Convention speaker to explain why America is failing science |
On Board Online • May 23, 2016
By Eric D. Randall
Editor-in-Chief
Who's your idea of a cool geek? Bill Nye the Science Guy? Neil deGrasse Tyson, the astrophysicist?
How about David Pogue, who will be speaking at NYSSBA's 97th Annual Convention & Educational Expo in Buffalo in October?
Maybe you've seen Pogue as host of the show NOVA ScienceNow (a role formerly filled by Tyson). Or perhaps you've read his work in Scientific American, where he writes a monthly column, or The New York Times, where he wrote a weekly column on technology for 13 years. Or maybe you're a fan of the website for non-techies he created for Yahoo called Yahoo Tech.
Pogue's topic at the NYSSBA Convention will be a serious one: "Why America's Failing Science and How We Can Turn It Around."
Pogue graduated summa cum laude from Yale in 1985 with distinction in music, then spent 10 years conducting and arranging Broadway musicals in New York.
He's also one of the world's best-selling authors specializing in "how to" books, with more than three million books in print. His works include Classical Music for Dummies and Macs for Dummies. And did we mention he's won three Emmys for his TV work?
A non-scientist, Pogue is a self-taught expert on how technology is changing peoples' lives. Lately, he has been concerned about whether our nation can maintain leadership in science and technology.
While a quarter of incoming freshmen intend to major in a "STEM" (science, technology, engineering and math) subject, 75 percent of them switch majors by graduation, Pogue notes. America's STEM dominance has been declining steadily for 20 years, according to Pogue.
"Pogue will look at all the factors ? financial, political, cultural, and educational ? that have affected our technological leadership and explain what schools can do to keep American science strong," said Barry Entwistle, NYSSBA's director of leadership development. "Our members come to Convention looking for both actionable information and inspiration, and that's what David will deliver."
Look for more information about Convention in June, via both email and U.S. mail. Or visit NYSSBA's Convention website or download the Convention app.