<<

C

american academy of arts & sciences american academy of arts & sciences Norton’s Woods 136 Irving Street , ma 02138-1996 usa

telephone 617-576-5000 facsimile 617-576-5050 email [email protected] website www.amacad.org summer 2009 Bulletin vol. lxii, no. 4

Page 1 Educating All Children

David Brady and Pamela S. Karlan

Page 4 Reconsidering the Rules of Space Daniel Yankelovich

Page 8 AMERICAN ACADEMY : Novel Applications OF ARTS & SCIENCES Phillip A. Sharp, Robert Langer, Angela Belcher, and Evelyn L. Hu

inside: Remembering Daniel Charles Tosteson, M.D. by Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D., Page 19 From the Archives, Page 24 C C

Calendar of Events american academy of arts & sciences Notice to Fellows Norton’s Woods, 136 Irving Street, Cambridge, ma 02138 telephone 617-576-5000, facsimile 617-576-5050, Save the Date: Wednesday, New Academy Bylaws Approved email [email protected], website www.amacad.org November 11, 2009 academy officers Thursday, Meeting–Cambridge The Fellows voted to approve the proposed new Bylaws of the Academy. The vote was entered based on proxies Emilio Bizzi, President September 17, 2009 The Education of an American Dreamer: Contents submitted by the Fellowship on June 24, 2009, at a Special Meeting–Palo Alto How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Leslie Berlowitz, Chief Executive Of½cer and William T. Golden Chair Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Meeting of the Academy called for this purpose. One Louis W. Cabot, Chair of the Academy Trust and Vice President The Challenge of Incarceration in America Wall Street, and Beyond thousand, three hundred, and ½fty-seven Fellows voted Academy Projects John S. Reed, Treasurer Speakers: Glenn Loury, Brown University, in favor of the amendments; sixteen Fellows voted against Speaker: Peter Peterson, Peter G. Peterson , Secretary Educating All Children 1 and Bruce Western, Foundation the proposed changes. The Academy’s new Bylaws con- Steven Marcus, Editor Location: Stanford University form to modern nonpro½t governance practice and law Reconsidering the Rules of Space 4 Location: House of the Academy John Katzenellenbogen, Vice President, Midwest and reflect the Academy’s national character and research Jesse H. Choper, Vice President, West Thursday, Wednesday, mission. We are grateful to the many Fellows who con- New Publications 6 Robert C. Post, Librarian September 24, 2009 December 9, 2009 tributed to the bylaw revision process and look forward Meeting–Cambridge to implementing the new Bylaws during the forthcoming Academy Fellowships 7 Meeting–Cambridge publications advisory board transition period. A New Literary History of America Holiday Concert–An Evening with Malcolm Jesse H. Choper, Denis Donoghue, Linda Greenhouse, Jerome Kagan, Academy Meetings Speakers: Werner Sollors, Harvard Bilson –Emilio Bizzi, President Steven Marcus, Jerrold Meinwald, Emilio Bizzi University, and Greil Marcus, Berkeley, Introduction: Christoph Wolff, Harvard Nanotechnology: Novel Applications California University editorial staff Phillip A. Sharp, Robert Langer, Phyllis S. Bendell, Director of Publications Angela Belcher, and Evelyn L. Hu 8 Location: House of the Academy Speaker: Malcolm Bilson, Micah J. Buis, Associate Editor Saturday, Location: House of the Academy Scott Eaton Wilder, Layout & Design In Memoriam: Remembering October 10, 2009 Daniel Charles Tosteson, M.D. 19 Initial design by Joe Moore of Moore + Associates 2009 Induction Ceremony–Cambridge For informationand reservations, contact the Bulletin Summer 2009 Noteworthy 21 lxii Sunday, Events Of½ce (phone: 617-576-5032; email: Issued as Volume , Number 4 ©2009 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences October 11, 2009 [email protected]). issn x From the Archives 24 Meeting–Cambridge The Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences ( 0002–712 ) is published quarterly by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Science, Energy, and the Environment Periodicals rate postage paid at Boston, ma, and at additional mailing of½ces. Postmaster: Send address changes to Bulletin, American Acad- Moderator: Richard Meserve, Carnegie emy of Arts & Sciences, 136 Irving Street, Cambridge, ma 02138. Institution for Science The views expressed in the Bulletin are those held by each contribu- Speakers include: Steven Koonin, United tor and are not necessarily those of the Of½cers and Fellows of the States Department of Energy; Paul Joskow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Alfred P.Sloan Foundation; John W. Rowe, Exelon Corporation; John Doerr, Kleiner photo credits Perkins Cau½eld & Byers Steve Rosenthal inside front cover Wendy Barrows page 1, left Martha Stewart pages 1, right; 8, 9, 14 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 1

Academy Projects

Educating All Children

In 2001, the American Academy began the means, and consequences of Universal Basic and Secondary Education providing education to all (ubase) project to advance the promise of children: a quality education for all children world-  What do we know about wide. The project presumed that universal global education and how education has the potential to help alleviate do we know it? poverty, raise living standards, increase hu-  What would be the conse- man dignity, and improve health (including quences of providing every reproductive health); but at the same , child with primary and Joel E. Cohen David E. Bloom the project understood that various obsta- secondary schooling? cles stand in the way of meeting that goal,  What is the history of efforts to expand including: education?  That discussions about what stakeholders  What obstacles stand in the way of achiev-  Nearly 30 percent of school-age children ing universal education? want primary and secondary education to worldwide are not enrolled in school. achieve must take place openly at the na-  What are the best practices and innova-  Of school-age children who enter primary tions for overcoming those obstacles? tional, regional, and international levels; school in developing countries, more than  That the diverse character of educational one in four drops out before attaining lit-  What will it cost to provide primary and secondary schooling for all children? systems in different countries must be eracy. internationally recognized, and aid poli-  There are gross disparities in education cies and assessment requirements must that separate regions, income groups, and Universal education has the be adapted to local contexts; and genders. potential to help alleviate pov-  That education must be allotted both more Yet in advocating for universal education, money and higher priority, especially in the project quickly recognized a signi½cant erty, raise living standards, terms of the amount of funding that de- roadblock: the lack of knowledge of the basic veloped countries provide for education facts about global education, as well as lack increase dignity, and in developing countries. of knowledge of how these facts are produced improve health (including The Academy has made the project’s ½ndings and whether they are reliable. Education is and recommendations public through a series one of the largest and most important invest- reproductive health). of ½ve Occasional Papers–Measuring Global ments made by governments and people. Educational Progress; Global Educational Expan- Understanding whether this investment By beginning with these questions, the proj- sion: Historical Legacies and Political Obstacles; leads to the desired ends is crucial to effec- ect tackled ½rst the soundness of advocat- Achieving Universal Basic and Secondary Educa- tive government policy and private decision- ing for universal education–the question of tion: How Much Will It Cost?; Education, Health, making. whether–before moving to questions of what and Development: An Under-Explored Nexus; To this end, the project endeavored to create to do and how. and Improving Education Through Assessment, Innovation, and Evaluation–and two edited a methodology, a new theoretical research Ultimately, the project offered ½ve major books: Educating All Children: A Global Agenda base to underpin any inquiry into the role recommendations: mit that primary and secondary education might ( Press, 2006) and International Perspec- play in creating positive global change. The  That a commitment must be made to ex- tives on the Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary tending a full cycle of high-quality primary Academy brought together an international Education (Routledge, forthcoming 2009). and secondary education to all children; ubase team of scholars, program of½cers, educators, Many of the publications are posted  That more reliable must be created public servants, and business leaders, head- on the Academy’s website, www.amacad.org, and used in studying what children learn, ed by Project Directors Joel E. Cohen (Rock- and some of the publications have been what alternative pedagogical techniques efeller and Columbia Universities) and David translated and distributed in multiple lan- and technologies exist, and which coun- E. Bloom (Harvard University), to consid- guages. tries are performing best; er fundamental questions about the costs,

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 1 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 2

Academy Projects

PROJECT PUBLICATIONS

Edited Volumes

Educating All Children: A Global Agenda, edited by Joel E. Cohen, David E. Bloom, and Martin B. Malin, argues that universal education, ur- gently needed, can be achieved. The volume explores a key project ½nding: that it should be possible to give all children a decent pri- mary and secondary education at a cost of up to an additional $70 billion per year. On the one hand, this seems a rather modest sum, less than one-seventh of the U.S. gov- ernment’s annual military budget, and only one-fourth of the foreign aid goal of 0.7 per- cent of the $37 trillion of gross national in- come of developed countries. On the other hand, it is a formidable amount, since foreign aid currently is substantially below the 0.7 percent target, especially in the . with the experience and needs of a global- negotiation, and appreciation of cultural di- izing world. Vimala Ramachandran, of the versity. Indeed, many of the authors agree Educational Resource Unit in India, sounds that an increased appreciation of cultural What obstacles stand in the the book’s major theme when she calls for diversity and an ability to work across dif- way of achieving universal “the re-imagination of education” in order ferent linguistic and knowledge-acquisition to link it to “life, livelihood, peace, and social systems are necessary in the twenty-½rst education? justice.” For many of the contributors this century. The volume also weighs the bal- means addressing the basic needs of children ance between access to education and quality In addition, the project developed a method- –secure classrooms, clean drinking water, ofeducation. ology for estimating how many children hygienic bathrooms, nutritious food, and worldwide are not in school. Project Co- Related Publications Director David Bloom continues to develop What will it cost to provide In addition to the Occasional Papers listed this methodology. primary and secondary above, ubase has been featured in Dædalus, The second book–International Perspectives the journal of the Academy; in Finance & De- on the Goals of Universal Basic and Secondary schooling for all children? velopment, a publication of the International Education, co-edited by Joel E. Cohen and Monetary Fund; in Prospects, unesco’s Martin B. Malin–explores the goals of edu- well-trained and well-compensated teachers journal of comparative education; in an op- cation and addresses the “lack of focused in- –as well as building on that foundation to ed published in several languages in news ternational discussion on the desired content enrich education, without spending resourc- outlets around the world; in an article by and aims of basic and secondary education,” Joel Cohen for the December 2008 issue of es that may not be available in every society. as Cohen explains in the introduction. Mexico’s dia program, for example, integrates ; and on the Wide Angle series and the pbs website. The project has also pro- International Perspectives draws together ex- the teaching of knowledge, skills, attitudes, duced numerous “spinoff” publications, perts from many different regions, cultures, and values through the use of art in the class- such as a special issue of the Comparative professions, and religious backgrounds to room, as Claudia Madrazo, of La Vaca Inde- Education Review on health and education, present a compelling, uni½ed case for re- pendiente, highlights in her chapter. guest edited by David Bloom; articles in assessing the goals and overhauling the The volume takes up topics as varied as bilin- the journals World Development and World methods of education systems that were gual education, the coexistence of art and sci- Economics; and a book published by the Pon- designed and established at the height of ence in the curriculum, the importance of ti½cal Academy of Sciences. an industrial period and that no longer ½t critical thinking, global civility and peaceful

2 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 3

NEXT STEPS

The Academy is seeking additional funding to translate the signi½cant body of research developed from the ubase project into con- crete goals and strategies for implementation. Drawing on the Academy’s extensive inter- national network in the ½eld of educational development, we are looking to partner di- rectly with donors, local universities, and other institutions responsible for training educators and delivering education in spe- ci½c countries in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, to build indigenous capacity for assessing and improving educa- tional expansion efforts. The Academy will actively engage local representatives as we jointly consider what needs to be done to make educational improvement and expan- sion possible. Underlying this effort is the belief that a participatory approach that We are con½dent that these building blocks combines the expertise of local, national, provide the necessary background for future and international practitioners, scholars, investigation by academics and policy-mak- and policy-makers is vital to the reform of ers active in the ½eld of educational develop- educational systems. ment, and that they persuasively make the case for providing basic and secondary edu- Theubase project has cre- cation for children worldwide. It may be a big task, but it is one that can be met in the ated sound methodology for twenty-½rst century. studying global education and has outlined concrete recommendations for action toward achieving universal education.

The project received generous support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, John Reed, the Golden Family Foundation, Paul Zuckerman, the Zlinkoff Fund for Medi- cal Research and Education, an anonymous donor, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

The ubase project has created sound meth- odology for studying global education and has outlined concrete recommendations for action toward achieving universal education.

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 3 Summer09:Academy Bulletin 8/7/2009 11:10 AM Page 4

Academy Projects

Reconsidering the Rules of Space

The development of space affects a range The Academy’s project has facilitated discus- of government, commercial, and scienti½c sions between experts from the United States interests around the world, yet the policies and abroad on various aspects of space poli- that adequately balance these interests have cy–international security, scienti½c advance- not been worked out in the necessary detail. ment, and commercial development. Several The American Academy initiated the Recon- papers have been published dealing with, re- sidering the Rules of Space project in 2002 under spectively, the basic laws of that ap- the auspices of the Committee on Interna- ply to all space activity (The Physics of Space tional Security Studies. This project examines Security: A Reference Manual, by David Wright, the implications of U.S. policy in space, the Laura Grego, and Lisbeth Gronlund, 2005); international rules and principles needed to the fundamental issues of security policy (Re- maintain a balanced use of space over the considering the Rules for Space Security, by Nancy long term, and the politics of and potential Gallagher and John D. Steinbruner, 2008); for greater international cooperation in space. and the policies of the principal national gov- ernments (United States Space Policy: Challenges All nations increasingly rely on satellites for and Opportunities, by George Abbey and Neal communication services, environmental Lane, 2005, and Russian and Chinese Responses monitoring, navigation, weather prediction, to U.S. Military Plans in Space, by Pavel Podvig and scienti½c research. Technological advanc- and Hui Zhang, 2008). es have also inspired the development of mili- That goal is more legitimate and less bellig- tary capabilities in space that go far beyond This summer, the Academy published three erent than the motives typically attributed the traditional intelligence and early-warning new papers in the project series, with a fourth to China by foreign observers–the U.S. in- missions of the Cold War period. Protecting to be published in the fall. telligence community in particular. The au- and enhancing U.S. civilian and military ca- A Place for One’s Mat: China’s Space Program, thors do not claim to provide a comprehen- pability in space raises important policy, plan- 1956–2003, by Gregory Kulacki and Jeffrey G. sive account of China’s space program or an ning, and budget questions. Lewis, is the ½fth paper of the project series. indisputable interpretation of its fundamen- Using Chinese-language sources, Kulacki tal purposes. They do, however, provide evi- (Union of Concerned Scientists) and Lewis dence to be considered in any fair-minded (New America Foundation) examine three assessment of the program’s global signi½- formative events in the development of Chi- cance. na’s utilization of space: the launch of the A European Approach to Space Security, by Xavier ½rst satellite in 1970, the launch of the ½rst Pasco (Fondation pour la Recherche Straté- communications satellite in 1984, and the gique, Paris), is the sixth occasional paper ½rst human spaceflight in 2003. They trace of the series. It documents the efforts of eu the origins and basic purposes of each of members to develop common policies and these efforts and set them in the context of practical collaboration for space missions China’s internal history. Their central obser- related to security. It notes that the European vation is that China understood each of these community has not as yet been able to estab- efforts to be a measure of national accom- lish authoritative coordination of national plishment necessary to qualify for inclusion military programs and warns that balancing among the major spacefaring countries that those programs with increasingly important set the rules. Equity appears to have been the commercial and social interests is a generally principal concern of China’s political lead- unresolved problem. But it also suggests that ership. eu efforts to develop collective rules, con½- dence-building measures, and codes of re-

4 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 Summer09:Academy Bulletin 8/7/2009 11:10 AM Page 5

Space has proven to be an equately ½nanced. As a result, most of ’s new era of human spaceflight. The Obama activities are being redirected to those spe- administration has an opportunity to refor- arena for uplifting collabo- ci½c purposes, thereby jeopardizing the agen- mulate U.S. space policies that are anchored cy’s broader historical functions without as- in Cold War-era mindsets. The Future of Hu- ration among nations as well suring that the projected missions can in fact man Spaceflight rethinks the objectives for as ominous confrontation. be accomplished. The paper recommends a government-funded human spaceflight and signi½cant rebalancing of priorities to sup- addresses current policy questions in The end of the U.S.-Soviet port the International Space Station, to ex- of those objectives. The authors describe tend shuttle missions through 2015, and to the primary and secondary objectives of competition that de½ned the continue nasa’s traditional support for ba- human spaceflight and examine the human modern space age, as well as spaceflight programs of other countries, no- tably , China, India, the European an increase in the ranks of Space Agency, and Japan, with a focus on how each articulates its own human space- spacefaring nations and an flight program. For the United States, the authors recommend that the country devel- expansion ofcommercial op a broad and well-funded plan to utilize space ventures, dictates a the International Space Station through 2020 to support the primary objectives of explo- new approach that embraces ration; that nasa restore its support for fun- damental research in the new technologies the equitable utilization that will enable these explorations; and that of space by all nations for the United States reaf½rm its long-standing policy of international leadership in human common bene½t. spaceflight and remain committed to its ex- –John D. Steinbruner isting international partners. They also rec- Director of the Academy’s Reconsidering ommend that the United States begin to en- gage with China, India, and other aspiring the Rules of Space project and Professor of space powers on human spaceflight. Public Policy at the University of Maryland Copies of these publications are available sic science and aeronautical engineering. It on the Academy’s website at http://www updates the 2005 assessment of impediments .amacad.org/projects/space.aspx. sponsible conduct can make an important to a well-balanced space program, noting constructive contribution to working out that export-control policies, decline in the The Reconsidering the Rules of Space proj- global arrangements for space. science and engineering workforce, the state ect is supported by a generous grant from of mission planning, and the degree of inter- the Carnegie Corporation of . We United States Space Policy: Challenges and Oppor- national cooperation have all become more are grateful to Carl Kaysen and John Stein- tunities Gone Astray, by George Abbey (Rice serious problems. Overall it provides an ur- bruner, cochairs of the Committee on Inter- University) and Neal Lane (Rice University), gent appeal for a fundamental reformulation national Security Studies, for their dedica- is the seventh paper in this series, updating of U.S. space policy. tion to the project, and we would especially the 2005 publication by the same authors. like to thank John Steinbruner, who has It warns of serious misalignment of the pur- The Future of Human Spaceflight: Objectives and served as the principal leader and director poses, operating principles, and resources Policy Implications in a Global Context, by David of the project. of the U.S. space program. It notes that the A. Mindell, Scott A. Uebelhart, Asif Siddiqi, announced intention to send manned mis- and Slava Gerovitch, forthcoming this fall, sions to the moon and to Mars as virtually is the eighth paper in the project series. The exclusive national ventures has not been ad- United States stands at the threshold of a

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 5 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 6

Academy Publications

New Occasional Papers The Academy is pleased to announce the release of several new volumes in its Occasional Paper series.

Pennsylvania), Walter Sinnott-Armstrong ple more effectively for the kind of decision (Dartmouth College), Jed S. Rakoff (United making that is required to understand change, States District Court, Southern District of to advocate, and to vote with knowledge New York), and Henry T. Greely (Stanford about public policy. As the volume reveals, University). more work needs to be done in the schools, but determining what should be done and A collection on Media, Business, and the how to do it raises additional complex issues. Economy explores how well the media in- The publication is intended to encourage form the public about the economy and how further conversation about critical thinking that role can be improved. Economist Alan and its importance. The authors in the col- Blinder (Princeton University) investigates lection include Lee S. Shulman (Carnegie what already know about eco- Foundation for the Advancement of Teach- nomic policy, and how the media contribute ing and Stanford University), David N. Per- to that understanding. Financial journalist kins (Harvard Graduate School of Educa- Jeffrey Madrick (Schwartz Center for Eco- tion), Richard E. Nisbett (University of nomic Policy Analysis, The New School) de- Michigan), Jerome Kagan (Harvard Univer- scribes the evolution of business journalism sity), Eamonn Callan (Stanford University), over the past 30-plus years. Former newspa- and Tina Grotzer (Harvard Graduate School per editor Lou Ureneck (Boston University) of Education). surveys the formal training programs in the United States that specialize in the prepara- sing Imaging to Identify Deceit: Scien- Online versions of Using Imaging to Iden- U tion of newspeople for the ½nance and econ- ti½c and Ethical Questions examines the sci- tify Deceit and Education and a Civil So- omy beat. This study, which draws from an enti½c support for using functional magnet- ciety are available on the Academy’s web- earlier Academy project on Corporate Respon- ic resonance imaging (fmri) to recognize site at http://www.amacad.org/publications sibility in America, was launched during a per- deception. The essays, written by scholars /occasional.aspx. iod of relative prosperity and stability in the of neuroscience, law, and philosophy, con- world’s ½nancial markets. Today the global sider the legal and ethical concerns that economy is far less settled, making the need emerge when machine-based means are for sound economic information even more employed to identify deceit. The contribu- crucial. The volume provides a better under- tors express a dim view of lie detection based standing of the role of a changing media amid on fmri technology. As Emilio Bizzi (mit) a changing economy. The collection is avail- and Steven E. Hyman (Harvard University) able online at the Academy’s website (http:// state in the introduction, “Often in science www.amacad.org/projects/mediaBusiness when a new technique such as fmri appears, .aspx). the scientists who promote its use argue that, yes, problems exist but more research will Education and a Civil Society: Teaching in the end give us the magic bullet. Perhaps. Evidence-Based Decision Making explores In the case of lie detection through fmri, evidence-based thinking in K-16 education. however, the problems seem insurmount- It is part of an Academy project that hypothe- able.” The volume’s authors include Emilio sizes that citizens who value and know how Bizzi (mit), Steven E. Hyman (Harvard to use evidence will be better prepared to University), Marcus Raichle (Washington participate in the democratic process as in- University in St. Louis), formed thinkers. The project proposes that (mit), Elizabeth A. Phelps (New York Uni- the educational system of the United States versity), Stephen J. Morse (University of should consider how to prepare young peo-

6 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 Summer09:Academy Bulletin 8/7/2009 11:10 AM Page 7

Academy Fellowships

Early-Career Scholars in Residence Visiting Scholars Program

The Visiting Scholars Program is an inter- Dawn Coleman–Assistant Professor of Eng- Andrew Jewett–Assistant Professor of His- disciplinary research institute housed at the lish, University of Tennessee. Ph.D., Stanford tory and Social Studies, Harvard University. Academy in Cambridge. Chaired by Patricia University; M.T.S., Harvard Divinity School; Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley; B.A., Meyer Spacks and Leslie Berlowitz, the pro- B.A., University of California, Los Angeles. University of California, Berkeley. Against the gram enables untenured junior faculty and Field: Literature. Preaching and the Rise of the Technostructure: Critics of Scientism Since the New postdoctoral scholars in the humanities, so- American Novel. A project on the intersection Deal. An exploration of the political mean- cial sciences, and policy studies to carry out of Protestant preaching and literary culture ings attributed to science by mid-twentieth- their individual research as well as to collab- in the nineteenth century, considering a century critics of American liberalism. He orate with Academy Fellows on shared range of antebellum authors who sought to was a Visiting Scholar in 2002–2003. scholarly or policy-related interests. capture for novels the spiritual authority of the pulpit. Hellman Fellowship in Science Eight Visiting Scholars will be in residence and Technology Policy during the 2009–2010 academic year. Jason Petrulis–Ph.D., Columbia Univer- sity;A.B., Harvard University. Field: U.S. Part of the Academy’s Initiative for Science, 2009–2010 Visiting Scholars History. Marketing the American Way, 1932– Engineering, and Technology, the Hellman Daniel Amsterdam–Ph.D., University of 1950. An examination of how U.S. govern- Fellowship in Science and Technology Pol- Pennsylvania; B.A., . Field: ment policy intersected with corporate mar- icy is open to early-career professionals with History. The Roaring Metropolis: Business, Civic keting to mobilize Americans during World training in science and engineering who want Welfare, and State Expansion in 1920s America. War II and the early Cold War through “idea to transition to a career in public policy or A study recasting the 1920s as a moment of advertising,” a process that uses marketing to acquire experience working on science- aggressive governmental expansion that techniques to sell ideas about companies, policy issues. hinges primarily on the interrogation of ur- people, and even nations. 2009–2010 Hellman Fellows ban politics, corporate political activism, Jamie Pietruska–Ph.D., In- and the introduction of a new analytic frame- Kimberly J. Durniak–Ph.D., Molecular Bio- stitute of Technology; A.B., Brown University. work, the civic welfare state. physics and , Yale University; Propheteering: A Cultural His- Field: History. B.A. and B.S., University of Pittsburgh. As a Deborah Becher–Ph.D., Princeton Univer- tory of Prediction in the Gilded Age. An analysis member of the laboratory of Thomas A. Steitz sity; B.A., . Field: Soci- of changing practices and perceptions of pre- at Yale, Durniak studied the process by which ology. Valuing Property: Eminent Domain for Pri- diction in late nineteenth- and early twenti- rna is synthesized during gene expression. vate Redevelopment, , 1992–2007. eth-century America, including weather pre- She was also a McDougal Fellow in the Yale A study of Philadelphia’s recent use of emi- diction, agricultural forecasting, fortune tel- Graduate Career Services Of½ce and worked nent domain, revealing how dif½cult deci- ling and spiritualism, and utopian literature. as a liaison to the New York Academy of Sci- sions about economic management are ences to provide career workshops for fellow made, challenging existing notions of what Associate Scholars graduate students. She began her Hellman citizens expect from government, and ex- Crystal Feimster–Assistant Professor of fellowship in 2008. ploring the tensions between the public History, University of North Carolina at and private dimensions of property. Chapel Hill. Ph.D., Princeton University; John C. W. Randell–Ph.D., Virology, Har- vard University; B.S., University of Iowa. Angus Burgin–Ph.D., Harvard University; B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Field: Molecular . Randell has just A.B., Harvard University. Field: History. The Hill. Sexual Warfare: Rape and the American completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Return of Laissez-Faire. A transatlantic histo- Civil War. A study describing how sexual vio- laboratory of Stephen P. Bell at mit. His re- ry of free-market ideas and the institutions lence during the Civil War and the decades search focuses on the connection between that supported them, focusing on economists that followed went beyond the immediate dna replication and the division cycle. in the decades following the onset of the effects of the physical attack and had long- He has published papers in major journals who helped to create a lasting political and social consequences. and has taught at the Kathmandu University theoretical framework for the revival of con- She was a Visiting Scholar in 2003–2004. Medical School in Nepal. servatism in American politics.

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 7 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 8

Academy Meetings

Nanotechnology: Novel Applications

Robert Langer, Angela Belcher, and Evelyn L. Hu Phillip A. Sharp, Moderator

This presentation was given at the 1941st Stated Meeting, held at the House of the Academy on March 11, 2009. Image © Visuals Unlimited/Corbis Magnified image of carbon nanotubes

than organelles. And these materials usual- solve the problem with the tools they do ly are composites, comprising multiple com- have without understanding the process. ponents capable of directing the nanopar- Those tools are describing, measuring, ticle to certain sites, reporting on the envi- quantitating, modeling, and then gaining ronment of those sites, and–when appro- control of the complex system and chang- priately fabricated–changing the environ- ing it to their own ends. Their tools have ment; for example, by releasing a drug or been remarkably powerful, and with them modifying an electrical signal. To be useful they have created many of the bene½ts of in a variety of applications, nanoparticles modern society. Now comes a new tool, a must be made in quantity, with uniformity, new science, for creating the present and and at reasonable cost. Once made, how- the future: nanotechnology. ever, they can be applied to any number of problems in ½elds ranging from health care The ½rst of our guides through this new Phillip A. Sharp science will be Robert Langer, currently to electronics to computing. Already nano- mit technology has changed how we approach Institute Professor at but long associ- Phillip A. Sharp is Institute Professor at the Mass- ated with mit’s Department of Chemical achusetts Institute of Technology. He has been a many problems in fundamental and excit- ing ways. and Biomedical Engineering. Robert has Fellow of the American Academy since 1983. been doing pioneering work for decades at In my time at mit I have learned to love mit in the area of delivery systems and Introduction engineers. (You either love them or you tissue engineering. He has published more don’t stay there!) Engineers do not approach than a thousand articles and holds over six Tonight’s program on novel applications problems in the same way scientists do. hundred patents. For this outstanding rec- of nanotechnology features three outstand- The engineer’s primary approach to a prob- ord he has received numerous awards, in- ing engineers, some of the very people who lem–as I interpret engineering–is to solve cluding the U.S. National Medal of Science, created this ½eld in which material is fabri- the problem he or she faces. Sometimes the Prize, and the Mil- cated on a nanometer scale. Such materials engineers might need to understand the lennium Technology Prize. He is a member are smaller than the single proteins that are physics, chemistry, and/or biology behind of the Institute of Medicine, the National components of human cells, much smaller a problem, but if that’s too complex they Academy of Engineering, the National Acad-

8 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 9

emy of Science, and the American Academy would come along and eat it. So that’s no of Arts and Sciences. Just I discovered good. But we discovered a way to fool the that the latest issue of Nature includes a pro- macrophages. By using materials that the ½le titled “Being Bob Langer” that in three U.S. Food and Drug Administration (fda) pages follows his activities over one day.1 has already approved and by adding in some He has created an enormous amount of polyethylene glycol (peg)–which is use- technology that has bene½ all of us. ful because it gets surrounded by a lot of water on their surface–we created nano- Our second speaker is Angela Belcher, Ger- particles that look like water. When the mehausen Professor of Materials Science nanoparticles are cloaked in this way, the and Engineering and Biological Engineering mit macrophages don’t recognize them as for- at , where she also directs the Biomo- eign and thus don’t quickly eat them. lecular Materials Group. She has been at mit for six years. Her research is interdis- Robert Langer We tested this idea by injecting rats either ciplinary in nature, bringing together the with nanoparticles that were not coated in ½elds of inorganic chemistry, material chem- Robert Langer is Institute Professor at the Mass- peg or with nanoparticles coated in one istry, biochemistry, and molecular biology. achusetts Institute of Technology. He has been of several weight chains of peg. Then we In addition to receiving a MacArthur Fel- a Fellow of the American Academy since 1994. watched to see which nanoparticles the lowship Award, the Presidential Early Career macrophages ate. (Nanoparticles attacked Award in Science and Engineering, and the Presentation by the macrophages appear as an orange DuPont Young Investigator Award, Angela has been named a Top Ten Brilliant Scien- ano means “one billionth” and in the Having made nanoparticles tist by magazine (2002) and N word “nanotechnology” it refers to one Scienti½c American’s Researcher of the Year that could pass through the billionth of a meter, or about one ten-thou- (2006). sandth the width of a human hair. Nanopar- bloodstream undisturbed by Our ½nal speaker is Evelyn Hu, Gordon ticles have a number of important proper- McKay Professor of Applied Physics and ties: nanoparticles have much greater sur- the body’s own defenses, the Electrical Engineering at Harvard Univer- face area than larger particles such as mi- sity. She just made the transition to Harvard croparticles; you can give them novel sur- next challenge was to get from the University of California, Santa face patterns; and they are small enough them to target speci½c cells. Barbara. She has worked on nanodevices not to clog the bloodstream. Particles less than 200 nanometers wide have the poten- made from solid semiconductors in novel dye.) The nanoparticles without peg were tial to get into cells, at which point all sorts devices by integrating various materials, devoured by the macrophages. The nano- of potential uses open up; for example, nov- both organic and inorganic. She and Angie particles with peg fared much better, most- el treatments for and other diseases. Belcher have combined efforts in a new ly escaping detection or, in the case of par- biotech start-up in Boston. Evelyn is a mem- A lot of recent pharmaceutical research has ticles with 5,000 molecular weight, triple- ber of the ieee, the American Physical So- been guided by the metaphor of the magic chain peg, completely escaping detection. ciety, and the American Association for the bullet–the idea that you can target drugs Thus, we showed that by making nanopar- Advancement of Science. She was elected to speci½c cells. The drawback to this ap- ticles with peg on them, we could greatly to the National Academy of Engineering proach is that it uses a single molecule. If, frustrate the macrophages’ ability to detect and to the National Academy of Sciences. instead, you could put a thousand to a hun- and eat them. (See Figure 1.) dred thousand molecules in a nanoparticle Having made nanoparticles that could pass and deliver that nanoparticle to a target, you through the bloodstream undisturbed by would (to use a hockey metaphor) be able the body’s own defenses, the next challenge to take a lot more shots on goal, potentially was to get them to target speci½c cells. Sev- more of which would make it into the net. eral types of targeting molecules are known; What challenges need to be overcome in for example, antibodies and aptamers, order to make a nanoparticle that targets a which are pieces of rna. Omid Farokhzad, particular cell, say a tumor cell? First you now a professor at Harvard Medical School, had the idea when he worked with me to 1 need to trick the body’s own defenses. If you “Pro½le: Being Bob Langer,” Nature 458 (7234) put targeting molecules on the peg parti- (March 5, 2009): 22–24. simply injected a regular nanoparticle into the bloodstream, cells called macrophages cles. Implementing this idea involved its

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 9 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 10

Academy Meetings

own set of challenges: too much peg and you don’t get targeting; too much targeting molecule and you lose peg’s protective effect against the macrophages. Get the concentration just right, however, and you can both target the cell you want, say a can- cer cell, and avoid the macrophages. (See Figure 2.) In an early animal experiment, Omid used a targeting molecule aimed against prostate cancer cells. We created a targeted nano- particle to deliver the cancer drug Taxotere (Docetaxel) and tested it against a control nanoparticle (nontargeted) and against Taxotere by itself. With the control nano- particle, the tumors grew. With Taxotere by itself, the tumors grew. But with target- ed nanoparticles delivering Taxotere, the tumors shrunk. The tumors in the control Figure 1 and Taxotere groups got big and were high- ly vascularized. (See Figure 3.) This was an early experiment, but we are hopeful that with further work we can apply the princi- ple to human beings. Our goal is to start clinical trials within the next year or two. We proposed the idea of using the magnetic nano- particles, in conjunction with MRI, to monitor Figure 2 how someone is doing. Another use for nanoparticles was devel- oped in collaboration with Ralph Weissleder at Massachusetts General Hospital and Cima at mit. Ralph developed nanoparticles with a metal core for use as an imaging agent. We could also add a bind- ing moiety speci½c for, say, glucose or a cer- tain type of cancer molecule, like human chorionic gonadotropin (hcg), or whatev- er else we want. If we use a binding moiety and an analyte to which the moiety binds speci½cally (like the moiety, the analyte can be whatever we want), the nanoparticles will aggregate rather than remain separate, thus changing the mri signal. Michael Cima and I had previously created a series of microchips that can be used for drug delivery. We then proposed the idea Figure 3 of using the magnetic nanoparticles, in con- junction with mri, to monitor how some-

10 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 11

ing at things in nature that build on nanotechnology. Our investigation eventually led us to the gecko, which has tiny nanoprotrusions on its feet. mit The nanoprotrusions create so much surface area that the gecko can adhere to surfaces. Jeff andIworkedoutawayto nanopattern structures and make a gecko-like system.

We also designed a special Photo: Donna Coveney, polymer called polyglycerol Figure 4 sebacic acid that is rubbery Angela Belcher and sticky to begin with but when combined with the nanopattern Angela Belcher is Germehausen Professor of one is doing. The microchips are about the system and used in wounds has a strength Materials Science and Engineering and Biolog- size of a grain of rice, small enough that we much higher than normal. ical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute can inject them. To modify them for use of Technology. with mri, we add different sets of mri A fourth use of nanoparticles involves a beads to the various wells on the chip. (See ½eld called tissue engineering. With tissue Presentation Figure 4.) Each well can then be used to engineering, by putting one type of cell in determine what the mri signals are. For the right polymer–growing it the right Bob did a wonderful job talking about example, one could be for glucose, one for way–we can make different types of tis- manipulating the physical properties of the cancer marker hcg, and one for some- sue. An exciting example of this type of materials–for example, polymers and mag- thing else. By creating something speci½c work is the research Yale professor Erin netic materials–in order to probe impor- for the different signals in the body, we can Lavik began when she was a graduate stu- tant biological problems such as cancer and monitor how someone is progressing. For dent at mit. Working with Evan Snyder paralysis. I’m going to come at the topic example, a chip could be used to monitor and Ted Tang, two neuronal ex- for the presence of hcg. If no tumor is pres- perts, Erin nanopatterned the outer surface of a polymer. In the inner part she then Can the strategies that life Another use of nanoparticles put stem cells. The result was an arti½cial tissue, a patterned polymer scaffold with has evolved over millions of is in medical devices. neuronal stem cells. The outer part of the years be applied to nonbio- mri tissue has ½ne, intricate structures that we ent, we get one signal on the ; if a tu- hoped would help with axonal guidance. logical systems? mor is present, we get a different signal. To test the tissue, we made rats paraplegic These signals can be followed and quanti- by removing a part of their spinal cord. We from a different angle and talk about how tated over time. Researchers are even work- then put in a section of the arti½cial tissue. mri biology can make use of materials to address ing on wearable s that would allow for After a hundred days the control rats showed problems more commonly associated with continuous monitoring. We hope that be- little sign of improvement. They dragged electronics, energy, and the environment. fore long we will have a system that can their limbs, and their paws splayed awk- My research with biomolecular materials detect all kinds of signals in the body, tell wardly. Rats treated with the arti½cial tis- involves harnessing the lessons of biology you how you are doing, and maybe even sue faired signi½cantly better. For example, and millions of years of evolution in order deliver the drugs you need to get better. the mean of the treated group was able to to develop new biotechnologies, using both bear its own weight, and its paws splayed A third use of nanoparticles is in medical existing and newly developed materials, in a more normal manner. The rats weren’t devices. In many situations doctors can use chemistries, and technologies. The whole “cured”–their movements were still quite sutures, sealants, and other materials to world is my toolbox: biology, chemistry, clumsy–but the progress made by the ones close wounds. In some situations, however, materials science. As an engineer, I want in the treatment group was encouraging such as in a gastric bypass surgery, closing to make something work; so I’ll use chem- enough that we have moved on to wounds can be dif½cult with the usual mate- istry, I’ll use biology, I’ll use engineering to trials. We still have a long way to go before rials. So, Jeff Karp–formerly a postdoc in get the particular kind of device properties we’ll see human applications of this tech- my lab; now a professor at Harvard Medical I’d like to have. School–and I began to wonder whether we nology, but we are hopeful that it and other could ½nd better ways of adhesion by look- applications of nanotechnology will some- day prove useful in the medical area.

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 11 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 12

Academy Meetings

I am interested in whether tiful glass structure. What’s more, the aba- creased silicon in the ocean. Organisms had lone and the diatom make their shells at a new toolbox with which to start building. we can give genetic informa- room using nontoxic materi- Life seized the opportunity and started mak- als! I am interested in whether we can give ing hard materials. tion to a solar cell or to a genetic information to a solar cell or to a battery so that it can grow itself, assemble Life did a great job; it produced the coccol- battery so that it can grow in an environmentally friendly way with- ithophorid, a unicellular algae made out of itself, assemble in an envi- out using toxic materials, and become bet- calcium carbonate; it took calcium carbon- ter, more ef½cient, over time. ate and produced the abalone shell; it even- tually made people and all kinds of other ronmentally friendly way My favorite biomaterial is my son. Anyone organisms. But what if it had had more without using toxic materi- who has had a three-year-old knows that opportunities? Could it have made differ- they are highly complex organisms, ½end- ent kinds of structures and different kinds als, and become better, ishly dif½cult to train. So when we think of materials? And what can we human be- about how to train an organism to start ings do with the biological tool kit to which more ef½cient, over time. working with a completely new toolbox, we have access? Can we use dna to make we think about much simpler organisms devices and materials? such as benign viruses and bacteria. Can Much of the molecular machinery that bi- By looking at the abalone shell with a scan- we retrain a virus, a bacterium, or yeast to ology uses is nanoscale in size: ribosomes, ning electron micrograph, we can see that dna make a battery instead of a protein coat? proteins, , chloroplasts. All of these it’s actually made up of little tiles, little tab- Can we train it to make a solar cell or a fuel biological molecules are more or less on lets stacked on top of one another and lat- cell? Can we train it to capture and store the same scale as current electronics. So erally offset. This stacking, this nanoscale carbon dioxide? when thinking about how I might go about brick wall-like structure is what makes the making new electronics and nanoscale de- The answer is yes. In my lab, we have done vices, I wonder what I can learn from biol- all of these things. The real challenge, how- ogy, what new ways of making interesting The real challenge, however, ever, is to create nanomaterials that self- electronic materials I can tease from mil- assemble; that self-correct (like human lions of years of evolution. Through evolu- is to create nanomaterials beings, who are, for the most part, self-cor- tion, biology has “learned” to compart- recting systems); that are self-healing; that that self-assemble; that self- mentalize, to put things exactly where they can grow and recycle their own templates; need to go to have optimal performance. that can grow to an exact size and stop (in correct; that are self-healing; Life is also self-assembling. Wouldn’t it be nanomaterials and much modern electron- great if your cell phone could self-assemble? that can grow and recycle ics, exact size is really, really important). If it had a “genetic code” that would allow Basically, what I and other scientists and it to repair itself whenever you broke it? In their own templates; and engineers involved in this type of research short, can the strategies that life has evolved would like to be able to do is to genetically that can grow to an exact over millions of years be applied to nonbi- control the properties of any kind of device ological systems? that we might want to grow. That is why I size and stop. The abalone shell is an amazing example of am so interested in what can be learned from how life evolved to work with nanomateri- millions of years of evolution. Can I take abalone shell so tough and strong. The als. The shell is 98 percent by mass calcium simple eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells and amazing thing about the abalone shell’s carbonate and 2 percent protein; it’s basi- have them work with a different tool kit? nanostructure is that it’s all controlled by cally chalk. But it’s 3,000 tougher than dna. Life ½gured out how to control the Life existed on Earth for billions of years chalk, which you can easily break with your production of these materials–everything before we had hard materials, before aba- hands. You can’t break an abalone shell with from the abalone’s calcium carbonate shell lone evolved. Organisms with hard struc- your bare hands. How the abalone evolved to the diatom’s glass “skin” to the nanoscale tures such as shells and bones and nanopar- to create such a hard material is interesting, magnetite magnets made by some ocean ticles of magnetite and iron oxide are not but even more interesting is that when a bacteria to spider silk–all controlled at the found in the fossil record until about 500 male and a female abalone get together they genetic level and made in nontoxic ways. million years ago. Yet long before this, life make millions of offspring to whom they dna provides the blueprint for building was doing replication and photosynthesis. pass the genetic code that explains how to proteins with different chemical function- Why was making hard materials so dif½cult make this exquisite nanomaterial. The same alities that when linked together in the right in the Precambrian era? The answer is lack is true of diatoms. Whenever they repro- sequence can grab atoms out of the ocean of opportunity. During the Cambrian geo- duce, they pass along the genetic code that and build calcium carbonate or silica or iron logical time period life had access to in- allows every diatom to make its own beau- oxide. Looking again at the abalone shell, creased iron, increased calcium, and in-

12 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 13

we see that between the tablets are protein pieces that help give the shell its nanostruc- tured regularity. (See Figure 1.) In thinking about growing electronic mate- rials, I look to nature for inspiration, start- ing with those proteins that, because of their different chemical functionalities, can grab ions out of solution. In the case of the aba- lone, the proteins grab calcium, then car- bonate, then calcium, then carbonate, and in that way begin to build the brick struc- ture that we eventually see as the abalone shell. Nature mostly uses calcium, barium, iron, silicon, and phosphorous. But what if biology used materials from different parts of the periodic table, say those elements Figure 1 used in semiconductors and solar cells, la- sers and electronics, batteries and cataly- sis? With different building materials, what new kinds of structures would emerge? Much of my work involves thinking about the living/nonliving interface. How can I take something produced through evolution, such as an antibody binding to an antigen, and put it together with something human made, such as a microprocessor? Such com- binations are called evolved hybrid materi- als. By giving genetic information to non- living structures, we make them better than they are without that genetic component. To do this, we use simple viruses called bac- teriophages (literally, “bacteria eaters”), viruses that infect a bacterial host. They Figure 2 are beautiful structures about one micro- meter by six nanometers in size, and they have single-stranded dna that is easy to manipulate. (So easy, in fact, that this work is not con½ned to highly trained postdocs and graduate students. In my lab, every time we invent something new–we’ve had sev- eral new biological batteries this year, bio- logical solar cells, biological displays, and so on–we transition it to the undergradu- ate teaching lab within a year. The chem- istry and materials processing are easy for our sophomores and juniors to pick up. We even have high school students working on this in the lab.) Using traditional molecular biology techniques, we make small changes in the bacteriophage dna, perhaps adding extra dna that will then add an extra pro- tein to the tip of the virus. If we do this a Y.J. Lee, A.M. Belcher et al., Science 324 (5930) (2009): 1051–1055. billion times, we add a billion possibilities to the virus, and by adding a billion possi- Figure 3

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 13 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 14

Academy Meetings

bilities we are able to perform a billion ex- thing that’s been known since the nine- periments simultaneously. This is useful teenth century. Only a small part of this when you consider that nature needed about spectrum is visible. Beyond the visible range 50 million years before it got good at mak- are radio waves, microwaves, infrared, ul- ing hard materials. Fifty million years just traviolet, x-rays, gamma rays–portions of won’t cut it in today’s academic environ- the spectrum that most people tend to think ment where I’m expected to show signi½cant of as being involved in communications, progress every few months. (See Figure 2.) the transmission of energy, or in sensing parts of the world around us that are not The reason we need to try so many possi- usually accessible to the naked eye. bilities is because we just don’t know what the sequence for growing a battery or a so- What is special about the nanoscale? How lar cell looks like. But through a combina- is nanotechnology applied to ? torial, trial-and-error approach, we can in Evelyn L. Hu The electromagnetic spectrum is something about three weeks train a virus to grow we’ve lived with for a long time. How can about ½fty different kinds of materials in Evelyn L. Hu is Gordon McKay Professor of we hope to change what is a given of nature? my lab. We can have them ½gure out the Applied Physics and Electrical Engineering at At the nanometer scale, between 10-8 and protein sequence that allows you to grow Harvard University. -10 the inorganic sequence that can self-assem- 10 meters, the region between mole- ble into a battery. cules and atoms, we have new opportuni- Presentation ties. We have the ability to make ef½cient, One of the most exciting branches of my compact, new light sources that have nano- work on growing batteries has involved car- The idea of combining novel materials by meter scales and functions in environments bon nanotubes. Working with Professors using nanoscale building blocks is relative- that are also measured in nanometers. We Gerd Ceder and Michael Strano at mit, we ly easy to grasp, and one can easily imagine can design optical materials that have any engineered a virus to ½rst grow a benign the uses of nanotechnology in medicine or kind of performance we want–designer material, amorphous iron phosphate, at in creating energy-ef½cient devices. But materials not found in nature; for example, room temperature, on the coat of the virus; what applications does nanotechnology energy-ef½cient materials that can take in second, to pick up a carbon nanotube; and have in photonics? What, for that , the full energy of the solar spectrum, store third, to self-assemble into a battery elec- is photonics? that energy, and then ef½ciently convert it trode. The resulting battery weighs about into electrical signals; or an optical materi- 1.5 milligrams and can power a green led. At the nanometer scale, the al that is transparent at a certain frequency What’s exciting about this is that, except (i.e., it will let certain frequencies of light for the carbon nanotubes, everything is region between molecules go through, blocking all others). made at room temperature and no toxic materials are used in or created by the pro- and atoms, we have new By the very fact that we can see light, we cess. To get to this point took about a year. opportunities. We can design know that photons are active. They travel Even more amazing, though, is that from back and forth. They come into our eyes. this point we needed only about six months optical materials that have They’re full of energy. They have unique to train our organisms through selection frequencies, which are related to their ener- and genetic engineering to make a high- any kind of performance we gy. Atoms also have energy, and part of powered lithium ion battery that is as good their energy is given out in a signal that we want–designer materials can view as light or x-rays, gamma rays or as state-of-the-art, traditionally produced uv batteries. (See Figure 3.) signals. If we could design switches not found in nature. that would uniquely tune a particular atom By using biology to control nanostructure, or particular quantum dot–a particular we are opening up new vistas of opportuni- The root of the word photonics is photon. A beacon–to the exact frequency we want- ty for creating devices and structures that photon is a unit of light. So, photonics has ed, if we could even change the frequency will improve the quality of life in areas as to do with light, which comes in different of the atom’s or quantum dot’s vibration, far apart as battery technology, cancer de- colors and energies. By “colors” I mean more we could make uniquely tuned photonic tection and treatment, and environmental than just the colors in the visible range, switches and antennas. Such switches and remediation. which is the vast array of colors that gives antennas would take the information–the us a sense of our external world and helps energy that is unique to that beacon–out us to identify and label what’s around us of the ether and focus it onto that beacon. that we ½nd aesthetically gratifying. The With the ability to make these uniquely de½nition I’m using, however, encompass- tuned switches and antennas, we would es the full electromagnetic spectrum, some- also have the unparalleled capability to

14 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 Summer09:Academy Bulletin 8/7/2009 11:10 AM Page 15

make ultra-ef½cient sources of light: ultra- low-threshold lasers, light-emitting diodes, and other photonic sources. These individual building blocks could then be combined to make photonic systems– photonic integrated circuits analogous to the electronic integrated circuits that power a PowerPoint presentation on a laptop com- puter and through an lcd projector. The photonic systems would provide informa- tion rapidly and with high output; yet they would be much more energy ef½cient be- cause, unlike today’s electronic integrated Figure 1 circuits, they would dissipate far less ener- gy in delivering information.

bility, an amazing way to go beyond what tion is on the order of the photon’s own That intrinsically different Mother Nature has given us and design our wavelength. By going faster, slower, faster, properties emerge as size own optical materials. slower through a periodic medium, the photon “learns” that it is going through changes on the nanoscale is A given photon will have a certain wave- something, going faster and slower. One of length, perhaps 100 nanometers or 10 nano- the things that happens is that the photon part of the mystery or the meters or 300 nanometers. What happens may encounter–by going faster, slower, when we change the landscape through faster, slower–a region where this faster, wonder of nanotechnology; which one of these photons passes? Spe- slower, faster, slower ultimately, because of it’s also an incredible capa- ci½cally, what happens when we change the all the variation in the landscape, con½nes landscape in a periodic way so that it is no the photon to a unique location in space. bility, an amazing way to go longer smooth and homogenous but is pat- Once the photon has been con½ned in a terned at intervals roughly the same as the very, very small volume, a powerful elec- beyond what Mother Nature photon’s wavelength? I experimented with tromagnetic ½eld is generated. The electro- this idea by punching 100-nanometer holes magnetic ½eld has a unique identi½cation, has given us and design our in semiconductors made of gallium arsen- a unique frequency that pertains to the en- own optical materials. ide (a material that can also be used to cre- gineered structure in which the photon has ate infrared light sources). The holes were been con½ned. Because these kinds of struc- set 300 nanometers apart. I then sent a pho- tures are capable of con½ning photons for Most of the nature-given materials we have ton with a 300-nanometer wavelength very long times without loss, we have, in to work with come in a certain color, be it through the material. The result was incred- effect, created a way of storing photons. red, blue, and so on, and display certain ible: the photon was con½ned within the properties such as fluorescence or absorb- landscape I had engineered. (See Figure 1.) Now suppose we were to take this power- ency. We’ve found, however, that we can ful electromagnetic ½eld that is con½ned to de½ne optical emission if we take, say, a To understand why, we need to recall that a tiny volume of space and we were to put single-crystal cadmium-selenium semi- light does not always keep the same veloci- in the same location a quantum dot, a bea- conductor with a regular, checkerboard- ty. The velocity of light in a vacuum is con- con capable of giving out light. Suppose we like array of atoms and carve little beacons stant and is famously represented by c. But then turned on a powerful switch designed (quantum dots) out of that semiconductor. when light enters a material like glass or a to resonate with that particular quantum The color, the absorption of the beacon, semiconductor, it doesn’t always keep that dot. The result would be an exquisitely changes according to size. Certainly the same velocity. The velocity of light in galli- sensitive ½lter with applications ranging material , but just as important is um arsenide is slower than that in air or in from selective transmission of information, whether we make the beacons ½ve nanome- a vacuum–slower by a factor of 3.4. (The controlled generation of single photons, ters in diameter, six nanometers in diame- factor by which light is slowed in a given to ultra-low-threshold lasers. ter, or eight nanometers in diameter (and medium is often called the index of refrac- so on). That intrinsically different proper- tion.) Imagine a photon traveling through Currently, the ½lters found in most people’s ties emerge as size changes on the nanoscale the gallium-arsenide structure I created. As radios allow for tuning to one or a few dec- is part of the mystery or the wonder of nano- the photon passes through this landscape, imal places. For example, we might tune technology; it’s also an incredible capa- it “sees” a periodic variation where it goes to a station broadcasting at a frequency of faster, slower, faster, slower. The modula- 102.3 MHz. But imagine being able to tune

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 15 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 16

Academy Meetings

The most exciting opportu- nities will come as we com- bine nanostructure building blocks. For example, by com- bining the full spectrum of colored quantum dots, we might create a new material that captures the full spec- trum of the with high ef½ciency.

to 102.3444444556 MHz and getting a unique signal. Then tuning to 102.34445629 MHz and getting another unique signal. That’s the Figure 2 level of sensitivity we can achieve with our nanoscale ½lters, antennae, and switches. This level of sensitivity also allows for the creation of ultra-low-threshold lasers. Be- cause we uniquely match the energy that we give to an optical component with the characteristics of that component, no ener- gy is lost. Lasers that are made in this way have a threshold of about 100 nanowatts, a billionth of a watt: the lasers we use for laser pointers generally require milliwatts or more of input energy to turn them on. (See Figure 2.) The most exciting opportunities will come as we combine nanostructure building blocks. For example, by combining the full spectrum of colored quantum dots, we might create a new material that captures Figure 3 the full spectrum of the sun with high ef- ½ciency. This new material could then be used to design ultra-ef½cient solar cells or with almost no energy loss. My colleague wings are given by a photonic crystal nano- designer coatings that reflect, absorb, or Dan Blumenthal suggests that we already structure that modulates light on the scale generate energy at a desired wavelength. possess the necessary building blocks to do of a wavelength. What is remarkable about Looking far into the future, we can see with photons what we can now do with this butterfly is the fact that two species– computers that process information with electrons. (See Figure 3.) Polyommatus daphnis and Polyommatus mar- photons rather than electrons. Modern cidus–have adapted to have different col- Despite all we have learned about engineer- computer microprocessors such as ’s ors (predominantly blue and predominant- ing nanostructures from the inorganic side, Pentium 4 might make information pro- ly brown), which tells us that these nano- we still have far to go before we begin to cessing fast and inexpensive and may be structures can somehow be naturally gen- emulate the engineering prowess of Mother marvels of compact design, but as they erated. How we might begin to emulate na- Nature, which has had plenty of time to or- switch, store, and guide electrons they ture’s own engineering prowess is a story chestrate her own nanophotonics. Consider dissipate tremendous amounts of energy. for another day, however. the Polyommatus butterfly. The colors of its Photonic microprocessors would operate

16 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 17

Question: The prospects and the possibili- By using biology to control Evelyn Hu: Long before the launch of the ties of nanotechnology are fantastic, but National Nanotechnology Initiative, work we also all know that new technologies al- nanostructure, we are open- was being done on colloidal chemistry, on ways have a reverse side. I’m curious about metallic nanoparticles, on aerosol particles. your views on this and what measures you ing up new vistas of oppor- What brought together the various research would take or would like to see taken to of materials scientists, chemists, applied prevent the misuse of nanotechnology– tunity for creating devices , and so on was the realization either unintentionally in the case of mate- and structures that will im- that they all shared an intrinsic interest in rials that turn out to have toxic effects or the properties of materials and how they intentionally in the case of materials de- prove the quality of life in scale. Many people say that all of a sudden signed to be misused. they discovered they had been doing nano- areas as far apart as battery technology for most of their career, and so Robert Langer: On safety: anything can they just renamed themselves. I don’t think be toxic, but I don’t know that just because technology, cancer detection it was quite as super½cial as that. I think something is nano it is necessarily worse. and treatment, and environ- that people in different ½elds were made The fda has already approved nanoparti- aware of the commonalities–the challeng- cles that have been used for years on pa- mental remediation. es, the instrumentation, the possibilities tients, including children, without any problems. So, being small doesn’t neces- Angela Belcher: I agree with everything Despite all we have learned sarily equate to being toxic, which is some- Bob said. I ½nd it notable that the agencies about engineering nano- times the impression one gets when read- funding nanotechnology research are also ing about nanoparticles in newspapers. I funding centers to study its environmental structures from the inor- ½nd it curious that although things exist impact. Traditionally, organizations and that are smaller than nanoparticles (e.g., individual scientists have not done that. ganic side, we still have far smaller molecules) and things exist that They’ve just gone ahead and started mak- are bigger than nanoparticles (e.g., micro- ing materials, doing the science and then to go before we begin to particles), neither gets the same kind of twenty years on looking back to see whether emulate the engineering bad publicity. anything bad happened. The fact that to- day’s research is being conducted with an prowess of Mother Nature, Being small doesn’t neces- awareness of its environmental impact is a positive change. Even more signi½cant is which has had plenty of sarily equate to being toxic, the fact that because research with nano- materials occurs at a much smaller scale time to orchestrate her own which is sometimes the im- than does traditional materials research, nanophotonics. it generates a lot less waste. Thus, even if pression one gets when read- someone is working with toxic materials of putting materials together. Eventually –and some of the materials used in biolog- ing about nanoparticles in colloidal quantum dots, semiconductors, ical imaging and in solar cells are quite tox- and metal nanoparticles came into the ic–a smaller overall amount of those mate- newspapers. hands of people who were interested in rials is being used, which should have a de½- biofunctionalizing those materials, who nite positive impact on the environment. On misuse: I always like to hope and be an realized they had their hands on materials optimist that people will use things in a that could be slipped through a cell mem- good way and that society will develop Question: What was the discovery that brane and used to do diagnostics or thera- rules and laws so that new technologies are permitted nanoparticles? Was it material py. That’s when nanotechnology came in- not misused. But I have no special exper- or theoretical? And, despite the extraor- to its own and became much more than tise in that area. Other people may have dinary and awesome progress in nano- the various separate types of materials better ideas. research, what is blocking the next advanc- research being conducted in any number es? Is it material, or is it theoretical? of discrete scienti½c ½elds.

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 17 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 18

Academy Meetings

Looking far into the future, magnetic or fluorescent material and put it on a cell that we’re interested in while at we can see computers that the same time delivering a therapeutic agent to that cell. Nanostructures can be process information with combined in a lot of different ways. For example, we can grow them together or photons rather than electrons. coat one on top of the other. One of the problems that can arise, however, when I think the next major challenges to be over- we try to put two very different materials come in nanoresearch will involve creating together is that chemically or physically the big systems and realizing the potential or geometrically they don’t match. Some- of nanostructures. Angie and Bob talked times working with biological materials about systems. Angie talked about putting makes this less of a problem. For example, everything–all these smart, intelligent we might be working with a protein that components–into a beaker and coming will bind a semiconductor and a magnetic out with a battery or some other full sys- material in close proximity, but we don’t tem. The big future challenges will be get- need to worry about them matching be- ting the various components to articulate cause the protein provides a nice, soft bio- with one another, working out the second- logical template. ary interactions, and making something that is robust and durable. In short, it’s a challenge of complexity. © 2009 by Phillip A. Sharp, Robert Langer, Angela Belcher, and Evelyn L. Hu, respec- Question: Will you eventually develop a tively variety of nanoparticles that receive differ- ent signals? You might want a diagnostic system, for example, capable of bringing together a number of signals through a whole set of nanoparticles. How do you combine those nanoparticles so that they interact with one another? Can the effects of many nanoparticles be combined in an orderly sequence? Similar to antibodies, could you line them up, say, on dna?

Angela Belcher: Much research has fo- cused on how to put different nanostruc- tures together, how to combine different optical, magnetic, and electrical properties in order to create something that is better than the individual components. A lot of beautiful work has been done decorating dna at different base pairs by bringing in a semiconductor or a magnetic material, by mineralizing wires, or by using dna speci½city. Such research has been an ac- tive part of bionanotechnology for at least ½fteen years. In my lab we create diagnos- tic nanodevices that, for example, use an antibody or a designer protein to grab a

18 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 19

In Memoriam

Remembering Daniel Charles Tosteson, M.D. by Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D.

Daniel C. Tosteson, M.D., Dean of Har- His visionary understanding of the direction vard Medical School from 1977 to 1997 and of medicine and its science led to advances Caroline Shields Walker Distinguished Pro- scholarly, therapeutic, and practical. Dean fessor of Cell Biology, manifested a breadth Tosteson’s establishment of the Departments of interest, depth of ability, and impressive of Genetics, Cell Biology, and Biological achievement within his profession and be- Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology yond. Elected a Fellow of the American reflected prescient insight into the directions Academy in 1979, he served as President of biomedical scholarship with its unfolding from 1997 to 2000 and oversaw a strategic discoveries in molecular biology and molec- planning initiative that has reaf½rmed the ular genetics. The Biological and Biomedical mission and long-term goals of the Academy Sciences program emerged out of his appre- and serves as a blueprint for the Academy’s ciation that the future of research lay not only research initiatives. in interdisciplinary understanding and col- laboration among a wider range of basic sci- His 1985 restructuring of medical education entists, but also through greater interaction at Harvard Medical School, labeled the “New between clinicians and basic scientists, con- Pathway,” introduced a shift from students’ necting the bedside with the laboratory

Photo by John Earle reliance on texts and lectures taken whole bench. to an approach that began with descriptions Daniel Charles Tosteson, M.D. of patients and their illnesses and led to stu- He established the Department of Health dents’ active pursuit of the questions to ask Care Policy and the Department of Social February 5, 1925–May 27, 2009 and the answers to seek–ways of develop- Medicine (now Global Health and Social ing critical thinking about disease and its Medicine), grew the Medical School’s en- underlying mechanisms. His embellishment dowment nearly tenfold, added several new of this problem-based technique, buildings and fashioned increased space earlier forecast elsewhere, has spread across within the existing buildings, expanded the globe. continuing education for practicing physi- cians, and created a publishing venture that Dr. Tosteson’s most recent innovation in offers reliable articles on health to the lay teaching, only several years old, is the “Men- public. Appropriately, the new building tored Clinical Casebook” project, whereby designed speci½cally for teaching has been students throughout their ½rst year follow named the Tosteson Medical Education a patient, gaining an understanding of the Center. pathology involved, but more importantly, with the help of mentors developing insight Concerned that growing business pressures into the impact of that pathology on the pa- on Harvard-af½liated hospitals were threat- tient’s physiological, emotional, social, and ening their capacities for student teaching economic situations. The student learns the and resident training, in 1996 Dr. Tosteson distinction between disease–disembodied formed the Institute for Education and Re- as described in a textbook–and illness–that search, a joint program of the Medical complex of the many and various interact- School with Beth Hospital and Mount ing phenomena that impact on the individ- Auburn Hospital, that over succeeding years ual patient. has made signi½cant advances in the nature

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 19 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 20

In Memoriam

and quality of teaching and learning at the poetry, the nature–it was all encapsulated Medical School and its af½liated hospitals, whenhewasat thehelmof a ship. Thatis and strengthened appreciation on the part when my dad the full man came out. My en- of hospital trustees and administrators that during image of my father forever will be quality education within the teaching hos- of him singing a capella sea shanties as we pital is a legitimate and necessary cost of sailed along the coast of Maine.” His death doing business. at 84 years of age followed a lengthy illness against which he refused to buckle. He leaves A native of Milwaukee, Dr. Tosteson was his wife, Magdalena, daughters Heather, educated at Harvard College and Harvard Ingrid, Zoe, and Carrie Marais, sons Joshua Medical School. Following a residency at and Tor, and a brother, Thomas. Presbyterian Hospital in and fellowships at Brookhaven National Labora- Dan Tosteson’s luster as physician, research tory, the National Institutes of Health, and scholar, teacher, dean, humanist, intellectual, Cambridge University, he joined the faculty and solidly good human being will remain at Washington University School of Medicine bright for many decades to come. in St. Louis and subsequently became the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor and Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D., is Professor of Medicine Chair of the Department of Physiology and at Harvard Medical School, CEO Emeritus of Beth Pharmacology at School of Israel Hospital and CareGroup, and a Fellow of Medicine. He later became Dean of the Pritz- the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. ker School of Medicine at the University of and Lowell T. Coggeshall Professor of Medicine before he returned to Harvard Medical School in 1977.

During his years as Dean at Harvard, Dr. Tosteson continued his research scholar- ship, heading a laboratory studying mem- brane phenomena and authoring scienti½c publications as late as 2003, many reporting on work done with colleagues, including his wife, Magdalena Tieffenberg Tosteson, Ph.D., an independent investigator in Harvard’s Department of Cell Biology.

Dr. Tosteson savored his retreat in East Boothbay, where a modest sailboat was one key to relaxation and refreshment. Another was poetry, symbolized by the portrait of Robert Frost in his of½ce. His son Joshua commented, “He was an avid sailor, and that’s where it all connected for him. All the dimensions of life–the science, the

20 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 Summer09:Academy Bulletin 8/7/2009 11:10 AM Page 21

Noteworthy

As of press time, several Fel- Select Prizes and Awards Apostolos P. Georgopoulos (Uni- Robert Kennicutt (University of lows of the Academy, listed versity of Minnesota) is among Cambridge) was awarded the below, have been invited to the recipients of the 20th annual 2009 Prize of the Neuronal Plasticity Prize, given Peter and Patricia Gruber Found- serve in senior roles in Presi- Presidential Medal of Freedom, 2009 by La Fondation Ipsen. ation. He shares the prize with dent ’s admin- Wendy Freedman (Carnegie In- (Institut für istration. They are in addition Stephen Hawking (University of Herbert Gleiter stitution of Washington) and to the Fellows listed in the Cambridge) Nanotechnologie) is the recipi- Jeremy Mould (University of ent of the 2009 R. F. Mehl Award Winter 2009 and Spring 2009 Melbourne School of Physics). Edward M. Kennedy (United of the Minerals, Metals & Mate- issues of the Bulletin. States Senate) rials Society and the recipient of Leon Kirchner (Harvard Univer- the 2009 Blaise Pascal Medal in sity) is the recipient of the 2009 Sandra Day O’Connor (United Materials Science of the European Gold Medal for Music, given by Rolena Adorno (Yale University): States Supreme Court) Member of the National Council Academy of Sciences. the American Academy of Arts and Letters. on the Humanities (Los Angeles, CA) Sidney Poitier Richard Goldstone (Constitution- (Monterey Bay al Court of South Africa) is the Jon Kleinberg (Cornell Univer- Marcia McNutt Janet Davison Rowley recipient of the MacArthur Award sity) is the recipient of the 2008 Aquarium Research Institute): () Director of the United States for International Justice, given acm-Infosys Foundation Award Geological Survey and Science by the John D. and Catherine T. in the Computing Sciences. Other Awards MacArthur Foundation. Advisor to the Secretary of the (McGill Univer- Interior Brenda Milner Pierre Boulez (Institute for Re- Ronald Graham (University of sity) was appointed to the Nation- search and Coordination Acous- California, San Diego) has been al Order of Quebec. Fellows serving on the Presi- tic/Music, ircam) was awarded selected as a member of the inau- the 2009 Kyoto Prize in Arts and gural class of Fellows of the Soci- Thomas Nagel (New York Uni- dent’s Commission on White versity) was awarded the 2008 House Fellowships: Philosophy. ety for Industrial and (siam). Balzan Prize in Moral Philosophy. (nbc News) (New York, Tom Brokaw (PepsiCo) is the re- NY) is among the 2009 Induct- Susan L. Graham (University of Indra Nooyi Vartan Gregorian (Carnegie ees to the National Women’s California, Berkeley) is the recip- cipient of the Barnard College Corporation of New York) Hall of Fame. ient of the 2009 ieee John Von Medal of Distinction, in compa- Neumann Medal. ny with Hillary Rodham Clinton (Maya Lin Studio) Sharon Cameron (Johns Hopkins (U.S. Department of State), Kay University) is the recipient of the (Prince- Crawford Murray (New York City (Omidyar Barbara Rosemary Grant Pierre Omidyar 2009 Harold D. Vursell Memorial ton University) and Department of Juvenile Justice), Network) Peter Ray- Award in Literature, given by the mond Grant (Princeton Univer- and Irene J. Winter (Harvard American Academy of Arts and sity) were awarded the 2009 University). Paul Sarbanes (U.S. Senate) Letters. Kyoto Prize in Basic Sciences. (Academy of Nat- Ruth J. Simmons (Brown University) John Cogan, Jr. (Pioneer Invest- Mikhail Gromov (New York Uni- ural Sciences) is among the 2009 ment Management usa, Inc.) is versity; Institut des Hautes Études Inductees to the National Wom- Laurence Tribe (Harvard Law among the recipients of the 2009 Scienti½ques) was awarded the en’s Hall of Fame. School) Harvard Medal. Abel Prize in Mathematics by the Norwegian Academy of Science Christopher Ricks (Boston Uni- (University of and Letters. versity) received a Knighthood Pennsylvania School of Medicine) as part of the Queen’s Birthday is among the 2009 Inductees to Jeffrey C. Hall (University of Honors. the National Women’s Hall of Maine) was awarded the 2009 Fame. Neuroscience Prize of the Peter Guy Rocher (University of Mon- and Patricia Gruber Foundation. treal) is the recipient of the Ca- (Institute of nadian Association of University Harvey V. Fineberg He shares the prize with Michael Medicine) is among the recipients Teachers’ Distinguished Academ- Rosbash (Brandeis University) of the 2009 Harvard Medal. and Michael W. Young (Rock- ic Award. efeller University). Wendy Freedman (Carnegie Michael Rosbash (Brandeis Uni- Institution of Washington) was versity) was awarded the 2009 John J. Hop½eld (Princeton Uni- awarded the 2009 Cosmology versity) received the 2009 ieee Neuroscience Prize of the Peter Prize of the Peter and Patricia Frank Rosenblatt Award. and Patricia Gruber Foundation. Gruber Foundation. She shares He shares the prize with Jeffrey the prize with Robert Kennicutt J. Larry Jameson (Northwestern C. Hall (University of Maine) and () and University) is the recipient of the Michael W. Young (Rockefeller Jeremy Mould (University of Fred Conrad Koch Award, given University). Melbourne School of Physics). by the Endocrine Society.

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 21 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 22

Noteworthy

Richard Rose (University of Aber- New Appointments Martha Minow (Harvard Law Non½ction deen) has received a Lifetime School) was named Dean of Achievement Award of the Coun- Harvard Law School. Roger S. Bagnall (New York Uni- versity). cil for the Comparative Study of (University of Early Christian Books in Charles Bernstein (Yale Law School) . Princeton University Press, Electoral Systems. Pennsylvania) is a Consulting Robert C. Post Egypt was named Dean of Yale Law September 2009 Editor for the (University of Chi- International Liter- School. cago) was awarded the 2009 ary Quarterly. Gary S. Becker (University of (University of Chicago) and Genetics Prize of the Peter and (Princeton Univer- Jeremy A. Sabloff Richard A. Posner Peter Brooks Pennsylvania) was appointed (United States Court of Appeals, Patricia Gruber Foundation. sity) is a Consulting Editor for the President of the Santa Fe Institute. Seventh Circuit). Uncommon International Literary Quarterly. Nicholas Samios (Brookhaven Sense: Economic Insights, from National Laboratory) is the recip- George C. Schatz (Northwestern Albert Carnesale (University of Marriage to Terrorism. University ient of the 2009 Gian Carlo Wick University) was appointed Editor- of Chicago Press, November 2009 California, Los Angeles) was ap- in-Chief of the Gold Medal Award, given by the pointed to the Board of Directors Journal of Physical (University of World Federation of Scientists. of NanoPaci½c Holdings, Inc. Chemistry Letters. at Urbana-Champaign). (Harvard Univer- Susan Stewart (Princeton Uni- Werner Sollors Denis Donoghue (New York Uni- sity) is a Consulting Editor for the The Earwig’s Tail: A Modern Bes- versity) is the recipient of a 2009 versity) is a Consulting Editor for tiary of Multi-Legged Legends. Har- Academy Award in Literature, International Literary Quarterly. the International Literary Quarterly. vard University Press, September given by the American Academy 2009 Claude M. Steele (Stanford Uni- of Arts and Letters. Alessandro Duranti (University versity) was named 21st Provost (Princeton, of California, Los Angeles) was of . William G. Bowen Mark H. Thiemens (University appointed Dean of Social Sciences NJ), Matthew Chingos (Harvard of California, San Diego) is the at the University of California, University), and Michael S. Mc- recipient of the 2009 V.M. Gold- Los Angeles. Pherson (Spencer Foundation). schmidt Medal of the Geochem- Crossing the Finish Line: Completing ical Society. Corey S. Goodman (Oakland, CA) Select Publications College at America’s Public Univer- was appointed to the Board of sities. Princeton University Press, Mitsuko Uchida (, United Directors and Scienti½c Advisory September 2009 Kingdom) was named a Dame Board of iZumi Bio, Inc. Commander of the Order of the Fiction Theodore L. Brown (University British Empire as part of the (Yale Law of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Linda Greenhouse Peter Ackroyd (London Times, Queen’s Birthday Honors. School) was elected a member of ). The Casebook Imperfect Oracle: The Epistemic the Harvard University Board of and Moral Authority of Science. (Max Institute of Victor Frankenstein. Doubleday/ Axel Ullrich Overseers. Talese, October 2009 Pennsylvania State University of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Press, September 2009 Germany) is the recipient of the (New York, NY) Edith Grossman Margaret Atwood (Toronto, 2009 Dr. Paul Janssen Award for is a Consulting Editor for the (University Canada). The Year of the Flood. Theodore L. Brown Biomedical Research. International Literary Quarterly. Knopf, September 2009 of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Bridging Divides: The Origins of (S.B. Vryonis (University Speros Vryonis, Jr. David A. Hollinger Paul Auster (New York, NY). the Beckman Institute at Illinois. Center for the Study of Hellen- of California, Berkeley) is Presi- Invisible. Henry Holt & Company, University of Illinois Press, Sep- ism) is the recipient of the ahepa dent-Elect of the Organization October 2009 tember 2009 Academy of Achievement Award of American Historians. in Education. E. L. Doctorow (New York Uni- Bruce Bueno de Mesquita (Stan- (Yale Uni- William L. Jorgensen versity). Homer & Langley. Ran- ford University/New York Uni- (Harvard versity) was appointed Division- George M. Whitesides dom House, September 2009 versity). The Predictioneers Game: University) was awarded the al Director for the Physical Sci- Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Inter- inaugural Dreyfus Prize in the ences and Engineering at Yale (Vineyard Haven, MA). Ward Just est to See and Shape the Future. Ran- Chemical Sciences. University. Exiles in the Garden. Houghton dom House, September 2009 Mifflin Harcourt, July 2009 (Harvard Univer- (Université de Par- Irene J. Winter Julia Kristeva Michael Chabon (Berkeley, CA). sity) is the recipient of the Bar- is vii) is a Consulting Editor for (Supreme Sandra Day O’Connor Manhood for Amateurs: The Plea- nard College Medal of Distinc- the Court of the United States). International Literary Quarterly. Find- sures and Regrets of a Husband, Fa- tion, in company with Hillary ing Susie. Knopf, June 2009 (Abbott Laborato- ther, and Son. Harper, October Rodham Clinton (U.S. Depart- Jeffrey Leiden 2009 ment of State), Kay Crawford ries) was appointed to the Board Richard Powers (University of of Directors of Vertex Pharma- Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). Murray (New York City Depart- Arthur C. Danto (Columbia ceuticals Incorporated. . Far- ment of Juvenile Justice), and Generosity: An Enhancement University). Andy Warhol. Yale rar, Straus and Giroux, September Indra Nooyi (PepsiCo). University Press, October 2009 Walter E. Massey (Morehouse 2009 College) was elected Chairman Richard N. Zare (Stanford Uni- Robert Darnton (Harvard Univer- of the Board of the Bank of Amer- (New York, NY). versity) is the recipient of the Jane Smiley sity). The Devil in the Holy Water, ica Corporation. . Knopf, 2010 Priestley Medal, given by The Georges and the Jewels or the Art of Slander from Louis XIV September 2009 the American Chemical Society. to Napoleon. University of Penn- sylvania Press, November 2009

22 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 23

Frans de Waal (Emory Univer- Joel Mokyr (Northwestern Uni- Werner Sollors (Harvard Univer- sity). The Age of Empathy: Nature’s versity). The Enlightened Economy: sity) and Greil Marcus (Berkeley, Lessons for a Kinder Society. Har- An of Britain, CA), eds. A New Literary History mony, September 2009 1700–1850. Yale University Press, of America. Harvard University October, 2009 Press, September 2009 William L. Fash, Jr. (Harvard University) and Leonardo López Peter Paret (Institute for Ad- Robert A.M. Stern (Yale Univer- Luján (Museo del Templo Mayor, vanced Study, Princeton, NJ). sity). Architecture on the Edge of Instituto Nacional de Antropolo- The Cognitive Challenge of War: Postmodernism: Collected Essays. gía e Historia, México), eds. The Prussia 1806. Princeton Univer- Yale University Press, November Art of Urbanism: How Mesoameri- sity Press, November 2009 2009 can Kingdoms Represented Them- (Peter G. Peter- (Harvard selves in Architecture and Imagery. Peter G. Peterson George M. Whitesides Harvard University Press, Sep- son Foundation). The Education University) and Felice C. Frankel tember 2009 of an American Dreamer: How a (Harvard University). No Small Son of Greek Immigrants Learned Matter: Science on the Nanoscale. Carol Gluck (Columbia Univer- His Way from a Nebraska Diner to Harvard University Press, Novem- sity) and Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing Washington, Wall Street, and Be- ber 2009 (University of California, Santa yond. Twelve, June 2009 (Andrew W. Cruz), eds. Words in Motion: To- Harriet Zuckerman (New York, NY). Mellon Foundation), Ronald G. ward a Global Lexicon. Duke Uni- Francine Prose versity Press, December 2009 Anne Frank: The Book, the Life, the Ehrenberg (Cornell University), . Harper, October 2009 Jeffrey A. Groen (Bureau of Labor Jane Goodall (Jane Goodall In- Statistics), and Sharon M. Brucker (Stanford Univer- stitute, Arlington, VA). Hope for Jack Rakove (Princeton University). Educating sity), Introduction and Notes. Animals and Their World: How Scholars: Doctoral Education in the Endangered Species Are Being Res- The Annotated U.S. Constitution Humanities. Princeton University cued from the Brink. Grand Central, and Declaration of Independence. Press, December 2009 September 2009 Harvard University Press, Novem- ber 2009 E.D. Hirsch, Jr. (University of (Massachusetts In- Virginia). The Making of Ameri- Harriet Ritvo Exhibitions stitute of Technology). cans: Democracy and Our Schools. The Dawn Yale University Press, September of Green: Manchester, Thirlmere, and Modern . Uni- 2009 David P. Billington (Princeton versity of Chicago Press, October University): (Harvard Univer- 2009 Félix Candela: Build- Jerome Kagan er, Engineer, Structural Artist, sity). The Three Cultures: Natural (fgr Associates mit Museum, Cambridge, MA, Sciences, Social Sciences, and the Felix Rohatyn llc). April 2–September 27, 2009. Humanities in the 21st Century. Bold Endeavors: How Our Cambridge University Press, Government Built America, and Why May 2009 It Must Rebuild Now. Simon & Schuster, February 2009 Richard Kramer (Graduate Cen- ter, City University of New York). Michael J. Sandel (Harvard Uni- We invite all Fellows versity). Un½nished Music. Univer- Justice: What’s the Right and For eign Honorary sity Press, April 2008 Thing to Do? Farrar, Straus and Giroux, September 2009 Members to send notices Julia Kristeva (Université de Paris about their recent and (Universität vii). The Incredible Need to Believe. Manfred Schroeder forthcoming pub lications, Göttingen). Fractals, Chaos, Power Columbia University Press, Octo- scienti½c ½ndings, exhibi- ber 2009 Laws: Minutes from an In½nite Par- adise. Dover Publishers, October tions and performances, T. J. Jackson Lears (Rutgers Uni- 2009 and honors and prizes to versity). Rebirth of a Nation: The (Harvard Univer- bulletin@ama cad.org. Making of Modern America, 1877– Amartya Sen sity). . Harvard 1920. Harper/HarperCollins, June The Idea of Justice 2009 University Press, September 2009 (University James M. McPherson (Princeton Richard A. Shweder of Chicago), ed. University). Abraham Lincoln. The Child: An En- , February cyclopedic Companion. University 2009 of Chicago Press, September 2009 Seymour Slive (Harvard Univer- sity). Rembrandt Drawings. Oxford University Press, August 2009

Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 23 !_Summer09_CdrivePhyllis:Academy Bulletin 8/3/2009 4:49 PM Page 24

cêçã=íÜÉ ^êÅÜáîÉë

“For Diving &c” On the advice of Academy member John Prince, Stickney of Salem, Massachusetts, sent a communication to the Academy in March 1800, describing his experiments in “descending and remaining under water.” Stickney, a great-grandnephew of Benjamin Franklin, served as Indian Agent for the United States at Fort Wayne and in the U.S. Army under Andrew Jackson. The Academy’s archives record the receipt of this manuscript communication, one of many sent in hopes of publication in the Memoirs. Stickney’s cover letter begins: “In the spring of 1798 I conceived the means of producing a circulation of air that might be supplied under water, for a person’s furnishing himself with a constant supply of fresh air, in a vessel of proper dimentions, and of suf½cient strength to resist the pressure of the ambient water. Not know- ing at that time that any other means had been used for descending than the Diving Bell; I was under the necessity of contriving a vessel myself, to which I gave the name of Water Balloon.”

Illustrations by Benjamin Franklin Stickney for his “Water Balloon,” 1800

Figure 1: a “profile of the vessel with a Figure 2: “the machine complete in the act of person making use of the machinery for descending” producing the circulation of air”

Figure 3: a design by Captain Rowe, of a “tub or truncated cone made in the shape of a tub Snuff-mill, in which the Diver is shut up by a cover AA fortified with hoops, as is also the Figure 4: “the machine Body of the Machine ” let down from a ship”

24 Bulletin of the American Academy, Summer 2009 C C

Calendar of Events american academy of arts & sciences Notice to Fellows Norton’s Woods, 136 Irving Street, Cambridge, ma 02138 telephone 617-576-5000, facsimile 617-576-5050, Save the Date: Wednesday, New Academy Bylaws Approved email [email protected], website www.amacad.org November 11, 2009 academy officers Thursday, Meeting–Cambridge The Fellows voted to approve the proposed new Bylaws of the Academy. The vote was entered based on proxies Emilio Bizzi, President September 17, 2009 The Education of an American Dreamer: Contents submitted by the Fellowship on June 24, 2009, at a Special Meeting–Palo Alto How a Son of Greek Immigrants Learned His Leslie Berlowitz, Chief Executive Of½cer and William T. Golden Chair Way from a Nebraska Diner to Washington, Meeting of the Academy called for this purpose. One Louis W. Cabot, Chair of the Academy Trust and Vice President The Challenge of Mass Incarceration in America Wall Street, and Beyond thousand, three hundred, and ½fty-seven Fellows voted Academy Projects John S. Reed, Treasurer Speakers: Glenn Loury, Brown University, in favor of the amendments; sixteen Fellows voted against Speaker: Peter Peterson, Peter G. Peterson Jerrold Meinwald, Secretary Educating All Children 1 and Bruce Western, Harvard University Foundation the proposed changes. The Academy’s new Bylaws con- Steven Marcus, Editor Location: Stanford University form to modern nonpro½t governance practice and law Reconsidering the Rules of Space 4 Location: House of the Academy John Katzenellenbogen, Vice President, Midwest and reflect the Academy’s national character and research Jesse H. Choper, Vice President, West Thursday, Wednesday, mission. We are grateful to the many Fellows who con- New Publications 6 Robert C. Post, Librarian September 24, 2009 December 9, 2009 tributed to the bylaw revision process and look forward Meeting–Cambridge to implementing the new Bylaws during the forthcoming Academy Fellowships 7 Meeting–Cambridge publications advisory board transition period. A New Literary History of America Holiday Concert–An Evening with Malcolm Jesse H. Choper, Denis Donoghue, Linda Greenhouse, Jerome Kagan, Academy Meetings Speakers: Werner Sollors, Harvard Bilson –Emilio Bizzi, President Steven Marcus, Jerrold Meinwald, Emilio Bizzi University, and Greil Marcus, Berkeley, Introduction: Christoph Wolff, Harvard Nanotechnology: Novel Applications California University editorial staff Phillip A. Sharp, Robert Langer, Phyllis S. Bendell, Director of Publications Angela Belcher, and Evelyn L. Hu 8 Location: House of the Academy Speaker: Malcolm Bilson, Cornell University Micah J. Buis, Associate Editor Saturday, Location: House of the Academy Scott Eaton Wilder, Layout & Design In Memoriam: Remembering October 10, 2009 Daniel Charles Tosteson, M.D. 19 Initial design by Joe Moore of Moore + Associates 2009 Induction Ceremony–Cambridge For informationand reservations, contact the Bulletin Summer 2009 Noteworthy 21 lxii Sunday, Events Of½ce (phone: 617-576-5032; email: Issued as Volume , Number 4 ©2009 by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences October 11, 2009 [email protected]). issn x From the Archives 24 Meeting–Cambridge The Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences ( 0002–712 ) is published quarterly by the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Science, Energy, and the Environment Periodicals rate postage paid at Boston, ma, and at additional mailing of½ces. Postmaster: Send address changes to Bulletin, American Acad- Moderator: Richard Meserve, Carnegie emy of Arts & Sciences, 136 Irving Street, Cambridge, ma 02138. Institution for Science The views expressed in the Bulletin are those held by each contribu- Speakers include: Steven Koonin, United tor and are not necessarily those of the Of½cers and Fellows of the States Department of Energy; Paul Joskow, American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Alfred P.Sloan Foundation; John W. Rowe, Exelon Corporation; John Doerr, Kleiner photo credits Perkins Cau½eld & Byers Steve Rosenthal inside front cover Wendy Barrows page 1, left Martha Stewart pages 1, right; 8, 9, 14 C

american academy of arts & sciences american academy of arts & sciences Norton’s Woods 136 Irving Street Cambridge, ma 02138-1996 usa

telephone 617-576-5000 facsimile 617-576-5050 email [email protected] website www.amacad.org summer 2009 Bulletin vol. lxii, no. 4

Page 1 Educating All Children

David Brady and Pamela S. Karlan

Page 4 Reconsidering the Rules of Space Daniel Yankelovich

Page 8 AMERICAN ACADEMY Nanotechnology: Novel Applications OF ARTS & SCIENCES Phillip A. Sharp, Robert Langer, Angela Belcher, and Evelyn L. Hu

inside: Remembering Daniel Charles Tosteson, M.D. by Mitchell T. Rabkin, M.D., Page 19 From the Archives, Page 24