Dr. George Poste Joins Governing Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: It is 5 Minutes to Midnight

CHICAGO - March 11, 2013 - Dr. George Poste, Co-Director and Chief Scientist, Complex Adaptive Systems (http://casi.asu.edu/) and Regents' Professor and Del E. Webb Chair in Health Innovation at Arizona State University, has joined the Governing Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, effective March 2013. "Dr. Poste brings to the Bulletin deep and distinguished expertise in the science of emerging technologies, as well as crucial experience as a business leader and an outside director," noted John Balkcom, chair of the Governing Board. "We are delighted to welcome George as the newest member of our Governing Board."

Poste founded the Biodesign Institute at ASU (www.biodesign.asu.edu/) and served as Director from 2003 to 2009.  In 2004 he was named as ‘R&D Scientist of the Year' by R&D Magazine, in 2006 he received the Einstein award from the Global Business Leadership Council and in 2009 received the SCRIP Lifetime Achievement award voted by the leadership of the global pharmaceutical industry.  "I am thrilled that Dr. Poste has joined the board," said Bulletin executive director Kennette Benedict. "His business expertise, creative approach to policy issues at the forefront of technology and security, and deep commitment to addressing complex issues add new dimensions to the Governing Board."

The Governing Board of the Bulletin ensures that the organization has the management, policies, and resources to fulfill its mission. "I am honored to join the leadership of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists," said Poste. "I look forward to working with staff and the Science and Security Board so that we can continue, relying on sound science, to alert both policy makers and the public to the increasingly diverse threats that exist today."

Poste is a Fellow of the Royal Society, the Royal College of Pathologists, and the UK Academy of Medicine; he is a former Distinguished Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Stanford University, and a member of the Council for Foreign Relations. He served as a member of the Defense Science Board of the US Department of Defense (DoD) from 2003 to 2009 and is currently a member of the US Institute of Medicine Board on Global Health. Poste has served as a member of Advisory Committees for multiple US government agencies in areas of defense, national security, and healthcare.

ABOUT THE BULLETIN OF ATOMIC SCIENTISTS

Founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists subsequently created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 using the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero), to convey threats to humanity and the planet. The decision to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock is made by the Bulletin's Science and Security Board in consultation with the Governing Board and the Board of Sponsors, which includes 18 Nobel Laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences.

CONTACT: Janice Sinclaire, 707.481.9372, or jsinclaire@thebulletin.org