DBASSE Celebrates 60 Years and Looks to the Future

On October 13, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine held a symposium celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE). During the two-day event, presenters revisited some of the Division’s most notable activities and reports, such as the Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) and the report on Reproducibility and Replicability in Science, to name a few. Later, speakers explored some of the topics that could dominate in the years ahead and how social science can contribute. In the words of former Director of the National Science Foundation Rita Colwell, “This is the age of the social sciences;” she called for better incorporation of the social, behavioral, and economic sciences at the outset of studies in the natural or physical sciences. Other topics identified for future attention include issues of equity, access to and safeguarding of data, global change, trust in and effective communication of science, and technology’s impact on the future. A recording of the symposium is available here.