Shawn Carlson Appointed to Popular Mechanics Advisory Board

Popular Mechanics is one of the oldest and most respected magazines devoted to technology, engineering, construction, energy, medicine, space technology, science, transportation and electronics.

Jim Meigs, the editor-in-chief of Popular Mechanics, has invited Dr. Shawn Carlson (Fig. 1), Founder and Executive Director of the Society for Amateur Scientists, to serve on a newly formed advisory board composed of a small number of leaders and innovators. The board will advise the editors of Popular Mechanics how best to be, "...a highly relevant, vital clearinghouse for good ideas in technology and science that matter to our readers and to society."

Board members will also help Popular Mechanics select the winners of its annual Breakthrough Awards, a role in which Shawn served when the magazine began the Breakthrough Awards in 2005.

In his letter of invitation to Shawn, Jim Meigs wrote that, "You'll be helping to set the agenda for a publication that is read by nearly 9 million people each month. And when you are lecturing, publishing a book, or working on some other project of your own, we'd like to let our readers know about it."

You can be sure that the Society for Amateur Scientists and LABRats will be uppermost in his mind as Shawn pursues this new assignment.

Forrest M. Mims III