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The Millersville University Science and Technology Policy Conference will be held at the school March 25-27.
The purpose of the event is to educate people about science and get them to take part in developing public policy affecting energy, the environment and the preservation of the planet.
This is the third MU conference promoting citizen involvement and the first focusing on science, said Melvin Allen, head of the college's Civic and Community Engagement Research Project.
Bridging the gaps between citizens, scientists and policymakers is vital, Allen said.
"Obviously, we're not going to all go out and get Ph.D.s in astrophysics," he added, but people should be able to intelligently weigh the benefits and risks of technology.
Josh Kiner, one of several MU students working on the conference, said many people are unaware of plans for massive natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania's Marcellus shale formation, for example.
"I'm glad we're getting the word out," added the 26-year-old senior biology major.
The conference is being presented by CCERP, the MU School of Science and Mathematics and the MU Office of the Provost.
It kicks off with a 5:30 p.m. reception in the Bolger Conference Center, followed by a keynote talk featuring Richard Russell, the former deputy director for technology at the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy.
Friday, March 26, session topics will include climate change, Marcellus shale geology and natural gas production. Also to be discussed are the environmental impacts relating to the destruction of Appalachian mountaintops by coal miners.
Cyber security will be spotlighted Saturday, March 27.
Friday's presenters include Jay Parrish, state geologist; Michael Wood, research director for the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center; Keith Eshleman, University of Maryland environmental science professor; Fred Palmer, Peabody Energy governmental liaison; Daniel Schrag, a Harvard University geology professor who advises President Obama; Michael Byrne, Nobel Prize winner and professor of energy and climate policy at the University of Delaware; and Paul Higgins, senior policy fellow with the American Meteorological Society.
Presenters on Saturday will be Beth Olanoff, state education policy director; Chris Fisanick, assistant U.S. attorney handling computer crimes; Tony Rutkowski, Georgia Institute of Technology research fellow and cyber security expert (via Skype); Cheri McGuire, Microsoft principal security strategist; Dena Tsmaitis, education director at CyLab, Carnegie Mellon University; and Nishal Mohan, director of the Virtual Biosecurity Center, Washington D.C.
To register or obtain more information, call CCERP at 872-3049 or visit millersville.edu/ccerp.
