing topic: Toward Resilient Government.
Join Tuesday’s roundtable on States as Risk Policy Innovators, with speakers who will include representatives from state government, NGOs and academia. Participants will discuss recent risk policy innovations in California and the process of policy innovation and diffusion using recent examples from that state in the areas of climate change (California’s carbon cap and trade program), energy efficiency, water resources policy, agricultural use of antibiotics, and air quality. With cyber attacks so much in the news, it is only fitting that the SRA meeting will include several important sessions on the issue, including Monday’s Presidential Roundtable: on Cyber Risk Analysis and Wednesday’s session on Recent Topics in Cyber Security. Topics include Cyber Security Risk Contributions From Human Factors and Malicious Email Attacks at a Large Organization.
Whether the issue is resilience in the face of cyber attacks, climate change, terrorist acts, food safety risks, nanotechnology, chemical risks, transportation, or many others, the SRA San Diego meeting is where the peaceable revolution will be front and center.
For further details about the meeting and specific sessions and topics, learn more here: http://www.sra.org/sites/default/files/pdf/events/SRA%20Final%20Program%20-%20R6.pdf
The SRA Secretariat can be reached at: (703) 790-1745, or email: [email protected]
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