The “American Dream” in the future depends on a renewed emphasis on science research, according to Oregon native and keynote speaker Kathie Olsen, PhD, at the October Scholar Awards Luncheon for ARCS Foundation Oregon.  The current 57 ARCS Oregon scholars were presented at the “Recognizing Genius” luncheon, 470 people attended, and net income was $102,000 for the chapter’s annual signature event.

Olsen’s long career in science policy and management at top U.S. federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation and NASA, prompted her to conclude that the mission of ARCS Foundation is more critical today than when the philanthropic organization was founded in 1958.

Olsen’s key points:

• The U.S. has evolved from an agricultural focus to today’s information economy and knowledge-based society.
• STEM employment is growing in our increasingly global society and the U.S. must keep up with other countries.
• U.S. Research and Development is still the highest in the world, but R & D as a share of the total federal budget and as share of the Gross Domestic Product is declining. Businesses are stepping up with R & D, but the reduction by the federal government impacts support of basic research.
• Overt bias and discrimination of female scientists has decreased globally, but unconscious bias is still a challenge for women.

Click here to read more about Dr. Olsen's speech.

Olsen is currently Founder and Managing Director of ScienceWorks, based in Washington D.C., where she is a member of ARCS Foundation. Early in her career as a neuroscientist, Olsen said, she learned that a science paper had a better chance of being published if she submitted it with her initials, rather than her first name.

ARCS Oregon members, university and community leaders filled the Portland Art Museum ballroom to near capacity and enthusiastically applauded the current 57 ARCS scholars who are pursuing graduate degrees in medicine, science and engineering at Oregon Health and Science University and Oregon State University.  Each scholar was introduced on stage and his or her donors were named.

The audience also learned about sound wave technology as a way to study marine mammal behavior in the ocean from Kelly Benoit-Bird, PhD., professor in the College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University. Benoit-Bird was an ARCS scholar at the University of Hawaii at the beginning of her graduate studies and she spoke of the benefits of ARCS funding.

Luncheon attendees came early to interact with the 17 ARCS scholars who presented poster information about their research.  Topics ranged from the risks of natural space radiation to identifying mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance. Luncheon guests had the opportunity to get layman’s answers to very technical investigations.

ARCS Oregon Chapter will net $102,000 from the event, which will fund future scholar awards.

ARCS Foundation Oregon has funded 150 scholars in Oregon since its founding in 2004. Donors of the unrestricted three-year awards for PhD students are ARCS members, community supporters, foundations and corporations.

Sharon Hewitt, one of the founders of ARCS Oregon, and its first president, joined her husband Henry on stage to encourage scholar award donations. They spoke about the rewarding personal relationships that donors experience with the PhD students, as well as the need for research and innovation to keep America competitive, echoing Olsen’s message.

Key underwriters of the luncheon were Conference Solutions, Hoffman Construction with Julie and Wayne Drinkward, Oregon Health and Science University, and Oregon State University and the OSU Foundation. 

Photo: Kelly Benoit-Bird, ARCS Scholar (University of Hawaii) and professor at OSU; Ed Ray, President OSU; Aletha Anderson, Oregon Chapter President; and Kathie Olsen, keynote speaker