While the National Academies is focused on advising the federal government, it is free to support other activities and advise other groups.  Part of their work includes their journal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) a science museum, located around the corner from one of their buildings in Washington, D.C.  Public engagement and public communication of science are taken serious at the Academies.

Their science outreach has recently expanded to include the Science and Entertainment Exchange (hat tip, Framing Science), what appears to be a clearinghouse between scientists and the entertainment industry to make it easier from producers, writers and directors to connect with people to inform the science portrayed in their work.  It will launch with an afternoon event in Los Angeles next month, hosted by Seth McFarlane, with science notables including Rodney Brooks, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lisa Randall and J. Craig Ventner participating.

The Advisory Board has a mix of scientists and entertainment industry players, though it skews older as is typical with most National Academies projects.  This is a project where younger volunteers may lead to more effective collaboration with Hollywood.  There are more disciplines represented than the usual suspects of physics and biology, though the social sciences – particularly useful when predicting how humans might change in speculative scenarios (stories) – are barely represented. The entertainment names most recognizable to the average citizen – Rob Reiner, Seth McFarlane, Dustin Hoffman – are not typically associated with science or technology in film, which suggests that there was an effort to reach beyond the usual suspects (read: science fiction).  There’s only one science fiction author mentioned (Greg Benford, though he’s listed by his academic affiliation), and the only Star Trek connections on the board include the author of The Physics of Star Trek and a gentleman that directed several episodes of the Star Trek spinoffs.  While its necessary to show no particular favorites in terms of Hollywood material, science fiction is by no means immune to putting up bad science on screen.

I am encouraged by this effort, and hope Hollywood takes advantage of it.  I would also hope that this is just a single step in expanding engagement between scientists and the public.  This is something that can’t be done as a matter of public policy, the scientific community must continually work at it.