The State Department wants to have some frank and fruitful exchanges with leading scientists. Under a proposal outlined by Under Secretary Frank Loy last week, members of the diplomatic corps would join with experts in a particular area--such as genetically modified crops--for roundtable discussions designed to increase the envoys' understanding of technical controversies.
The idea is one of five early responses to the findings of a National Academy of Sciences review panel, which last fall concluded that U.S. diplomats lack science savvy. Other potential improvements include appointing a special science ambassador to advise the secretary of state and beefing up science training for the agency's 25,000 employees, of whom 5% hold technical degrees. "We have heard the criticism," Loy said at a Washington conclave sponsored by AAAS, publisher of Science.
The plans--which Loy says are moving ahead--please panel leader Robert Frosch of Harvard University. "Sounds like a promising beginning," he says. His committee hopes to release its final communiqué on the issue this fall.
