Robert Linhardt and Abby Kinchy will both speak at the upcoming 2011 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Linhardt, the Ann and John H. Broadbent Jr. ’59 Senior Constellation Professor of Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering, will present on how to maintain a safe drug supply on Saturday, Feb. 19, from 8 to 9 a.m., during the symposium titled “Medicine Safety in a World of Science Without Borders.”

Kinchy, assistant professor of science and technology studies, will discuss local perspectives on controversial shale gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region of New York and Pennsylvania on Sunday, Feb. 20, from 9 to 9:30 a.m., during the symposium titled “Fractures Developing: The Science, Policy, and Perception of Shale Gas Development.”

The AAAS Annual Meeting, which will focus this year on “Science Without Borders,” is among the largest meetings of scientists, engineers, educators, and policy-makers in the world.

Linhardt will discuss drug safety in an increasingly global economy and what his work with the common blood thinner heparin can teach us about the manufacture and distribution of safe pharmaceuticals. His research has helped make the currently available heparin safer for patients and is leading the effort to create a safer, fully synthetic alternative to the current heparin.

Kinchy will discuss her research on social conflicts surrounding controversial scientific innovations. In particular, she will discuss how new technologies to extract natural gas from previously inaccessible sources, called hydraulic fracturing, are impacting people in the surrounding communities.

The AAAS Annual Meeting is among the largest meetings of scientists, engineers, educators, and policy-makers in the world. Thousands of thought leaders from around the world will come together Feb. 17–21 at the Washington Convention Center to take part in the meeting, which will focus this year on “Science Without Borders.”