Three African-American DC high school girls (Mikayla Sharrieff, India Skinner, and Bria Snell) entered a NASA-sponsored science contest. The girls’ submission for the contest was a method they developed to purify lead-contaminated water in school drinking fountains. They took clean water and disseminated it in Flint, Michigan. They became finalists -- the only all-black female team to make it ... Continue Reading>>
Prominent Chinese Brain Scientist Denied Visa to Attend U.S. Professional Conference
Dr. Rao Yi, a prominent Chinese brain scientist, who studied in the United States, got his Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, San Francisco; his postdoc at Harvard; was on the faculty at Washington University in St. Louis; was a full professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago was denied a visa to attend a conference sponsored by the National ... Continue Reading>>
Weather Bureau Employee Cleared of Spy Investigation but Fired From Her Position at NOAA
Sherry Chen, an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was notified that she was being investigated by the Justice Department for spying for China in October 2014. The investigation cleared her but she was never reinstated, and was eventually fired from her position with the Weather Service for NOAA. CCS has written on behalf of Ms. Chen in the past and is now sending ... Continue Reading>>
2015 Annual Report
During 2015, the Committee of Concerned Scientists continued to advocate on behalf of scientists, academics, engineers and physicians. We wrote in concern for more than 21 individuals or groups of individuals, located in 11 countries. We generally addressed our letters to the heads of state, as well as to the country’s ambassadors, the United States ambassador for the particular jurisdiction, ... Continue Reading>>
Chinese-American Hydrologist Terminated by US Government with No Evidence
Sherry Chen, a Chinese-American hydrologist, was terminated from her position at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration after an investigation as a spy for China found no grounds for charges. The Committee of Concerned Scientists wrote to the Deputy Director of the National Weather Service at NOAA requesting that Ms. Chen be reinstated in her position as an hydrologist. The ... Continue Reading>>
UAE Visa Denial to NYU Professor Ross Prompts Letter of Inquiry to Pres. Sexton
Andrew Ross, a professor at NYU, had been studying and critiquing labor practices in the Gulf. Ross' research focused on alleged exploitation of migrant construction workers at NYU's proposed campus in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). In March, his visa to continue his research was denied by UAE authorities. In view of NYU's agreement with UAE to respect to academic freedom at the proposed ... Continue Reading>>
2014 Annual Report
During 2014, the Committee of Concerned Scientists continued to advocate on behalf of scientists, academics, engineers and physicians. We wrote in concern for more than 30 individuals or groups of individuals, located in 11 countries. We generally addressed our letters to the heads of state, as well as to the ministries or local authorities with jurisdiction over the case when we were able to ... Continue Reading>>
In Response to CCS Letter, DOE’s IG Will Investigate James Doyle’s Firing
The Department of Energy's Inspector General will investigate whether James E. Doyle, a political scientist employed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, had been fired in retaliation for publishing an article in which he differed with US Government policy concerning nuclear weapons. The Administrator of the National Nuclear Safety Administration of the Department, Frank G. Klotz, in his letter ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Urges NSF to Re-examine Charge Against Professor
Dr. Frances A. Córdova Director National Science Foundation 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 1205 N Arlington VA 22230 Dear Dr. Córdova: We write now in concern for Dr. Valerie Barr. Barr, a Professor of Computer Science at Union College, was hired by NSF in 2013 for two years as program director in its Division of Undergraduate Education. A year later, according to ScienceInsider Magazine, she ... Continue Reading>>
CCS Joins Science Organizations
In Protest of DOE Firing Scientist
Colleagues protested the firing of James E. Doyle, a political scientist with 17 years of employment with the Department of Energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) after he published an article written on his own time and with his personal views that questioned US nuclear weapons policy. The agency, that had reviewed the article before publication, claimed that material that had not been ... Continue Reading>>