The European Commission at AAAS 2014 in Chicago

A European Commission delegation headed by Rudolf Strohmeier, Deputy Director-General for Research and Innovation, took part in one of the world's largest and most prestigious general scientific events - the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This year's meeting entitled "Meeting Global Challenges: Discovery and Innovation" was held in Chicago on 13-17 February 2014. It gathered some 5000 participants, among them international scientists and policy makers as well as several hundred EU and international journalists, and provided excellent networking opportunities. Commission staff spoke at a number of symposia and promoted Destination Europe at an exhibition stand where conference participants learnt more about research opportunities in the EU. The European Commission's key messages were that "Europe is open for business and international cooperation and offers attractive research career opportunities". The Directorate General for Research and Innovation organised five symposia each highlighting different aspects and impacts of EU-funded research and innovation. The Joint Research Centre - JRC was also involved in five symposia and launched The Soil Atlas of Latin America and the Caribbean - one result of the JRC's collaboration with the worldwide scientific community that illustrates the importance of a vital, non-renewable resource for human life, biodiversity and climate. The European Research Council (ERC) was represented by its new President, Prof. Bourguignon and ERC grant holders who were involved in scientific symposia. The ERC also organised a workshop together with Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and Euraxess Links USA. Six researchers supported by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions presented their research at two symposia dedicated to wellbeing. The next AAAS annual conference will take place in San Jose on 12-16 February 2015 under the theme: 'Innovations in Information and Imaging'. The call for proposals submission deadline is Friday, 25 April 2014.

For more information, please contact
Monika Adamova, Monika.Adamova@ec.europa.eu,
DG RTD Directorate A