Academy Announcement - NYAS

Academy Aids Effort to Release Political Prisoner

A recipient of The New York Academy of Sciences’ Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award was recently released from a Vietnamese prison.

Published February 3, 2005

By Fred Moreno

Image courtesy of Cavan for Adobe via stock.adobe.com.

Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a Vietnamese doctor who won The New York Academy of Sciences’ 2004 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award for his efforts to improve the lives of his fellow citizens, has been released from prison by the Vietnamese government following a campaign by a coalition of individuals and organizations, including the Academy.

In a letter to the Academy from Dr. Que’s brother, Dr. Quan Nguyen wrote about his brother’s release: “It is wonderful news and you’ve made it happen. On behalf of Dr. Que and my family, I thank you for all that you’ve done for Dr. Que and other dissidents around the world.”

Dr. Nguyen accepted the Pagels prize on behalf of his brother in ceremonies at the Academy in September, 2004. Awarded annually in recognition of services on behalf of the human rights of scientists, the Pagels award was given to Dr. Que “in recognition of his courage and singular moral responsibility as a medical doctor committed to the welfare and health care of the Vietnamese people and for peacefully promoting human rights in Vietnam.”

The Academy’s first human rights award was given in 1979 to Russian physicist Andrei Sakharov. Renamed in 1988 in honor of former Academy president Heinz R. Pagels, the award has been bestowed on such imminent scientists as Chinese dissident Fang Li-Zhi, Russian Nuclear Engineer Alexander Nikitin, and Cuban Economist Martha Beatriz Roque Cabello.

Also read: Promoting Human Rights through Science

Celebrating New York as a World Science Center

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg has proclaimed October 13 as “Science & the City Day” in an effort to both celebrate and advance science for the public good.

Published October 2, 2004

By Jennifer Tang and Fred Moreno

To celebrate New York City as one of the world’s great centers for science, The New York Academy of Sciences is inaugurating an annual parade of events designed to enhance New York’s economic competitiveness and to contribute to science literacy.

This year’s celebration, on Wednesday, October 13, will include:

the presentation of the annual Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science & Technology
a gala dinner providing a unique opportunity for leaders in science, medicine, business, finance, philanthropy, and government to meet one another in order to stimulate the city’s entrepreneurial potential
a venture capitalist showcase promoting science and entrepreneurship
a landmark gathering of prominent women scientists discussing issues such as career advancement and advocacy

NYC: A Science Capital

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has declared October 13 “Science & the City Day” in honor of the festivities.

“New York produces and attracts more scientific and medical leaders than any other city on earth,” said Academy President Ellis Rubinstein, “and no city provides better health care for more people than New York. ‘Science & the City Day’ will not only make plain to the world New York’s contributions to science and technology, it will work to expand New York’s role as an engine for scientific advances.”

He added that the New York area hosts more institutions devoted to improving global health than any other metropolitan region and that New York drives the business of science to a degree never really appreciated.

“Our goal, with ‘Science & the City Day,’ is to demonstrate New York’s preeminent position as a science capital, to contribute to the creation of a more entrepreneurial science culture in New York, and to shine a spotlight on science reform planned for the city’s school system.”

Science & the City Day will feature the following events.

Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology

Mayor Bloomberg will announce the winners of the annual Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science & Technology. The awards ceremony recognizes the important role that members of the science and engineering communities play in the success of New York City. Past winners have included:

AIDS researcher David Ho
award-winning author and scientist Lewis Thomas
and Nobel Laureates Günter Blobel, Eric Kandel, Joshua Lederberg, and Horst Stormer

This year’s ceremonies will include, for the first time, a Science Educator Award to a teacher in the New York City school system, and special recognition for three outstanding high school students. Also being instituted this year is a new Science and Society Award, to honor an individual or organization that has made use of current science and technological development to benefit the city. Other winners will be named for contributions to the biological and medical sciences; for achievements in the mathematical, physical, and engineering sciences; and for improving the public understanding of science. Junior Investigator awards to honor outstanding researchers under the age of 40 are also planned.

Women Investigators Network Panel Discussion

The Academy has long been committed to addressing issues faced by women scientists and sponsored a landmark conference on this topic in 1973. To continue this dialogue and to create continuous and endemic change, the Academy has formed a Women Investigators Network, whose kick-off event will be part of Science & the City Day. A panel of leading women scientists will focus on career development, advocacy, and self-empowerment for women in the sciences. Panelists will include:

Vita Rabinowitz, co-Director of the Gender Equity Project
Barbara Gerolimatos, Director of Scientific Affairs, Pfizer Women’s Health
Paula Olsiewski, Program Director, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
J. Lynn Rutkowski, Director of Neuroscience, Wyeth Research
Tasha Sims, Postdoctoral Student, New York University School of Medicine, and Co-Founder, Future Science Educators

A networking reception will follow the panel discussion.

Venture Capitalists Panel and Showcase

Sponsored by the Academy, The National Venture Capital Association, Vital Venture Networks, and an elite consortium of leading U.S. life science venture capital firms, the goal of this event is to forge contacts between life-science venture investors and worthy university-based science teams in order to promote early-stage investment in the life sciences. A “Venture Showcase” for university science teams and early-stage spinout companies will follow the panel discussion. The panelists will include:

Janet Woodcock, Deputy Acting Director, Food and Drug Administration
Michael Zasloff, Senior Distinguished Scientist, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, and former Dean, Translational Research, Georgetown University School of Medicine

After the panel, eight to ten company/science teams will offer presentations from universities and laboratories to an independent jury composed of some of the nation’s leading life science venture investors.

Gala “Science & the City Day” Dinner

Leaders from the scientific, corporate, academic, and government communities will come together to network, seek entrepreneurial opportunities, and promote New York as a world capital of science. One of the evening’s themes will be to emphasize the under-recognized strengths of New York science and medicine, as well as highlight the city’s efforts in reforming its school science program.

Nobel Laureate Rod MacKinnon and financial leader and philanthropist William T. Golden will be receiving special awards for their contributions to science in New York. The winners of the Mayor’s Awards for Excellence in Science and Technology will also be recognized.

Chairs for the gala dinner are:

Henry A. McKinnell, Jr., chairman and CEO, Pfizer Inc.
Torsten Wiesel, Nobel Laureate and chairman, New York Academy of Sciences Board of Governors
Russell L. Carson, General Partner, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe and co-chairman, New York City Investment Fund
Maurice Greenberg, CEO, AIG, and chairman, Starr Foundation.

Other Highlights

The daylong series of events will also serve to highlight a broad series of initiatives at the Academy that advance New York and its special place in the sciences, including:

The New York Science Alliance for Graduate Students and Postdocs is a consortium of 16 universities, teaching hospitals and research institutions in New York that have joined in partnership with the Academy to provide membership to nearly 6,000 young investigators. The Alliance provides unparalleled career and professional development mentoring through a series of seminars and meetings as well as a dedicated web portal, and also gives New York a unique recruiting tool for attracting scientific talent.

The Frontiers of Science and Science Without Borders Programs are initiatives that have brought together many of the leading scientists form various New York institutions in support of a novel program of cutting-edge seminars that are disseminated via electronic briefings on the Academy’s Web site. Ten discussion groups (in such areas as biochemical pharmacology, emerging infectious diseases, and genomic medicine) are already underway with more planned—all part of an effort to advance science through forums that explore topics at the frontiers of science.

The Academy’s new” Science & the City” portal aggregates the incredible richness of scientific activities in scores of institutions throughout New York City. The site includes a remarkable calendar—the only one of its kind in the United States—that itemizes on a daily basis such activities as academic and public lectures, family events, education programs, art and science exhibits, and cultural activities. By emphasizing New York’s rich scientific milieu, the site demonstrates the city’s status as a great global science center.

Also read: A Science State of Mind in the Empire State

Advancing Human Rights and Heathcare in Vietnam

Long-imprisoned Vietnamese doctor is named recipient of Human Rights Award from The New York Academy of Sciences for his commitment to healthcare, bettering humankind.

Published July 21, 2004

By Fred Moreno

Image courtesy of joyfotoliakid via stock.adobe.com.

Dr. Nguyen Dan Que, a 61-year old Vietnamese medical doctor who has dedicated his life to improving the lives of the Vietnamese people and who has spent nearly 25 years in prison or under house arrest, has been named the recipient of the 2004 Heinz R. Pagels Human Rights of Scientists Award by the New York Academy of Sciences.

The Pagels prize, awarded annually in recognition of services on behalf of the human rights of scientists, will be bestowed at the Academy’s Annual Meeting on Monday, September 13, 2004. Dr. Que will be cited “in recognition of his courage and singular moral responsibility as a medical doctor committed to the welfare and healthcare of the Vietnamese people and for peacefully promoting human rights in Vietnam.”

Joseph L. Birman, chair of the Academy’s human rights committee, said that Dr. Que was chosen because of his “unwavering efforts to improve the daily lives of people in Vietnam and to promote a peaceful transition to democracy and freedom there.” Prof Birman added that Dr. Que, who is the founder of the Vietnamese Non-Violent Movement for Human Rights, was rearrested in March 2003 and has been held incommunicado since then.

Clinic for the Poor

Dr. Que has been committed to providing medical care for the poor since graduating from medical school in 1966, including a free clinic he founded and staffed with volunteer doctors, nurses, and medical students. One of the first of many examples of his civil courage was his willingness to treat students and others who were injured during demonstrations against the government.

After further medical studies in Europe under a scholarship from the World Health Organization, Dr. Que returned to Vietnam to join the Saigon University Faculty of Medicine and, later, became director of the Medical Department at Cho Ray Hospital. He also resumed his work at the free medical clinic, where he became well know for his efforts on behalf of the poor, especially from rural areas. In the late 1970s, he challenged the government’s health care policies and was subsequently arrested and imprisoned for 10 years without charge or trial.

Even after his release in an amnesty in 1988, he continued to speak out for basic human rights in Vietnam and demanded the government invest in the welfare of the people and reductions in the military. Charged with “activities aimed at overthrowing the People’s government,” he was rearrested in 1990. During his imprisonment under harsh conditions, Dr. Que did whatever he could to improve the health care of his fellow inmates, even performing minor surgery with homemade instruments.

Refused to Leave Vietnam

Released again under a presidential amnesty in August 1998, Dr. Que’s health had worsened considerably and he was unable to walk without assistance. Refusing to leave the country, he was held under house arrest for over four years but continued to promote respect for human rights. For example, in addition to appealing to the government to improve prison conditions, he wrote articles calling for democracy and for better treatment of indigenous minorities.

Harassment of Dr. Que intensified, including 24-hour surveillance, disconnection of his telephone and Internet service, and interrogation of visitors. After writing an article criticizing recent Vietnamese government claims that there is freedom of information in Vietnam, he was arrested once more in March 2003.

“Repeated requests to visit Dr. Que of even just speak to him by telephone by his family, as well as international diplomats, have all been denied,” said Prof. Birman. “Given his current isolation and the fact that he was denied medical care during his previous incarcerations, it is feared that he may not be receiving any medical attention for his grave ill health.”

Pagels Award

“In his fight for human rights and freedom of speech, Dr. Que exemplifies the virtues demonstrated by our first award winner, Andre Sakharov,” said Nobel Laureate Torsten Wiesel, chair of the Academy’s Board of Governors. “The Academy is proud to have Dr. Que join the list of more than 25 exemplary citizens of the world who have been honored with this award.”

Also read: Academy Aids Effort to Release Political Prisoner