We are very proud to announce the 2010 Class of Science and Public Leadership Fellows – eighteen exceptionally talented and accomplished scientific leaders.

The Fellows are working in areas of critical importance such as energy, food supply sustainability, water, public health, climate change, conservation ecology, green chemistry, computing, education, oceans, and national security.

The program aims to develop a corps of emerging scientific leaders who can effectively communicate with and engage the public in their work and the importance of their fields.

Photography by John Santerre

The 2010 Fellows first met in August at the Banbury Center of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. That kickoff event began a longer term process of providing training, mentorship and access to a powerful social network – comprised of scientific media, corporate and academic leaders – and opportunities for public leadership and engagement.

Photography by John Santerre

The Fellows were identified after a year-long outreach effort that put us in touch with some of the most esteemed research institutions in the world and a network of renowned scientific advisors.

This vital program would not be possible without PopTech’s partners and supporters, including Microsoft Research, Intel, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, National Geographic, National Science Foundation, Rita Allen Foundation, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and the New York Academy of Sciences.

The Fellows will be presenting at PopTech 2010 (registrations available here), but in the meantime, learn more about who they are and what they do.

We are delighted to welcome the Fellows into the PopTech network!

Do you know someone with a big idea, a track record for high-impact results and a commitment to make the world a better place? If your answer is “yes,” then we would like to hear from you.

Nominations are now open for the 2010 PopTech Social Innovation Fellows Program.

In the coming months we will be selecting up to 20 Social Innovation Fellows from around the world who are incubating transformative solutions to the world’s most pressing social, economic and environmental challenges. Nominations are particularly encouraged in the fields of healthcare, energy, water, and the arts, as well as green materials, the environment and education. Fellows will be selected based on their proven track record and their potential to generate high-impact and sustainable solutions. Check out the 2010 Call for Nominations for eligibility criteria, and see our 2008 and 2009 Fellows for great examples of what we look for.

The Social Innovation Fellows Program exemplifies PopTech’s longstanding commitment to the field of social innovation and highlights the importance of this sector in developing breakthrough solutions to some of the world’s most urgent challenges. The centerpiece of the program is an intensive, multi-day, interactive curriculum taught by a world-class faculty with expertise in areas critical to the success of “big bet” social innovations. This experience is complemented by participation in PopTech 2010, the annual convening of prominent thought leaders, influencers and policy-makers (October 20-23, Camden, ME). Our ability to deeply integrate Fellows into the broader PopTech network provides a unique opportunity to showcase work and develop deep relationships with a corps of supporters who are committed to advancing their ideas, projects and collaborations.

We need your help as part of the PopTech network to identify the Class of 2010—please nominate candidates now through the online nomination form.

Editor’s note: Leetha Filderman is the Director of the PopTech Accelerator. For World AIDS day today, she gives an update on Project Masiluleke, the collaborative PopTech mobile health project. More details in these Project Masiluleke videos and look for more updates on this blog in coming months.

Project Masiluleke, a signature program of the PopTech Accelerator, has been sending HIV/AIDS awareness messaging in South Africa since October 1, 2008. Designed as a large-scale mobile health initiative, the project has been making steady strides since its launch at PopTech 2008.

Today, and every day, the project sends about 1 million Please Call Messages (PCMs) throughout South Africa, directing citizens to the National AIDS Helpline for advice, support, counseling and referral to HIV/AIDS services in their community.

In partnership with African-based mobile service provider, MTN, Project Masiluleke has tagged 329,362,518 PCMs since its launch at PopTech 2008. These PCMs have been instrumental in driving over 1.2 Million calls to the National Aids Helpline over the past 13 months.

In addition to the “call to action” PCM phase of Project Masiluleke, we are expanding TxtAlert, a text message-based appointment reminder system that reminds patients of clinic appointments and other types of treatment reminders. Based on the early success of pilot projects using Txt Alert, Edendale Hospital – one of the largest public hospitals in South Africa – will implement TxtAlert in the HIV Antiretroviral and TB clinics in the early part of next year.

While mass messaging and treatment reminders have made an impact, the AIDS epidemic continues to cause enormous suffering and premature loss of life throughout South Africa and many other parts of the world. Globally, the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS prevents millions from learning their HIV status or connecting to treatment early in the course of infection.

In the coming year, project partners will continue to actively explore and test a breakthrough distributed diagnostics model: low cost HIV self-testing backed by mobile counseling support. The concept of self-testing has been greeted with enthusiasm by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Health, the South African HIV Clinicians Society, and other leaders in global healthcare. And the most important endorsement of our work comes from those facing the realities and challenges of AIDS on a daily basis. Feedback from focus groups of high-risk men consistently confirm that individuals are eager to have access to HIV self-test kits, prefer mobile interactions over face-to-face counseling and feel empowered by the ability to test privately. We will keep all of you posted as this work progresses!

The work of Project Masiluleke exemplifies PopTech’s commitment to creating impact through highly collaborative, cross-sector partnerships. For over three years our core partners – iTeach, Praekelt Foundation and frog design – have worked with us to explore and create innovative approaches in response to the challenges of HIV/AIDS and TB. We are also grateful for the support of MTN South Africa for extending their commitment to the Project Masiluleke for a second year.

To learn more about Project Masiluleke please visit the Project Masiluleke section of the PopTech site.