Science in the public forum: a conversation with Nobel Prize winner Dr. Harold Varmus!

On Monday, March 29th at 8:00pm at the Herbst Theater, Dr. Harold Varmus and Roy Eisenhardt will disucss their motivation and vision for open access in scientific publishing.  They both co-founded the revolutionary, non-profit organization Public Library of Science (PLoS).  PLoS has become increasingly successful in publishing high quality science without the need for a for-profit, subscription-based business model.  Whether you are a scientist or not, you should find this talk to be relevant and very interesting!

An explanation of open access from the PLoS website:

Open Access

Everything we publish is freely available online throughout the world, for you to read, download, copy, distribute, and use (with attribution) any way you wish. No permission required. Read a detailed definition of Open Access.

Why is Open Access Important?

Published research results and ideas are the foundation for future progress in science and medicine. Open Access publishing therefore leads to wider dissemination of information and increased efficiency in science, by providing:

• Open Access To Ideas.
  Whether you are a patient seeking health information, an educator wishing to enliven a lesson plan, or a researcher looking to formulate a hypothesis, making papers freely available online provides you with the most current peer-reviewed scientific information and discoveries.
• Open Access To The Broadest Audience.
  As a researcher, publishing in an open access journal allows anyone with an interest in your work to read it - and that translates into increased usage and impact.

A little bit about Dr. Harold Varmus:  He was a co-recipient of 1989 Nobel Prize for his seminal research into the genetic basis of cancer along with Dr. Michael Bishop at UCSF.  Harold Varmus was also the Director of the National Institutes of Health during the Clinton administration.

For ticket reservations to the talk, call 415-392-4400 or visit City Box Office.  Adults: $20; California Academy of Science members: $18.