Our admission to the club actually mirrored how scientific and legal processes connect to influence society. Each seeks truth in its way, but in complementary fashion. Both are absolutely vital to our economy and to our nation, yet the pace and complexity of scientific research will present new and even more frequent challenges to the legal arena. I'll submit that society can no longer afford to have scientists and lawyers eyeing each other warily from our separate corners. We must make far greater efforts to learn each other's language, and to speak and listen in forums of mutual respect.
Lunches are a great way to start.
Today, I would like to speak first about why this matters to NSF and its mission. Then I'd like to offer a few thoughts on our separate yet interdependent worlds of science and law. After that, I'd like to look at how the encounter of science and law reverberates in three vital areas for science and technology investment. These three areas are biocomplexity, information technology, and science and math literacy. What is NSF and why this matters Let me tell you about why NSF cares about the interplay between science and law.