In the coming weeks, three renowned US scientists will fan out across the Muslim world bearing an invitation from the White House to engage in scientific cooperation. In November, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in Morocco that former National Academy of Sciences (NAS) president Bruce Alberts, former National Institutes of Health director Elias Zerhouni, and Nobel laureate and UCLA chemistry professor Ahmed Zewail have agreed to serve as “science envoys” and visit a number of Muslim-majority countries in North Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. The emissaries will gather input on areas of potential collaboration from government officials and leaders of the nations’ scientific communities.
They are one element of a science and technology (S&T) outreach plan President Obama announced in a June speech at the University of Cairo, when he proposed a “new beginning” in US relations with Muslim-majority nations. Other steps include an...
