This award provides partial support for a week-long conference on "Choices for Our Generation: Ethics at the Cutting Edge of Science and Technology." Selected in a national competition, 90 outstanding students from diverse disciplines meet with senior leaders from academia, industry, government and non-profit organizations for small group discussions as well as general plenary sessions with keynote addresses by nationally-known figures. The conference them focuses attention on the ethical choices students face as they move into positions of increasing responsibility. Applicants prepare papers on specific topics where scientific and technological research and development affect and are affected by these choices; these papers serve to focus the small group discussions during the week. Publication and follow-up activities will reach university students nationwide; the academic science, technology and society (STS) community; science and technology practitioners and policy-makers; high school teachers; and interested members of the general public.
