Science and Technology for Human Rights: Join US

Opportunities for Chemists, Physicists, Mathematicians, Biologists and Engineers.

Hey! Actually, opportunities for all professionals with good will.

Between February 15 and February 19 of 2018 (last week), in Austin Texas, the American Association for the Advancement of Science or AAAS, had its annual meeting.

If you don’t know what AAAS is, maybe the fastest route to get an idea of what AAAS does is to remember that it publishes the most respected scientific journal: Science. AAAS does more than that, it works to warranty the progress of scientific discovery and in this way, human progress.

As part of this last meeting, a workshop was organized by the AAAS Scientific Responsibility, Human Rights and Law Program. The objective of the workshop was to “provide examples of successful projects as well as suggestions for how to get started, strategies for managing common challenges that arise in these types of projects, and the rewards of incorporating pro bono service to human rights into your career.” This is achieved through the division known as On Call Scientists. “On-call Scientists connects scientists, engineers, and health professionals interested in volunteering their skills and knowledge with human rights organizations that are in need of technical expertise.”

In this meeting, the moderator was Theresa Harris in from the Human Rights and Law Program. Dr. Roberto Marin (Reservoir Data Systems, Bryan, Texas), Dr. Sheryl Luzzadder Beach (University of Texas, Austin, Texas) and Dr. Ariel Dulitzsky (Human Rights Clinic, University of Texas, Austin, Texas) were the speakers.

I (Dr. Roberto Marin) have always been interested in serving my fellow human being, and have always been concerned with abuses of human rights. I grew up in Central America in the 1970s, a time of crisis in which Central America was the theater of the Cold War. Indeed, I learned to read because I wanted to read the newspapers to learn about what was happening in Nicaragua, Guatemala and El Salvador, where there were civil wars and the push of both sides of the Cold War, the former Soviet Union and the United States. When I went to college I chose to study chemistry, and for some time I thought that this choice made impossible contributing to protect human rights. But after joining On Call Scientists, I had the privileged of helping a Colombian organization that was studying the possible connection of a Canadian petroleum company (Pacific Exploration & Production Corp.) with the enhancement of seismic activity in Puerto Gaitán, Colombia. The details are here. What really matters is that On Call Scientists is a venue that can take your career to a new level.

Attending this workshop was a big challenge due to the injuries occurred to me in a recent traffic accident. Nevertheless, what a better way to take the first step to re-invigorate my professional life than coming to Austin this past February 18^th. If the angel is whispering at your ear, take action, become an On Call Scientist!