Having established a research council in his native Belize to develop human capital through math and science education, Duke mathematician Arlie Petters felt it was time the Caribbean nation's government had access to the best scientific advice.
He has pulled together a panel of experts to form Belize's first Council of Science Advisers, which will offer guidance to the Prime Minister on science policy and attracting new technology investment -- particularly in green technology.
"It's time for us to go to the next level in green," said Petters, the Benjamin Powell Professor of Math and Physics at Duke. About 40 percent of the former British colony is in protected reserves, opening the possibility of a carbon-capture market and increased eco-tourism, for example. Its abundant sunshine and sea breezes hold promise for alternative energy as well.
"We will grow the panel to about a dozen people," Petters said. "We can help with screening policies as they're being developed to make sure they are evidence-driven."
For now, the Council of Science Advisors is largely made up of Petters' friends and colleagues, including a few from Duke: outgoing Dean of Arts and Sciences George McLendon, Director of the Center for Science Education Rochelle Schwartz-Bloom, and Nancy Zeleniak, the associate dean for communications in Arts & Sciences and instructor in the Fuqua School of Business. Duke alumnus and Rhodes Scholar Samuel Malone, a former mathematics student of Petters, is also on the panel.