Jordan Amadio '05 is a physics major. He loves science, but his interests do not end there. Amadio spent last summer traveling throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, getting a glimpse of life in a very different world, one which he knows can be aided by the miracles of the science he studies.
But "science and engineering students aren't given a societal perspective," Amadio said, which is why he has become a leading force behind a new University program called the Global Science Initiative.
The initiative came about through a "convergence of people with similar aspirations," Amadio said.
The backers include President Tilghman, who has been involved with practical implications of science throughout her career, and Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science Maria Klawe.
In addition to administrators, students, faculty and outside organizations are contributing ideas for the initiative.
There are three components to the initiative, Amadio explained: a University-led component, a student-led component and a component led by outside partners.
The University-sponsored component, called the Global Science Program, is led by professor Wole Soboyejo of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.
Plans for the program include new courses stressing science from a policy perspective, new science-based study abroad opportunities and partnerships with both the Woodrow Wilson School and the engineering school, Amadio said.
In partnership with the Tanzanian NGO Aang Serian, the program will sponsor the Tanzania Village project, which will educate local peoples about the relevance of science to their lives and focus on health, nutritional and environmental issues.
The University will provide financial support to Aang Serian and will get students involved in planning curricula and teaching, largely during the summer.
Amadio has spearheaded the student-led component of the initiative which he hopes will form an independent organization called the Global Science Corps, "a Peace Corps for scientists and engineers."
The last component of the initiative will incorporate scientific organizations outside the University. Already, the Institute for Advanced Study's Millenium Science Initiative, a program working to set up centers for scientific advancement in the developing world, has come on board.
"Ultimately, we're hoping the initiative will spread elsewhere," Amadio said, adding that he had already contacted officials at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania.
As the initiative is still in its incipient stages, the program is actively seeking University students and faculty as both participants and potential leaders, Amadio said.
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