Host Patrick Sajbel welcomes a force in science education for more than a half century, Professor Bassam Shakhashiri.
Shakhashiri reflects on the need for science literacy in the general public and the importance of the conversation to achieve this. He has been recognized with the first award of the William T. Evjue Distinguished Chair for the Wisconsin Idea (a position held for 20 years), and assistant director at the National Science Foundation (NSF), with the National Science Board’s Public Service Award.
In addition to a 51-year professional career in the University of Wisconsin Department of Chemistry, he also served as the President of the American Chemical Society, one of the world’s largest scientific organizations with over 150,000 members in 150 countries.
Over the course of 50+ years, he has prepared a library of tools and presentations that can be used by educators, citizens and anybody with science curiosity.
