scientificamerican--2020-08-19--Three Ways to Fix Toxic Policing

Three Ways to Fix Toxic Policing

It was not just a knee pinned to George Floyd 's neck that killed him .
Or gunshots that killed Breonna Taylor .
Or a chokehold that killed Eric Garner .
It was also centuries of systemic racism that have festered in U.S. society and institutions , including our overly punitive , adversarial system of policing .
And videos of the recent police-involved killings do not show the broader toll that stop and frisk , arbitrary arrests and other aggressive law-enforcement actions have taken on Black and other minority communities .
Nationwide and fundamental police reform is long overdue .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” on crime and drugs in the past decades , policing has taken a decisively violent turn , and police departments often see themselves as adversaries of the very communities they are meant to safeguard , according to policing researcher Peter Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University .
In addition to this antagonistic culture , several studies show that police are more likely to stop , arrest and use force against Black and Latinx people than white people .
Research by Yale University sociologist Monica Bell documents that individuals subject to such overpolicing do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even when they are concerned about violence in their communities .
They report unease even after an encounter where officers acted appropriately .
Incremental reforms will not fix this perverse system : Chokeholds have been banned in New York City for decades , and the Minneapolis Police Department requires officers to intervene when a fellow officer uses excessive force , but neither rule prevented the death of Garner or Floyd .
Nor will technology turn the tide .
Body cameras have made the problem of police brutality against minority communities harder to ignore @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Instead we need to rethink how we conceive of and support public safety so that it encompasses all communities .
One way to do this would be to create policies that use social workers to tackle issues that have been dropped at the feet of police who are ill trained to handle them , such as homelessness , mental illness and working with young people to prevent violence .
Law-enforcement professionals themselves have highlighted this problem , and some alternative programs point toward solutions .
For example , community-based violence-prevention groups such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in cities such as Baltimore and Philadelphia where they have operated , according to policing researcher Alex Vitale of Brooklyn College .
And programs such as CAHOOTS in Eugene , Ore.—which routes emergency calls about mental illness to social workers instead of the police—and the Denver Alliance for Street Health Response offer models for other cities to explore .
Taking responsibility for dealing with these noncrime issues out of the hands of police removes officers from situations beyond their training and reduces the chances of encounters escalating to violence .
Fewer than 1 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ responded to last year necessitated police backup , the group reports .
In designing these policies , officials must engage communities—particularly those who have suffered most from overpolicing—to understand what issues are most important to them in ensuring safety .
A necessary step will be to address the militarization of policing .
The use of SWAT teams and tactics has ballooned well beyond the threatening hostage or active-shooter situations they were intended to confront .
Studies by Kraska , the American Civil Liberties Union and others show SWAT teams are overwhelmingly used for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ color are disproportionately targeted .
Returning SWAT to its proper use—and restricting the access of wider police departments to military-style weapons or dogs trained to bite people—would reduce the chances for unnecessary violence and harm .
Accountability is another key element .
Federal and local officials need the political will to create truly independent oversight mechanisms .
But accountability also depends on police departments making data on killings , use of force , disciplinary records , budget allocations and other areas publicly available .
Departments have resisted releasing such information , so Congress @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they do so .
Major police reform will take perseverance and money .
( Some of the financing can come from reducing police budgets . )
These approaches are a starting point as we confront the way dangerous biases , especially racism , have become embedded in police and other powerful institutions .
We must work to root them out .

It was not just a knee pinned to George Floyd’s neck that killed him. Or gunshots that killed Breonna Taylor. Or a choke hold that killed Eric Garner. It was also centuries of systemic racism that have festered in U.S. society and institutions, including our overly punitive, adversarial system of policing. And videos of the recent police-involved killings do not show the broader toll that stop and frisk, arbitrary arrests and other aggressive law-enforcement actions have taken on Black and other minority communities. Nationwide and fundamental police reform is long overdue.
Since the advent of government-led “wars” on crime and drugs in the past decades, policing has taken a decisively violent turn, and police departments often see themselves as adversaries of the very communities they are meant to safeguard, according to policing researcher Peter Kraska of Eastern Kentucky University. In addition to this antagonistic culture, several studies show that police are more likely to stop, arrest and use force against Black and Latinx people than white people. Research by Yale University sociologist Monica Bell documents that individuals subject to such overpolicing do not see police as protecting them, even when they are concerned about violence in their communities. They report unease even after an encounter where officers acted appropriately.
Incremental reforms will not fix this perverse system: Choke holds have been banned in New York City for decades, and the Minneapolis Police Department requires officers to intervene when a fellow officer uses excessive force, but neither rule prevented the death of Garner or Floyd. Nor will technology turn the tide. Body cameras have made the problem of police brutality against minority communities harder to ignore but have not reined it in.
Instead we need to rethink how we conceive of and support public safety so that it encompasses all communities. One way to do this would be to create policies that use social workers to tackle issues that have been dropped at the feet of police who are ill trained to handle them, such as homelessness, mental illness and working with young people to prevent violence. Law-enforcement professionals themselves have highlighted this problem, and some alternative programs point toward solutions.
For example, community-based violence-prevention groups such as Cure Violence have lowered shootings and killings in cities such as Baltimore and Philadelphia where they have operated, according to policing researcher Alex Vitale of Brooklyn College. And programs such as CAHOOTS in Eugene, Ore.—which routes emergency calls about mental illness to social workers instead of the police—and the Denver Alliance for Street Health Response offer models for other cities to explore. Taking responsibility for dealing with these noncrime issues out of the hands of police removes officers from situations beyond their training and reduces the chances of encounters escalating to violence. Fewer than 1 percent of the thousands of calls CAHOOTS responded to in 2019 necessitated police backup, the group reports. In designing these policies, officials must engage communities—particularly those who have suffered most from overpolicing—to understand what issues are most important to them in ensuring safety.
A necessary step will be to address the militarization of policing. The use of SWAT teams and tactics has ballooned well beyond the threatening hostage or active-shooter situations they were intended to confront. Studies by Kraska, the American Civil Liberties Union, and others show SWAT teams are overwhelmingly used for serving search warrants and that communities of color are disproportionately targeted. Returning SWAT to its proper use—and restricting the access of wider police departments to military-style weapons or dogs trained to bite people—would reduce the chances for unnecessary violence and harm.
Accountability is another key element. Federal and local officials need the political will to create truly independent oversight mechanisms. But accountability also depends on police departments making data on killings, use of force, disciplinary records, budget allocations and other areas publicly available. Departments have resisted releasing such information, so Congress needs to pass laws that mandate that they do so.
Major police reform will take perseverance and money. (Some of the financing can come from reducing police budgets.) These approaches are a starting point as we tackle the way dangerous biases, especially racism, have become embedded in police and other powerful institutions. We must work to root them out.


scientificamerican--2020-08-19--The First Subway in New York City Was a Cylindrical Car Pushed by Air

In downtown New York , mysterious deliveries of heavy equipment were arriving at the Devlin & Co. clothing store on Warren Street and Broadway .
In the middle of the night , metal rods would periodically poke up through the roadbed from somewhere below .
A grand and secret project was underway , which its mastermind thought would revolutionize urban life .
Horse-drawn cart traffic was choking the city , which in 1869 housed nearly a million people .
Getting around plagued residents with “ filthy , health destroying , patience-killing street dust , ” as a Scientific American writer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ manure .
Alfred Ely Beach , who almost 25 years earlier , at the age of 20 , acquired Scientific American with a partner , had a plan that would clean up traffic and clean the air .
In 1867 Beach , who was a prodigious inventor , demonstrated an aboveground , pneumatically powered train inside a tube at the American Institute Fair in New York City .
It was a visitor favorite .
Forced-air tubes were being used to transport mail in London , and as a later Scientific American article mused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could be blown through a tube , why not a package of human beings in a car ?
” Beach , a chief editor at the magazine , had also published a design for a short , cylindrical tunneling machine , or shield , nine feet in diameter , made of iron and timber , that could dig a round tunnel underground by ramming forward , driven by hydraulic power .
He had everything he needed to create a clean , modern transportation system for Manhattan—except for permission to build it .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ William “ Boss ” Tweed , who among many illegal doings was getting kickbacks from the city 's steampowered train and horse-pulled bus lines .
Hiding his true vision , Beach managed to gain city permits to build small pneumatic tubes belowground to carry mail and later snuck through an amendment that allowed a single , large tube that ostensibly would hold the smaller tubes .
Having made money through a very successful patent agency , which he oversaw while working at the magazine , Beach put up $ 350,000 , and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bustling Broadway .
Using the shield , workers dug the tunnel two feet at a time , reinforcing the newly exposed walls .
Periodically , the crew would force a metal rod up through the soil to the road above to check that they were on course .
It is hard to keep a secret in New York City , though , and word of the project began to leak .
On February 26 , 1870 , less than two months after it was begun , Beach revealed the finished sample section of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and members of the press descended to the basement of an adjacent store and stepped into a new subterranean rail station .
The visitors did not find “ damp and dimly lighted cellars , but commodious , airy , and comfortable apartments , ” as Scientific American noted soon after .
There was even a fountain .
The tunnel itself , as if to highlight its cleanliness , was lined in white brick .
The day after the opening the New York Times wrote : “ It must be said that every one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ surprised and gratified ... .
And those who entered to pick out some scientific flaw in the project were silenced by the completeness of the machinery , the solidity of the work and the safety of the running apparatus.
” On March 1 the pneumatic train opened to public patrons , who paid $ 0.25 for a ride on the curiosity .
A gigantic , 100-horsepower fan installed at the back of the station pushed an enclosed train car , rolling on tracks , about 300 feet that included a bend , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then reversed the fan to create negative pressure that pulled the train back to its starting point .
The one cylindrical car slowly whooshed along with just 1.5 inches of clearance between it and the tunnel walls .
The car 's interior was lavishly outfitted with upholstery , bright zirconia lamps and seats for 18 people .
Thousands of patrons would take the joy ride in the ensuing months .
Beach planned to eventually run the pneumatic wonder the full length of Manhattan , boasting luxury cars 100 feet long .
Tweed , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project and directed his administration to allocate funds for an elevated railway on the west side of the island instead .
Beach also took a hit in the 1873 financial crisis and closed Beach Pneumatic Transit .
He continued to work diligently at the magazine until , on January 1 , 1896 , perhaps in cruel irony , he died from a lack of air , perishing from pneumonia at age 69 .
Three years later , after a building on Broadway burned down , workers who were clearing rubble happened on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a quarter of a century .
A Scientific American article reported that the tunnel was “ still in a good state of preservation , demonstrating beyond a doubt its utility for rapid transit purposes .
”

In downtown New York, mysterious deliveries of heavy equipment were arriving at the Devlin & Co. clothing store on Warren Street and Broadway. In the middle of the night, metal rods would periodically poke up through the roadbed from somewhere below. A grand and secret project was underway, which its mastermind thought would revolutionize urban life.
Horse-drawn cart traffic was choking the city, which in 1869 housed nearly a million people. Getting around plagued residents with “filthy, health destroying, patience-killing street dust,” as a Scientific American writer put it—much of it probably dried horse manure. Alfred Ely Beach, who almost 25 years earlier, at the age of 20, acquired Scientific American with a partner, had a plan that would clean up traffic and clean the air.
In 1867 Beach, who was a prodigious inventor, demonstrated an aboveground, pneumatically powered train inside a tube at the American Institute Fair in New York City. It was a visitor favorite. Forced-air tubes were being used to transport mail in London, and as a later Scientific American article mused, “If a package of letters could be blown through a tube, why not a package of human beings in a car?”
Beach, a chief editor at the magazine, had also published a design for a short, cylindrical tunneling machine, or shield, nine feet in diameter, made of iron and timber, that could dig a round tunnel underground by ramming forward, driven by hydraulic power. He had everything he needed to create a clean, modern transportation system for Manhattan—except for permission to build it.
The city was ruled by the notoriously corrupt William “Boss” Tweed, who among many illegal doings was getting kickbacks from the city's steampowered train and horse-pulled bus lines. Hiding his true vision, Beach managed to gain city permits to build small pneumatic tubes belowground to carry mail and later snuck through an amendment that allowed a single, large tube that ostensibly would hold the smaller tubes.
Having made money through a very successful patent agency, which he oversaw while working at the magazine, Beach put up $350,000, and the project quietly got underway 21 feet below bustling Broadway. Using the shield, workers dug the tunnel two feet at a time, reinforcing the newly exposed walls. Periodically, the crew would force a metal rod up through the soil to the road above to check that they were on course.
It is hard to keep a secret in New York City, though, and word of the project began to leak. On February 26, 1870, less than two months after it was begun, Beach revealed the finished sample section of Beach Pneumatic Transit. Lawmakers, scholars and members of the press descended to the basement of an adjacent store and stepped into a new subterranean rail station. The visitors did not find “damp and dimly lighted cellars, but commodious, airy, and comfortable apartments,” as Scientific American noted soon after. There was even a fountain. The tunnel itself, as if to highlight its cleanliness, was lined in white brick.
The day after the opening the New York Times wrote: “It must be said that every one of [the visitors] came away surprised and gratified.... And those who entered to pick out some scientific flaw in the project were silenced by the completeness of the machinery, the solidity of the work and the safety of the running apparatus.”
On March 1 the pneumatic train opened to public patrons, who paid $0.25 for a ride on the curiosity. A gigantic, 100-horsepower fan installed at the back of the station pushed an enclosed train car, rolling on tracks, about 300 feet that included a bend, to the next and only stop. Engineers then reversed the fan to create negative pressure that pulled the train back to its starting point. The one cylindrical car slowly whooshed along with just 1.5 inches of clearance between it and the tunnel walls. The car's interior was lavishly outfitted with upholstery, bright zirconia lamps and seats for 18 people. Thousands of patrons would take the joy ride in the ensuing months.
Beach planned to eventually run the pneumatic wonder the full length of Manhattan, boasting luxury cars 100 feet long. Tweed, however-infuriated at being fooled and upstaged-blocked the project and directed his administration to allocate funds for an elevated railway on the west side of the island instead. Beach also took a hit in the 1873 financial crisis and closed Beach Pneumatic Transit. He continued to work diligently at the magazine until, on January 1, 1896, perhaps in cruel irony, he died from a lack of air, perishing from pneumonia at age 69.
Three years later, after a building on Broadway burned down, workers who were clearing rubble happened on the tunnel, which had been closed off for a quarter of a century. A Scientific American article reported that the tunnel was “still in a good state of preservation, demonstrating beyond a doubt its utility for rapid transit purposes.”


scientificamerican--2020-08-20--New Views of our Mesmerizing, Maddening Minds

It ’ s one of my favorite events in the science world : the annual Art of Neuroscience contest held by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience .
Now in its 10th year , the competition looks a lot different than it did even five years ago .
Yes , many entries still show off the vivid and fantastical microscopic images of the brain stained in rainbow colors .
But thanks to more sophisticated technology , more submissions each year use interactive digital features to create immersive experiences for the viewer .
When these types of installations first began appearing in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( though I am not now proud to admit it ) .
I love the mesmerizing effect of using fluorescent protein tags that illuminate neural cells , for example , or the cilia of the inner ear , which made up the bulk of entries years ago .
These images are quite like modern art you ’ d see in a museum .
But just as the brain is more than a corporeal lump of flesh , so the art of neurology is more than a static image .
The new generation of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ own brains as part of the experience—and sometimes in a full sensory immersion , as you can see in some of the entries we ’ ve featured in this issue ( see “ The Beautiful Things Inside Your Head : Winners of the 10th Annual Art of Neuroscience Contest ” ) .
In this issue ’ s cover story , social psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman examines some of the debilitating tendencies of those with a victim mindset , and he offers a powerful new paradigm for how to shift into a personal growth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ your life ( see “ Unraveling the Mindset of Victimhood ” ) .
Our heads are filled with beautiful and strange things , whether one or the other depends on how you look at them .

It’s one of my favorite events in the science world: the annual Art of Neuroscience contest held by the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. Now in its 10th year, the competition looks a lot different than it did even five years ago. Yes, many entries still show off the vivid and fantastical microscopic images of the brain stained in rainbow colors. But thanks to more sophisticated technology, more submissions each year use interactive digital features to create immersive experiences for the viewer. When these types of installations first began appearing in the contest, I bristled a bit (though I am not now proud to admit it). I love the mesmerizing effect of using fluorescent protein tags that illuminate neural cells, for example, or the cilia of the inner ear, which made up the bulk of entries years ago. These images are quite like modern art you’d see in a museum. But just as the brain is more than a corporeal lump of flesh, so the art of neurology is more than a static image. The new generation of brain science art engages the viewers’ own brains as part of the experience—and sometimes in a full sensory immersion, as you can see in some of the entries we’ve featured in this issue (see “The Beautiful Things Inside Your Head: Winners of the 10th Annual Art of Neuroscience Contest”).
In this issue’s cover story, social psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman examines some of the debilitating tendencies of those with a victim mindset, and he offers a powerful new paradigm for how to shift into a personal growth mode and get the most out of your life (see “Unraveling the Mindset of Victimhood”). Our heads are filled with beautiful and strange things, whether one or the other depends on how you look at them.


scientificamerican--2020-08-20--Expanding Paved Areas Has an Outsize Effect on Urban Flooding

Blockbuster flooding events such as Hurricane Harvey grab headlines , but urban flooding is a routine—and growing—problem : in a @ @ @ @ @ of municipal stormwater and flood managers surveyed in the U.S. reported such inundation in their @ @ @ @ @ fueled by climate change are a factor , the expansion of pavement and other impervious @ @ @ @ @ worse because it prevents the land from absorbing these torrents of water .
On that @ @ @ @ @ agree .
What they have not agreed on is how much worse .

Blockbuster flooding events such as Hurricane Harvey grab headlines, but urban flooding is a routine—and growing—problem: in a 2018 report, 83 percent of municipal stormwater and flood managers surveyed in the U.S. reported such inundation in their areas. Although heavier downpours fueled by climate change are a factor, the expansion of pavement and other impervious surfaces is making the situation worse because it prevents the land from absorbing these torrents of water. On that broad point, researchers largely agree. What they have not agreed on is how much worse.
Now a study published in March in Geophysical Research Letters has found that, on average across the U.S., every time a city expands roads, sidewalks or parking lots by one percentage point, the annual flood magnitude in nearby waterways increases by 3.3 percent. (Some of the floodwater that the ground cannot absorb runs into nearby rivers and streams, so measuring their levels can help track changes in flooding severity.) Hydrologist Annalise Blum and her co-authors say the mathematical model they used makes their finding more accurate than previous studies. And the model could help answer other questions about human impacts on water systems—an emerging field called sociohydrology.
Blum says previous research that looked at just one or two waterways was too narrowly focused to parse how much various human interventions such as paved surfaces, dams or levees contribute to flooding. To untangle the role of impervious areas from the “noise” of other influences, Blum and her colleagues—including Paul Ferraro, an economist at Johns Hopkins University—used an extremely large data set covering 39 years of records from 280 stream gauges, which measure water levels in rivers and streams. They also adapted a statistical model more common to economic studies. Economists use this technique to isolate how a particular policy might alter human behavior. Blum and her team tweaked it to leverage differences among all the stream-gauge data, thus isolating the role of paving from other human modifications. “By using data in both time and space dimensions, we were able to soak up all of that noise and isolate the causal effect,” says Blum, who was a postdoc at Johns Hopkins when she conducted the new study and is now an AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow.
Maura Allaire, a water economist at the University of California, Irvine, who was not involved with the new study, says the research design is “a major contribution to natural sciences and hydrology in particular.” Conducting similar analyses for other human-made contributors to flooding could help cities take targeted steps to ameliorate them. For instance, cities could discourage building in a floodplain if that was shown to be a dominant factor or increase “green” infrastructure and permeable surfaces to absorb more rainwater.


scientificamerican--2020-08-20--Schools Have No Good Options for Reopening during COVID-19

Even as schools have already begun reopening across the United States , debate is still intensifying over whether students should be physically present in classrooms .
Children are widely thought to be at relatively low risk of developing severe COVID-19 , but a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics ( AAP ) indicates that cumulative cases doubled in roughly the past month : between July 9 and August 13 , the number increased from about 200,000 to over 406,000 .
Physically reopening schools might accelerate the increase—potentially raising the number of children with severe symptoms and spurring spread @ @ @ @ @ @ @ children attend classrooms or learn remotely at home , each option carries a risk of harm to students , their families and the adults who work with them .
The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can spread through the enclosed halls and classrooms of a school building ; but prolonged reliance on virtual learning alone may disrupt a child ’ s educational and social development , and can have serious longer-term economic repercussions .
In an attempt to minimize damage , individual schools are implementing a variety of different plans , and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shift .
Existing evidence suggests that children—though definitely not immune to COVID-19—are in some ways less vulnerable than adults .
A June study in Nature Medicine found that people younger than 20 are half as likely as older adults to contract the disease .
The AAP report that indicated increasing cases among children also found this population represents just 9.1 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases—and that severe cases of coronavirus are rare among children , resulting in fewer hospitalizations and deaths .
“ Fortunately , COVID in children , in the vast @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mild , self-limited illness .
Many children are often even asymptomatic , ” says Danielle Dooley , a pediatrician and spokesperson for the AAP .
Although the risk is lower , it is not nonexistent .
The AAP report notes that a small percentage of this age group—between 0.2 and 8.8 percent of child COVID-19 cases—did require hospitalization , and an even smaller percentage—0 to 0.6 percent—died .
The same report indicates that 19 out of the 44 states included in the AAP numbers reported no deaths among children .
In the states @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made up fewer than 0.4 percent of all COVID-19 deaths—but if the total number of infections in this age group rises , the number that develop a severe case would likely increase as well .
Children also might pass the coronavirus to adults , who tend to have much more severe symptoms .
Teachers , janitors , bus drivers and others must all spend significant amounts of time with students in enclosed spaces , where they are at a relatively high risk of contracting COVID-19 from children ( as well as each other @ @ @ @ @ @ @ school buildings in Gwinnett County , Ga. , 260 employees who attended planning meetings either tested positive for COVID-19 or had had contact with someone else who had .
In Santa Clara , Calif. , 40 school officials took part in an indoor meeting ; days later , one of the officials received a positive COVID-19 test—and as a result of their exposure , the other attendees had to go into quarantine .
Many school employees fear that returning to the classroom will put their lives , and those of their loved ones @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The issue we need to worry about is whether or not [ children are ] vectors , ” says Helen Jenkins , an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University School of Public Health .
The science on how much children transmit the coronavirus is not settled .
Some data suggest , Jenkins says , that “ those infected are half as likely as adults to transmit to others.
” Dooley notes that “ We also are seeing increasing data that [ children ] don ’ t tend to be spreaders , so they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ other children or other adults in their household or their community—from the data that we have so far.
” But other data indicate children older than 10 can act as vectors .
A study in Emerging Infectious Diseases , published online in July , analyzed contact-tracing reports for nearly 6,000 coronavirus patients in South Korea , and found those aged 10 to 19 spread the virus as much as adults did .
[ More information on the ongoing question of how children spread the coronavirus . ]
Even if transmission rates and serious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attending school could carry at least some infections home to family members—who could face far worse health threats and spread the virus more effectively among the general population .
This may have contributed to a second wave of coronavirus cases in Israel ; in May the country ’ s numbers were encouragingly low , so schools reopened with few restrictions .
But then the number of infections in children quickly spiked , followed by those among older Israelis .
In other countries , schools safely reopened by being more cautious and implementing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interaction , or slowly ramping up their plans to begin reopening with only younger children present or for only one day a week .
There are enormous advantages to having kids in classrooms .
“ Schools play a really central role in children ’ s lives , and it ’ s just not possible to deliver all of the services and benefits of schools when you are in a remote learning situation , ” Dooley says .
She explains that schools often provide food—more than 30 million children rely on them for nutritious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mental health care .
Beyond this , “ being around your peers , being around a community of supportive adults—that ’ s really critical for a child 's development , ” she points out .
“ They need that contact with their peers in order to grow.
” Of course , all that is on top of the most important service schools provide : education .
“ Education is a really important determinant of health and lifelong health outcomes , ” Dooley says .
Students who try to take classes virtually require the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Special education students need extra attention that they can not always receive via videoconference .
Younger children require adult engagement , often from a stay-at-home parent or a hired tutor , in order to complete their work .
Many students , particularly those from lower-income households , lack these options and are falling behind in their studies as a result .
Wealthy families can buy supplies , provide high-speed internet and hire private tutors , allowing their children to avoid such setbacks .
Also , the wealth gap between white and minority @ @ @ @ @ @ @ may increase the achievement gap between white and minority students , according to reports from the Center for American Progress research institute and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company .
Many parents and communities also have to rely on school systems for basic child care during working hours .
And since online learning itself often requires at least some adult help , even parents who are able to work from home can find themselves in the extremely stressful position of having what amounts to two full-time jobs : paid work , and unpaid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is often described in terms such as “ crushing.
” This can cause economic problems as well as mental health ones .
If schools do not reopen , some parents ( many of them mothers ) may be forced to leave the workforce—and then be unable to return .
On an individual level , families will lose income ; on a society-wide level , this could severely damage the economy .
To avoid this , institutions including the AAP , the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , educators ’ organizations and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and Medicine have advocated for in-person schooling—if it can be done safely .
This means establishing effective and rigorously enforced rules and protocols that will allow students to physically attend school while minimizing risks to their health and that of their communities .
There can be no universal , one-size-fits-all rules for reopening physical campuses safely .
Community transmission rates vary greatly from region to region , and month to month .
Different districts face widely disparate financial realities .
Even within the same school system , younger and older students differ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ their likelihood of spreading the novel coronavirus .
“ We have to be prepared and flexible for an ever-changing school year , ” Dooley says .
“ Protocols and procedures put in place at the beginning of the school year may need to change as the level of disease may increase in a community.
” Many of the measures for keeping school attendees safe are the same as the ones meant to help protect the general population : covering faces , regularly washing or sanitizing hands throughout the day , limiting students to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called “ pods ” or “ cohorts ” ) , improving ventilation in classrooms , and even teaching outdoors when possible .
Keeping children and adults at a distance from each other would also help , but this can be difficult because it requires space that is often simply unavailable .
Some contend this problem can be addressed by staggering schedules so each student attends classes in person fewer days a week ( studying online from home the rest of the time ) , reducing the number of people in a building at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can do is regular testing , ” Jenkins says .
“ Children are more likely to be asymptomatic , ” so rapid testing would allow schools to identify and isolate people with COVID-19 to protect other students and teachers .
Several of these measures—improving ventilation , having some children attend classes virtually , and providing fast and regular tests—will be inconvenient and require additional funding , potentially from the federal government .
Perhaps because of this difficulty ( as well as political pressure from some who insist that enforcing pandemic precautions is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ schools have pushed to physically reopen without the requisite precautions .
Last month Florida and Iowa announced that schools must provide in-person instruction , despite the fact that COVID-19 cases were rising in both states .
In Georgia , photos of mostly maskless high school students crowding a hallway spread on social media ; after nine people tested positive for COVID-19 , the school had to institute online-only learning while the building was closed for cleaning .
Without safety measures—or with sudden spikes in community spread—other schools may reopen only to quickly close @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best things we can do to keep [ schools ] safe is to keep local community transmission low , ” Jenkins says .
To do so , she recommends that authorities take strong action to control the virus—even when that means closing businesses such as gyms and bars .
“ It ’ s very tempting to want to reopen as many industries making money as possible , because there ’ s big pressure to get the economy going , ” she says .
“ But it ’ s unlikely we can have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] thinking of priorities , and I ’ d hope schools would come near the top of that.
” Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here .
And read coverage from our international network of magazines here .

Editor’s Note (9/4/20): This story is being republished as school districts grapple with the challenges of reopening. New York City, the only large district attempting to do so, recently delayed the start of in-person classes until September 21.
Even as schools have already begun reopening across the U.S., debate is still intensifying over whether students should be physically present in classrooms. Children are widely thought to be at relatively low risk of developing severe COVID-19, but a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that cumulative cases doubled in roughly the past month: between July 9 and August 13, the number increased from about 200,000 to more than 406,000. Physically reopening schools might accelerate the increase—potentially raising the number of children with severe symptoms and spurring spread among the community at large.
Whether children attend classrooms or learn remotely at home, each option carries a risk of harm to students, their families and the adults who work with them. The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 can spread through the enclosed halls and classrooms of a school building. But prolonged reliance on virtual learning alone may disrupt a child’s educational and social development and can have serious longer-term economic repercussions. In an attempt to minimize damage, individual schools are implementing a variety of different plans and are prepared to change course if local conditions shift.
The Public Health Risk
Existing evidence suggests that children—though definitely not immune to COVID-19—are in some ways less vulnerable than adults. A June study in Nature Medicine found that people younger than 20 are half as likely as older adults to contract the disease. The AAP report that indicated increasing cases among children also found this population represents just 9.1 percent of all U.S. COVID-19 cases—and that severe cases of coronavirus are rare among children, resulting in fewer hospitalizations and deaths. “Fortunately, COVID in children, in the vast majority of cases, is a very mild, self-limited illness. Many children are often even asymptomatic,” says Danielle Dooley, a pediatrician and spokesperson for the AAP.
Although the risk is lower, it is not nonexistent. The AAP report, which includes data from 44 states, notes that a small percentage of this age group—between 0.2 and 8.8 percent of child COVID-19 cases—did require hospitalization. The same report indicates that 19 of the states reported no deaths among children, and the highest rate of pediatric deaths was 0.6 percent of cases. But if the total number of infections in this age group rises, the number of those that develop a severe case would likely increase as well.
Children also might pass the coronavirus to adults, who tend to have much more severe symptoms. Teachers, janitors, bus drivers and others must all spend significant amounts of time with students in enclosed spaces, where they are at a relatively high risk of contracting COVID-19 from children (as well as one another). Before students even entered public school buildings in Gwinnett County in Georgia, 260 employees who attended planning meetings either tested positive for COVID-19 or had had contact with someone else who had. In Santa Clara, Calif., 40 school officials took part in an indoor meeting. Days later, one of the officials received a positive COVID-19 test—and as a result of that person’s exposure, the other attendees had to go into quarantine. Many school employees fear that returning to the classroom will put their life, and the lives of their loved ones, at very real risk.
“The issue we need to worry about is whether or not [children are] vectors,” says Helen Jenkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University School of Public Health. The science on how much children transmit the coronavirus is not settled. Some data suggest, Jenkins says, that “those infected are half as likely as adults to transmit to others.” Dooley notes that “we also are seeing increasing data that [children] don’t tend to be spreaders, so they’re not necessarily passing it to other children or other adults in their household or their community—from the data that we have so far.” But other data indicate children older than 10 can act as vectors. A study in Emerging Infectious Diseases, published online in July, analyzed contact-tracing reports for nearly 6,000 coronavirus patients in South Korea and found those aged 10 to 19 spread the virus as much as adults did.
[More information on the ongoing question of how children spread the coronavirus.]
Even if transmission rates and serious cases are very low, students physically attending school could carry at least some infections home to family members—who could face far worse health threats and spread the virus more effectively among the general population. This problem may have contributed to a second wave of coronavirus cases in Israel. In May the country’s numbers were encouragingly low, so schools reopened with few restrictions. But then the number of infections in children quickly spiked, followed by those among older Israelis. In other countries, schools safely reopened by being more cautious and implementing a variety of restrictions—mandating masks, limiting student interaction, or slowly ramping up their plans to begin reopening with only younger children present or for only one day a week.
The Developmental Risk
There are enormous advantages to having kids in classrooms. “Schools play a really central role in children’s lives, and it’s just not possible to deliver all of the services and benefits of schools when you are in a remote learning situation,” Dooley says. She explains that schools often provide food—more than 30 million children rely on them for nutritious meals—as well as recreation and physical and mental health care. Beyond this, “being around your peers, being around a community of supportive adults—that’s really critical for a child's development,” she points out. “They need that contact with their peers in order to grow.”
Of course, all that is on top of the most important service schools provide: education. “Education is a really important determinant of health and lifelong health outcomes,” Dooley says. Students who try to take classes virtually require the equipment and Internet connections to do so. Special education students need extra attention that they cannot always receive via videoconference. Younger children require adult engagement, often from a stay-at-home parent or a hired tutor, in order to complete their work. Many students, particularly those from lower-income households, lack these options and are falling behind in their studies as a result. Wealthy families can buy supplies, provide high-speed Internet and hire private tutors, allowing their children to avoid such setbacks. Also, the wealth gap between white and minority families means this imbalance in school outcomes may increase the achievement gap between white and minority students, according to reports from the research institute Center for American Progress and the consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Many parents and communities also have to rely on school systems for basic childcare during working hours. And because online learning itself often requires at least some adult help, even parents who are able to work from home can find themselves in the extremely stressful position of having what amounts to two full-time jobs: paid work and unpaid childcare and teaching. The situation is often described in terms such as “crushing.” It can cause economic problems, as well as mental health ones. If schools do not reopen, some parents (many of them mothers) may be forced to leave the workforce—and then be unable to return. On an individual level, families will lose income; on a society-wide level, the economy could be severely damaged.
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To avoid this problem, institutions such as the AAP, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, educators’ organizations and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine have advocated for in-person schooling—if it can be done safely. This requirement means establishing effective and rigorously enforced rules and protocols that will allow students to physically attend school while minimizing risks to their health and that of their communities.
How to Reopen Schools
There can be no universal, one-size-fits-all rules for reopening physical campuses safely. Community transmission rates vary greatly from region to region and month to month. Different districts face widely disparate financial realities. Even within the same school system, younger and older students differ in their ability to learn virtually—and in their likelihood of spreading the novel coronavirus. “We have to be prepared and flexible for an ever changing school year,” Dooley says. “Protocols and procedures put in place at the beginning of the school year may need to change as the level of disease may increase in a community.”
Many of the measures for keeping school attendees safe are the same as the ones meant to help protect the general population: covering faces, regularly washing or sanitizing hands throughout the day, limiting students to small social “bubbles” (also called “pods” or “cohorts”), improving ventilation in classrooms and even teaching outdoors when possible. Keeping children and adults at a distance from one another would also help, but this can be difficult because it requires space that is often simply unavailable. Some contend this problem can be addressed by staggering schedules so each student attends classes in person fewer days a week (studying online from home the rest of the time), thus reducing the number of people in a building at a given time. “Another thing we can do is regular testing,” Jenkins says. “Children are more likely to be asymptomatic,” so rapid testing would allow schools to identify and isolate people with COVID-19 to protect other students and teachers.
Several of these measures—improving ventilation, having some children attend classes virtually, and providing fast and regular tests—will be inconvenient and require additional funding, potentially from the federal government. Perhaps because of this difficulty (as well as political pressure from some who insist that enforcing pandemic precautions is unnecessary or overly intrusive), many schools have pushed to physically reopen without the requisite precautions. Last month Florida and Iowa announced that schools must provide in-person instruction, despite the fact that COVID-19 cases were rising in both states. In Georgia, photographs of mostly maskless high school students crowding a hallway spread on social media. After nine people tested positive for COVID-19, the school had to institute online-only learning while the building was closed for cleaning. Without safety measures—or with sudden spikes in community spread—other schools may reopen only to quickly close campuses as well.
“One of the best things we can do to keep [schools] safe is to keep local community transmission low,” Jenkins says. To do so, she recommends that authorities take strong action to control the virus—even when that means closing businesses such as gyms and bars. “It’s very tempting to want to reopen as many industries making money as possible, because there’s big pressure to get the economy going,” she says. “But it’s unlikely we can have everything. I hope [governors are] thinking of priorities, and I’d hope schools would come near the top of that.”
Read more about the coronavirus outbreak from Scientific American here. And read coverage from our international network of magazines here.


scientificamerican--2020-08-20--How to Ensure America's Quantum Future

How to Ensure America's Quantum Future

Science knows no borders .
Fundamental research , done by domestic or foreign talent , underpins progress and drives innovation—and ultimately , improves our lives .
Continuing to attract foreign highly skilled scientists to the United States and retaining them is crucial for building a bright future that relies on emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence ( AI ) .
We need these scientists—and we need them badly .
Over the years , foreign-born physicists , chemists , computer scientists , mathematicians , you name it , have been contributing greatly to the U.S. leadership in quantum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Research .
IBM is an American company with a global footprint , and in the U.S. we have three research labs—in Yorktown Heights , N.Y. , Almaden , Calif. , and Cambridge , Mass .
Among our AI-skilled researchers , 58 percent are from abroad .
In quantum computing , it ’ s a quarter of our workforce .
And in cloud , another important area for us , it ’ s 55 percent of our research community .
I am the director of IBM Research .
When I speak , I speak @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of my foreign-born colleagues .
I was born in Spain and came to the U.S. as a teenager .
I finished my last year of high school here in 1993 , at Los Altos High near Palo Alto , Calif. , and loved the country so much that I decided to stay .
Ever since , I ’ ve been working to make America a better place to live , having graduated from MIT with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science .
I promised myself then to give my wit , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country , my new home .
My case is far from unique .
America has long been called the Land of Opportunity .
But every individual opportunity yields dividends for the whole nation .
Talent is the most critical resource in today ’ s knowledge economy .
We must prioritize the development , attraction and retention of highly skilled workers .
A declining birth rate , the ever-changing nature of work that increasingly demands STEM skills , and not enough STEM training at home—a problem we must urgently address—means the U.S. must remain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talent .
Nations that understand the importance of developing , attracting and retaining human capital will be uniquely positioned to create the best future and benefit from the advancements in science and technology .
Our world has not run out of problems to solve—from pandemics to climate change to creating economic opportunity for all .
The urgency of science has never been greater .
Make no mistake .
While emerging technologies like AI and quantum are absolutely crucial for our economy , society and the continuous progress of our country , it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world leader in these , and many other , areas .
And it ’ s top talent that is in short supply .
MIT ’ s President Rafael Reif put it quite bluntly in a recent New York Times opinion piece .
“ Why is foreign talent so important to the United States ?
For the same reason the Boston Red Sox don ’ t limit themselves to players born in Boston : The larger the pool you draw from , the larger the supply of exceptional talent , ” he argued .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ one another , they make one another better , just as star players raise a whole team ’ s level of play.
” Take quantum .
This technology of the near future is set to revolutionize the world of computing and will likely deeply impact our society and economy .
Having been confined to research labs for years , it ’ s finally emerging as a nascent industry .
For specific tasks , quantum computers promise to unlock processing power much superior to traditional , classical , computers .
With continued progress , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and generate simulations of unprecedented complexity at a fraction of the time it would take a classical computer .
They should even be able to deal with problems a classical computer could never solve .
The implications of quantum for security , chemistry , material design , financial markets , AI and machine learning are immense .
And now look at the people driving this quantum revolution in the U.S. ; IBM , Google , Microsoft , Honeywell , Intel and startups like Rigetti and IonQ are all pursuing quantum computing research here @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the foreign-born quantum researchers is the lead of our quantum program , IBM Fellow Jay Gambetta .
An Australian , he has been working in quantum computing for 20 years , having come to the U.S. in 2004 to continue his research studies .
He became a citizen last year .
When Gambetta first arrived in the U.S. , quantum computing was n't yet mainstream .
It was thanks to foreign-born , highly skilled researchers like him that this country has been able to emerge as a global leader in this crucial area @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which included IBM Fellow Matthias Steffen—another immigrant and naturalized American—that in 2012 put IBM Research on the global experimental quantum computing map .
They created stable superconducting qubits , the building blocks of quantum computers .
And four years later , Gambetta and his colleagues became the first in the world to make quantum computers available globally and for free through the cloud—to anyone .
According to a 2019 report by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology ( CSET ) , more than 50 percent of computer scientists with graduate degrees currently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ nearly 70 percent of enrolled computer science graduate students as well .
The same report found , though , that the vast majority of this foreign-born talent wants to remain in the U.S .
In AI-related fields specifically , around 80 percent of U.S.-educated Ph.D. graduates have stayed in the country—just like the 58 percent of foreign-born AI researchers that now work at IBM ’ s American labs .
These stats show that we should keep investing in our highly skilled citizens with vigor and ambition—be they naturalized citizens or citizens by birth @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and it will soon be increasingly difficult to attract and retain these workers—the workers we so desperately need here in America .
We must also consider the security of our research enterprise , particularly when it comes to the countries that do not share our democratic values , respect for human rights , and the rule of the law .
But above all , investing in our citizens is simply the right thing to do , as it means we recognize and value the intrinsic potential of the talent present in every corner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to address the chronic underfunding of historically Black colleges and universities ( HBCUs ) —great scientific , economic and cultural drivers .
They accomplish a lot with very modest investment .
Just consider that although only about 9 percent of America ’ s Black students enroll in HBCUs , roughly 16 percent of all Black scientists and engineers are their graduates .
Imagine what they could achieve with more funding .
Each year , more than 50,000 bachelor ’ s degrees in computer science and related fields are awarded to U.S. citizens or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to “ staple ” green cards to the diplomas of all foreign-born Ph.D.s who graduate in STEM from American universities .
Similarly , we should award graduate fellowships to all U.S. undergraduate majors in computer science with GPAs above a certain level .
Our country and the world are full of talent .
We should embrace diversity and foreign highly skilled workers as much as we embrace the emerging technology that they bring us .
The skills and passion of our citizens and immigrants are the pillars of strength for advancing the scientific @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As Avi Loeb , the chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard University , has written in these very pages , science is an infinite-sum game .
Diversity is our strength and competitive advantage .
It is time to reset America ’ s commitment to science and to raise our level of ambition to ensure our country remains a beacon to , and the home of , the world ’ s best STEM talent .

Science knows no borders. Fundamental research, done by domestic or foreign talent, underpins progress and drives innovation—and ultimately, improves our lives. Continuing to attract foreign highly skilled scientists to the United States and retaining them is crucial for building a bright future that relies on emerging technologies such as quantum computing and artificial intelligence (AI).
We need these scientists—and we need them badly.
Over the years, foreign-born physicists, chemists, computer scientists, mathematicians, you name it, have been contributing greatly to the U.S. leadership in quantum and AI. Just look at IBM Research. IBM is an American company with a global footprint, and in the U.S. we have three research labs—in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., Almaden, Calif., and Cambridge, Mass. Among our AI-skilled researchers, 58 percent are from abroad. In quantum computing, it’s a quarter of our workforce. And in cloud, another important area for us, it’s 55 percent of our research community.
I am the director of IBM Research. When I speak, I speak with an accent, just like all of my foreign-born colleagues. I was born in Spain and came to the U.S. as a teenager. I finished my last year of high school here in 1993, at Los Altos High near Palo Alto, Calif., and loved the country so much that I decided to stay. Ever since, I’ve been working to make America a better place to live, having graduated from MIT with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering and computer science. I promised myself then to give my wit, education, dedication and passion to this country, my new home.
My case is far from unique. America has long been called the Land of Opportunity. But every individual opportunity yields dividends for the whole nation. Talent is the most critical resource in today’s knowledge economy. We must prioritize the development, attraction and retention of highly skilled workers. A declining birth rate, the ever-changing nature of work that increasingly demands STEM skills, and not enough STEM training at home—a problem we must urgently address—means the U.S. must remain a beacon to attract the best global talent. Nations that understand the importance of developing, attracting and retaining human capital will be uniquely positioned to create the best future and benefit from the advancements in science and technology.
Our world has not run out of problems to solve—from pandemics to climate change to creating economic opportunity for all. The urgency of science has never been greater.
Make no mistake. While emerging technologies like AI and quantum are absolutely crucial for our economy, society and the continuous progress of our country, it is top talent that makes the U.S. a world leader in these, and many other, areas. And it’s top talent that is in short supply. MIT’s President Rafael Reif put it quite bluntly in a recent New York Times opinion piece. “Why is foreign talent so important to the United States? For the same reason the Boston Red Sox don’t limit themselves to players born in Boston: The larger the pool you draw from, the larger the supply of exceptional talent,” he argued. “By challenging, inspiring and stretching one another, they make one another better, just as star players raise a whole team’s level of play.”
Take quantum. This technology of the near future is set to revolutionize the world of computing and will likely deeply impact our society and economy. Having been confined to research labs for years, it’s finally emerging as a nascent industry. For specific tasks, quantum computers promise to unlock processing power much superior to traditional, classical, computers. With continued progress, they should be able to perform calculations and generate simulations of unprecedented complexity at a fraction of the time it would take a classical computer. They should even be able to deal with problems a classical computer could never solve. The implications of quantum for security, chemistry, material design, financial markets, AI and machine learning are immense.
And now look at the people driving this quantum revolution in the U.S.; IBM, Google, Microsoft, Honeywell, Intel and startups like Rigetti and IonQ are all pursuing quantum computing research here in America. At IBM, among the foreign-born quantum researchers is the lead of our quantum program, IBM Fellow Jay Gambetta. An Australian, he has been working in quantum computing for 20 years, having come to the U.S. in 2004 to continue his research studies. He became a citizen last year.
When Gambetta first arrived in the U.S., quantum computing wasn't yet mainstream. It was thanks to foreign-born, highly skilled researchers like him that this country has been able to emerge as a global leader in this crucial area. It was his quantum team, which included IBM Fellow Matthias Steffen—another immigrant and naturalized American—that in 2012 put IBM Research on the global experimental quantum computing map. They created stable superconducting qubits, the building blocks of quantum computers. And four years later, Gambetta and his colleagues became the first in the world to make quantum computers available globally and for free through the cloud—to anyone.
According to a 2019 report by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET), more than 50 percent of computer scientists with graduate degrees currently employed in the U.S. were born abroad—and nearly 70 percent of enrolled computer science graduate students as well. The same report found, though, that the vast majority of this foreign-born talent wants to remain in the U.S. In AI-related fields specifically, around 80 percent of U.S.-educated Ph.D. graduates have stayed in the country—just like the 58 percent of foreign-born AI researchers that now work at IBM’s American labs.
These stats show that we should keep investing in our highly skilled citizens with vigor and ambition—be they naturalized citizens or citizens by birth. Economic opportunities abroad are rising, and it will soon be increasingly difficult to attract and retain these workers—the workers we so desperately need here in America. We must also consider the security of our research enterprise, particularly when it comes to the countries that do not share our democratic values, respect for human rights, and the rule of the law. But above all, investing in our citizens is simply the right thing to do, as it means we recognize and value the intrinsic potential of the talent present in every corner of our country.
We also need to address the chronic underfunding of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs)—great scientific, economic and cultural drivers. They accomplish a lot with very modest investment. Just consider that although only about 9 percent of America’s Black students enroll in HBCUs, roughly 16 percent of all Black scientists and engineers are their graduates. Imagine what they could achieve with more funding.
Each year, more than 50,000 bachelor’s degrees in computer science and related fields are awarded to U.S. citizens or permanent residents. It has been recommended to “staple” green cards to the diplomas of all foreign-born Ph.D.s who graduate in STEM from American universities. Similarly, we should award graduate fellowships to all U.S. undergraduate majors in computer science with GPAs above a certain level.
Our country and the world are full of talent. We should embrace diversity and foreign highly skilled workers as much as we embrace the emerging technology that they bring us. The skills and passion of our citizens and immigrants are the pillars of strength for advancing the scientific and technological leadership of our nation. As Avi Loeb, the chair of the Astronomy Department at Harvard University, has written in these very pages, science is an infinite-sum game. Diversity is our strength and competitive advantage. It is time to reset America’s commitment to science and to raise our level of ambition to ensure our country remains a beacon to, and the home of, the world’s best STEM talent.