Krauss joins board of Federation of American Scientists


Lawrence Krauss, director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, was elected to the board of directors of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

"It is a great honor to be asked to join the board of directors of this prestigious organization, started in 1945 by scientists from the Manhattan project, bringing together scientists of all disciplines around the goal of integrating science and public policy to help both warn of dangers, and also lead to the more efficient use of scientific knowledge to benefit humanity,” said Krauss a professor in ASU's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences where he is a faculty member in the Physics Department and the School of Earth and Space Exploration.

Krauss, an internationally acclaimed theoretical physicist and cosmologist, co-chairs the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists with Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman.

“As I have continued to stress in my own writing and speaking, now more than ever we need to ensure both the public and political leaders have access to, and utilize, the results of scientific inquiry when developing public policy,” said Krauss. “There is not a single major issue, from national security to our economy, which does not have science at its basis. I am happy to be able to help direct the FAS towards its important goals on issues from nuclear weapons, to global climate change.”

In his congratulatory note, FAS chair Harold Palmer Smith Jr. noted: “There is much to be done, and all of it worth doing. We have a new and dynamic president and chief executive officer in Charles Ferguson, who is ideally qualified to lead FAS in this new era where the intersection of science and policy will be just as critical to peace and stability as it was in 1945 when FAS was created.”

The Federation of American Scientists provides timely, nonpartisan technical analysis on complex global issues that hinge on science and technology.

“None of us need a detailed description of the challenges that face America,” wrote Smith, who holds the appointment of distinguished visiting scholar and professor with the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. “It is all too apparent that nuclear weapon arsenals should be reduced, that nuclear proliferation must be curtailed, that new threats to cyber- and bio-security are more than just on the horizon, that the competition for energy will only increase, and that the global climate is fragile and in need of global care. The Federation should play a role in all of these and more, and to do so, it needs your insight, guidance, and participation.”