Committee of Concerned Scientists
We are scientists, physicians, engineers and scholars dedicated to protecting the human rights and scientific freedom of colleagues around the world.
The Committee of Concerned Scientists began as an ad hoc committee in Washington, D.C. and New York City in September 1972. A group of American scientists, physicians and engineers recognized the need to translate their deep concern about their colleagues who are denied their fundamental human rights because of their outspoken political views or their expressed desire to emigrate.
Fang Lizhi
It is with great sadness that we report the death on April 6, 2012 of our distinguished colleague and Advisory Committee member Fang Lizhi of the University of Arizona.
Dr. Fang was a brilliant astrophysicist and influential proponent of human rights in his native China. His political ideals inspired the pro-democracy student movement in China that eventually resulted in the protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989. … continue reading >>
Dr. Jack Minker
I would like to thank the New York Academy of Sciences Human Rights Committee for honoring me as a co-recipient of the 2011 Heinz R. Pagels Award together with Dr. Binayak Sen of India. I have spoken to several of my colleagues from India at the University of Maryland, who have confirmed that Dr. Sen is an extraordinary humanitarian eminently worthy of the Pagels Award. Regrettably, Dr. Sen is not able to be here to receive my congratulations and the many accolades due him.
I also want to thank Dr. Henry Greenberg for his generous comments and Professor Joel Lebowitz and Dorothy Hirsch for nominating me for this prestigious award. It has been my privilege to work with Joel and Dorothy from the time they joined the Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS). Joel’s leadership, as Co-chair for many years has been an inspiration as has been the leadership … continue reading >>
At the outset, I would like to thank the New York Academy of Sciences for conferring on me the prestigious Heinz R. Pagels Award for Human Rights. I wish it were possible for me to be with you in person on this occasion. Besides my gratitude for this great honour, I also have a personal reason to celebrate a connection with the Academy. My father was a pharmacologist whose research was on melanocyte stimulating hormone. He worked in the Medical Corps of the Indian Army and taught for some time at the Armed Forces Medical College in Pune, India. He was offered membership in the Academy, but had to decline because, as an officer of the Indian Army, he was not permitted to accept membership in a foreign organization. So this Award is, in some ways, a celebration of an older connection. … continue reading >>
The Committee of Concerned Scientists (CCS) is a human rights organization composed of scientists, engineers, and scholars who promote academic and personal freedom for their colleagues worldwide. The Committee supports the rights of scientists to collaborate on research and share data, travel to conferences and meetings, and emigrate if they choose. More broadly, CCS advocates human treatment of all individuals … continue reading >>
Yakov Alpert with CCS Co-chair Joel Liebowitz
Yakov Alpert, a pioneer in serveral fields of radio and space plasma physics, died on October 17, 2010 in Boston at the age of 99. Alpert participated in Sputnik I and many other Soviet satellite projects in the 1960s and 1970s.
He became a Russian refusenik when he applied for an exit visa in 1975. Like all dissident scientists in the U.S.S.R., he lost his job and the right to work in his field. In the 1980s, he hosted the officially banned “Refusenik Scientific Seminars” … continue reading >>
Liu Xiaobo
Originally published in the Washington Post
To His Excellency Hu Jintao
President of the People’s Republic of China
Prague, Jan. 6, 2010 … continue reading >>
The archives of CCS have been deposited in Columbia University’s Rare Book and Manuscript Library. An online finding aid is available at the Library website.
The CCS was conceived as a human rights organization in 1972. Fred Pollack was Chair of the Executive Board and Ruth Levine was hired to be Executive Director. Jack Minker of the University of Maryland became first Computer Science Vice-Chair of CCS. Minker continues to serve in this capacity. Minker worked cooperatively with many different human right organizations … continue reading >>
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