"The Mississippi Academy of Sciences Candle Burns Brightly!".

Congratulations to Bob Bateman who is our new president-elect and to Ham Benghuzzi who is our newest director for the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS). Similarly, congratulations are in order for Steve Case who is the new president-elect for the National Association of Academies of Science (NAAS). Our hats are off to all of them!

As we begin a new academic year, let me encourage you to put the MAS annual meeting on your calendar. It will be held in Biloxi, MS on February 21-22, 2002. We hope that you will plan to attend the meeting and bring your students and colleagues. The meeting is an excellent place for young investigators to network with scientists and students from other institutions. Many a student has met his/her future employer or university professor(s) at the Academy meetings. Others have learned about specific scholastic and/or industrial job opportunities at the meetings. Faculty have developed relationships with vendors which have led to new equipment for their teaching labs. We urge you and your students to submit abstracts and present your research findings at the meeting. This is an excellent way for young investigators to get their initial experience presenting at scientific meetings and it is a place to present ongoing work to your colleagues. We also encourage you to submit articles to the Journal of the Mississi ppi Academy of Sciences. The journal is peer-reviewed and has an excellent publication record and turn around time. It is a particularly appropriate venue for research results detailing work that involves this state and/or region.

The greatest value of the Academy is its inclusiveness, due in part to its low cost (membership dues), but nothing worthwhile ever comes for free. Therefore, I urge you to become involved with the Academy and to support it. To paraphrase Jack Kennedy, "Ask not what the Academy can do for you, ask what you can do for the Academy"... Here are some suggestions: 1) bring a friend to the next MAS annual meeting (This costs you nothing and increases our membership and the visibility of the Academy statewide), 2) submit the name(s) of individuals you think are deserving of an Academy award (This costs only a small amount of time to write a letter of nomination or support for the individual and enhances the applicant pool while giving encouragement to the nominee), 3) offer to serve on a MAS committee (This takes a little more time but reaps huge dividends for you, your institution and the state). Please give as much time as you feel you can and know that your efforts are greatly appreciated!

As we prepare for the next annual meeting, I am delighted to announce that our Dodgen lecturer will be Dr. Stephanie Cave. Dr. Cave practices family medicine in Baton Rouge where she specializes in the treatment of pediatric patients with autism, autism spectrum disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. She will give a presentation on the pathology and treatment of these disorders. Autism is the fastest growing pediatric pathology and Dr. Cave is reputed to be an excellent speaker so we are indeed fortunate to have her as our speaker. There will be more information about her presentation in the next edition of the Academy journal.

For those of you who are involved with the Mississippi Junior Academy of Sciences (MJAS), Betsy Sullivan (MJAS Director)has asked me to inform you that the MJAS annual meeting will be held at the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College-Perkinston Campus on January 25, 2002.

Additionally, it is clear that Mississippi will be well represented this year in Boston where the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Association of Academies of Science (NAAS), and the American Junior Academy of Science (AJAS) will be holding their joint meeting (February 13-17, 2002). Our own Joan Messer is in the second year of a three year term as president of AJAS and has put together a "tea party" of science which should rival her most successful meeting in San Francisco last year. Mississippi will also be represented by Steve Case who as president-elect of NAAS will be coordinating the "Breakfast with Scientists" at which the delegates will enjoy the opportunity to meet with renowned scientists from around the country and discuss career and educational opportunities. We thank them, we salute all the people who are supporting MAS and her sister academies, and we wish you a most excellent academic year!