We are delighted to announce the Science and Public Leadership Fellows; excerpts from the press release below:

CC image of PopTech Executive Director Andrew Zolli by Kris Krug.

“The Science and Public Leadership Fellows program aims to develop a corps of highly visible and socially engaged scientific leaders who embody science as an essential way of thinking, discovering, understanding and deciding, and who can engage the public in areas of vital importance.

…

Starting in 2010, and each year thereafter, PopTech will select up to 20 high-potential, early- and mid-career scientists working in areas of critical importance to the U.S. and the planet, such as: energy, food, water, public health, climate change, conservation ecology, green chemistry, computing, education, oceans, and national security. Fellows will be given year-long training and skills development in communications, media training, public engagement and leadership, beginning with an initial, week-long intensive program in mid-June 2010 led by a world-class faculty of experts in these fields.

Fellows will develop relationships with leaders in communications, media and public engagement who will provide ongoing guidance and mentoring. Fellows will also be provided significant opportunities to raise their public profile and that of their work through many media, and to participate in a peer-level alumni network.

Find more on our PopTech Labs page and on the Closed Loop Lab page.

Read the entire press release, excerpts below:

Camden, ME & New York, NY – October 22, 2009 – PopTech (www.poptech.org), the renowned thought leadership and social innovation network, today announced a new signature offering: PopTech Labs (www.poptech.org/labs).

Each Lab will bring together a select group of leading scientific researchers, engineers, designers, corporate leaders, policymakers and other key stakeholders around a single topic of research in areas of vital importance to business, society, and the planet. Using open models of collaboration and knowledge sharing, this group will map the landscape around a high-potential idea, and design new incentives – from prizes to research programs – to propel continued efforts.

PopTech will convene its first Lab to help foster the search for new deep green materials, which are benign and low-impact, and which can exist in new large-scale “closed loop” ecosystems wherein the materials in finished products can be used as inputs for new products. Nike, the world’s leading designer of athletic shoes and apparel and already a leader in sustainable innovation via its Considered Design program, is the first partner in this initial Lab exploration.

We’re delighted to share this general release about PopTech 2009: America Reimagined (here’s the entire release):

PopTech 2009 http://poptech.org/2009schedule/, one of the world’s best thought leadership events, opened the doors to participants at its 13th annual event starting today in Camden, Maine. Thanks to support from Livestream, the entire conference will be simulcast free at poptech.org/live from Thursday 22nd – Saturday 24th October (9:00 am – 6:00 p.m. EST daily).

Over 600 preeminent thought-leaders, social innovators and change agents from a wide range of fields are convening for a shared exploration of America’s opportunities, its challenges, and its future; and will be examining cutting-edge ideas in education, energy, entrepreneurship, and the many systems on which America’s future wealth depends – from the social impact of new technologies, to the forces of change shaping our future, and how to take action on new approaches to making the world a better place.

The conference brings together over 70 thought-leaders including Michael Pollan, Robert Guest, Esther Duflo, Daniel Ariely, Kurt Andersen, Daniel Goleman, as well as other emerging thought leaders such as Daniel Nocera, Neri Oxman, Michael Wesch, John Fetterman, Erica Williams, Marije Vogelzang, and internationally known performers including Zoe Keating, John Forté, and Anthony Doer; as well as many thousands of viewers online, who are able join the discussion live via Twitter @poptech and submit questions over email to questions [at] poptech [dot] org.

The class of 2009 PopTech Social Innovation Fellows will be presenting their projects to conference participants – they include: Aviva Presser Aiden & Hugo Van Vuuren with Lebônê, Jason Aramburu with re:char, Eben Bayer with Ecovative Design, Paula Kahumbu with WildlifeDirect, Deb Levine with ISIS, Inc., Derek Lomas with Playpower Foundation, Josh Nesbit with FrontlineSMS:Medic, James O’Brien with Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School, Ory Okolloh with Ushahidi, Emily Pilloton with Project H Design, Hayat Sindi with Diagnostics For All, Taylor Stuckert & Mark Rembert with Energize Clinton County, and Nigel Waller with Movirtu.

(See the entire release.)

Hello friends!

Here in Camden, we’re incredibly excited that PopTech 2009: America Reimagined, our thirteenth annual gathering, is about to begin.

It’s our largest event ever, and we’re preparing to welcome more than 600 remarkable thinkers, leaders and doers including: Michael Pollan, Robert Guest, Esther Duflo, Daniel Ariely, James Fowler, Dean Ornish, Kurt Andersen, Neri Oxman and many others. Check out the full schedule at: poptech.org/2009schedule/.

If you’re not joining us in person this week, you can still participate live and online. We’ll be webcasting the entire event for free from Thursday 22nd – Saturday 24th October, from 9.00 a.m – 6.30 p.m. EST at PopTech.org/Live You can:

• Submit questions to speakers: questions [at] Poptech [dot] org
• Read ongoing updates on the PopTech blog: Poptech.org/blog
• Follow us on Twitter: @PopTech and #poptech

No matter how you do it, we invite you to watch, listen and get involved. It’s going to be a great week!