Specific Examples of Federal Focus Symposia with Federal Agencies and Scientific Organizations

Click on a link, or scroll below to read overviews of each Symposia.

• American Association for the Advancement of Science-Federal Focus Symposium on Data Access [1999]
• First Annual Ed-Mentor Symposium [1999]
• Federal Interagency Meeting on the Use of Epidemiology in Risk Assessment [1997]
• London Principles Panel Presentation [Annual Meeting of the Society for Risk Analysis, 1996]
• CSEEE Science Panel Presentation on Endocrine Disruption [Annual Meeting of the American College of Toxicology, 1996]
• National Symposium on Wireless Transmission Base Station Facilities [1994]
• Cellular Telephone Research and Cancer Symposium [1993]
• Technology Exhibit at the Rio Environmental Summit [1992]

In order to encourage discussion and debate on the Data Access issue, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and Federal Focus, Inc. jointly sponsored a symposium on the Data Access issue on February 26, 1999, in Washington, D.C. Specific focus of the discussion was on the data provisions contained in the FY 1999 Omnibus Appropriations Act (P.L. 105-277) and conference report. Under that Act, OMB was required to amend its Circular A-110 ("Uniform Administrative Requirements for Grants and Agreements with Institutions of Higher Education, Hospitals, and Other Non-Profit Organizations") to make publicly-funded research data available to the public through requests under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

Panelists from a variety of key organizations participated in the symposium, including:

• Office of Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL)
• House Science Committee
• National Institutes of Health (NIH)
• University of Chicago
• Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology
• Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Approximately 175 members of the interested public were also in attendance, representing the federal government, academia, various associations, industry, the media, and others from the scientific community.

The AAAS-Federal Focus Data Access symposium was truly a seminal event in the overall Data Access debate due to the capacity crowd (approximately 175 participants) and the broad range of participants. The issues were thoroughly aired in terms of identifying problems to be addressed with implementation of the Data Access provisions called for under the statute. Examples of such issues include confidentiality concerns, commingling of data, assessment of user fees, and coverage of the term "data."

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The First Annual Federal Focus Ed-Mentor Symposium was held on September 27, 1999, in Washington, DC. Business leaders, government agencies, educators, technology experts, as well as for-profit and non-profit organizations, were invited to attend this important symposium on Telementoring. Policymakers, program directors, managers, and leading experts in the field were featured speakers including officials from The White House, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the Department of Education, NASA, the International Telementor Center, the University of Texas, San Jose State University, the University of Pittsburgh, and Syracuse University. Internet-based mentoring programs, often called E-Mentoring, Electronic-Mentoring, Telementoring or Ed-Mentor have mushroomed in recent years. Therefore, it was deemed time to share views on what works, and what works best. It is for this reason that Federal Focus, acting as a facilitator, assembled several top experts in the Internet mentoring industry to come together to discuss and share ideas about successful programs.

Federal Focus arranged and moderated a roundtable meeting with representatives of all of the major federal health and environmental agencies in Washington, D.C. in early 1997 to discuss principles for the use of epidemiologic data in risk assessments, and in particular, approaches for implementing the "London Principles" which had been developed by an expert panel convened by Federal Focus in London in late1995.

Federal Focus arranged and sponsored a discussion panel of the use of epidemiology in risk assessment and the "London Principles" at the December 1996 annual meeting of the Society of Risk Analysis in New Orleans. Presentations were made by four of the scientists who were involved in preparing the "London Principles"-- Genevieve Matanoski, Jane Teta, Warner North, and Tom Starr -- who had been involved in drafting the London Principles-- and one, Allan Smith, who had been involved in the conference leading up to the London conference (the Lansdowne conference).

The Federal Focus Center for the Study of Environmental Endocrine Effects sponsored and arranged a symposium on the science of environmental endocrine effects (both human and ecological) at the annual meeting of the American College of Toxicology held in November 1996 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Five papers reflecting the presentations from the symposium were later published in the January-February 1997 issue of the International Journal of Toxicology by John Thomas, Keith Solomon, William Benson, William Waddell, and Daniel Byrd.

The Federal Focus National Symposium on Wireless Transmission Base Station Facilities was convened on October 28, 1994 at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.

The symposium, sponsored by the Scientific Advisory Group on Cellular Telephone Research, brought together scientists, engineers and other professional experts from the federal government, industry and academia to discuss key issues and concerns regarding cellular telephone transmission towers. Presentations were delivered on: current and planned cellular communication technologies; typical exposure to base station RF and exposure standards; transmission towers and electromagnetic interference; and land use issues.

Based on the presentations and discussions at the symposium, Federal Focus published a monograph recapping the issues raised and lessons learned concerning the construction and use of cellular transmission towers. The monograph, Federal Focus National Symposium on Wireless Transmission Base Station Facilities: A Tutorial, was written for the lay person and included an Executive Summary, chapters of each key issue, and a glossary of technical terms.

The Federal Focus Cellular Telephone Research and Cancer Symposium was held on December 14-15, 1993 in Washington, DC. The symposium was designed to assist the Scientific Advisory Group in developing a multi-year research agenda investigating the possibility of carcinogenic effects from cellular telephones.

The two-day symposium included a series of tutorials by leading scientific researchers from government, industry and academia. Tutorials discussed a wide variety of topics including:

• Radio-frequency exposure from cellular telephone use
• Specific absorption rates based on a magnetic resonance imaging model
• A review of the literature on Radio-frequency radiation and cancer
• The role of modulation in cell response to non-ionizing radiation
• A view on bridging the biological and engineering aspects of non-ionizing radiation research
• Criteria of cause and effect relationships
• Carcinogen classification policies of four US and international science agencies
• Mechanisms of carcinogenesis

In addition to the tutorials, the symposium featured open discussions on the materials presented as well as discussions about the specific components of a research strategy. Following the symposium, Federal Focus solicited and published written comments from participants on the meeting.