“Reports & Events” is a monthly tip sheet for the news media that highlights selected meetings of interest and forthcoming reports from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.  

Selected Events in May 2025 Click on each event title below to access meeting details, an agenda, and registration information, or contact the Office of News and Public Information (email news@nas.edu). Reporters should register for all meetings. Find more National Academies events at https://www.nationalacademies.org/events.

Oceanography in the Age of Intelligent Robots and a Changing Climate May 1 For this year’s Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture, Chris Scholin, president and CEO of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, will discuss how the advent of robotic and advanced sensing and computing technologies has transformed ocean exploration. He will also highlight a number of technological innovations that reveal surprising insights into the inner workings of the ocean against the backdrop of a rapidly changing climate.  

Extreme Weather and Lessons for More Resilient Communities May 5 and 6 Through examination of three recent events — wildfires in Los Angeles, the 2024 Phoenix heat wave, and extreme rainfall and flooding in western North Carolina from Hurricane Helene — this session seeks to advance understanding of the characteristics, impacts, and changing nature of current extreme events; highlight lessons and gaps for resilience; and identify needs and contributions from the atmospheric sciences community to advance knowledge of and resilience to these extremes.   

AI and Climate Change
May 5 A new multidisciplinary roundtable that aims to foster discussions and coordination around emerging issues related to artificial intelligence and climate change will host a public session to discuss how new advances in AI can help solve climate challenges.  

Navigating Current and Future Freight Challenges May 8 The freight industry is evolving rapidly, driven in part by critical, but often overlooked, issues such as the growth of e-commerce, increasing demands on emergency mobility, and persistent challenges such as truck parking shortages. This meeting will explore strategies and innovations for addressing these topics.  

Developing Consistent Geohazard Parameters for Infrastructure Systems May 8 and 9 Lifeline infrastructure consists of large and broadly distributed systems spread over many types of terrain and geologic settings and exposed to many different geohazards (e.g., earthquake, flood, and weather events). Because infrastructure systems provide essential services to communities, their resilience in the face of extreme events is vital. This meeting will consider how methods to identify geohazard design parameters may or may not be contributing to the confidence in infrastructure performance at the component and system level in the face of extreme events.  

Sexual Assault at Sea May 13 A congressionally mandated committee examining challenges and prospective solutions associated with sexual assault aboard Coast Guard vessels will hold a public session to invite perspectives from victim advocates and those working in the law/prosecution space.  

Circularity and Plastics May 13 and 14 This workshop will cover circularity and other approaches for the sustainable life-cycle management of plastic materials to mitigate plastic pollution across three key sectors: packaging, building materials, and textiles. Experts will explore circular strategies, sectoral synergies, and the interconnected roles of industry, policy, and innovation, and identify actionable pathways.  

Water Supply Systems and Wildfires May 14 This event will look at the impacts of wildfires on water supply systems and waterways. Discussions will cover contamination of drinking water treatment and distribution systems by fires, stormwater threats to downstream communities following fires, and policies and programs for water supplies that can improve wildfire response and recovery.   

Supporting Postdoctoral Scholars Experiencing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education May 14 This event features a moderated discussion of an upcoming issue paper, Considerations for Supporting Postdoctoral Scholars Experiencing Sexual Harassment. The paper will serve as a research-based resource for higher education administrators, practitioners, faculty, staff, and student leaders.  

Climate Conversations: Coral Reefs May 16 Coral reefs are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet, supporting a wide range of marine life and providing essential services to coastal communities. However, rising ocean temperatures, acidification, and extreme weather events are putting increasing pressure on these fragile systems. This conversation will focus on the impacts of climate change on coral reefs and how researchers are working to preserve them for future generations.  

Unraveling the Neurobiology of Empathy and Compassion May 19 and 21 This workshop will explore the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of empathy and compassion and potential implications for treatment of brain disorders and other real-world applications.  

Key Research Topics for the Fifth International Polar Year May 20 and 21 International Polar Years are intended to make large advancements in scientific understanding by galvanizing the research community and fostering large-scale international coordination and national investments in polar science. Workshop participants will discuss pressing research and monitoring questions that could be investigated by the U.S. and international partners during the fifth International Polar Year, to be held in 2032-2033.  

Frontiers in Geologic Hydrogen May 22 Geologic hydrogen has the potential to meaningfully supplement conventional resources. This meeting will consider the resource potential and methods of exploration for and production of geologic hydrogen, as well as economic and environmental considerations that need to be addressed before geologic hydrogen can contribute viably to the U.S. energy portfolio.  

Assessing Research Security Efforts in Higher Education May 22 and 23 This workshop will focus on potential measures of effectiveness and performance and the data needed to assess research security and protection efforts in higher education by a range of federal agencies.   

Data and AI for Transportation Advancement
May 27-29 This conference is centered on opportunities for AI to make transportation systems safer and more efficient, including the data needed to drive useful analyses, concrete outcomes, and showcased examples.

Advancing Marine Geophysical Sensing for Solid Earth Exploration May 28 Exploring the solid Earth beneath the oceans presents unique technical challenges but holds transformative potential for applications such as earthquake and tsunami hazard assessment, tectonic research, and deep Earth imaging. This meeting will highlight emerging technologies that advance monitoring and characterization of subsurface geological processes from the seafloor and water column.    

Reports Scheduled for Release in May Release dates for reports and proceedings from the National Academies depend on successful completion of the review process and publishing schedules. Reporters who would like to be notified when a report is due for release should contact the Office of News and Public Information (e-mail news@nas.edu) and ask to be placed on a contact list.  

Charting a Path Toward New Treatments for Lyme Infection-Associated Chronic Illnesses Lyme disease, caused by a bacteria spread through tick bites, affects hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. every year. Many recover after being treated with standard antibiotics, but approximately 10% to 20% go on to experience prolonged symptoms — which often include fatigue, pain, and cognitive impairment — sometimes for years. This report will explore the current evidence base for treating Lyme infection-associated chronic illness to identify new opportunities and research priorities. (May 9 webinar about the report)  

The Future of Youth Development: Building Systems and Strengthening Programs This report provides information to policymakers, funders, and youth development practitioners on the role that out-of-school time programs play in child and youth development. The report examines programs’ effectiveness, identifies needed access and quality improvements, and outlines a future research agenda. (May 1 webinar about the report)

Meaningful Outcomes for Adult Hearing Health Interventions Health care providers and researchers lack standard ways to measure the outcome of hearing health interventions, such as hearing aids. A new report will recommend a standard, core set of ways to measure the outcome of hearing health interventions, as well as strategies for the development of other measures in the future. (May 12 webinar about the report)  

Newborn Screening in the United States: A Vision for Sustaining and Advancing Excellence Over 98% of the 3.6 million infants born in the U.S. each year are tested through newborn screening programs. A few drops of blood, collected in the first days of life, are tested almost immediately for serious conditions that can and should be treated early to provide babies with the best chance of a healthy life. A new report examines the current state of newborn screening programs and establishes a vision for their future. (May 1 webinar about the report)  

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES FOR REPORTERS

• The National Academies’ Newsroom

• PNAS in the News | Register to receive embargoed material from the PNAS News Office

• Reports and other publications from the National Academies

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