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Opportunities for Strengthening and Updating Crisis Standards of Care: A Rapid Expert Consultation - Public Briefing

Update

The COVID-19 pandemic and other recent emergencies offered a nationwide opportunity to examine how crisis standards of care frameworks functioned in practice, when usual health care operations had to adapt substantially and emergency demand vied for limited resources. A new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies reviews those experiences, identifies gaps and emerging challenges, and highlights opportunities to strengthen future crisis standards of care. On September 3, we held a public briefing on the newly published Rapid Expert Consultation. The video recording and presentation slides are now available.

Sep 9, 2026

Protecting Health Before, During, and After Wildfires

Program News

Recognizing wildfires as an increasingly complex public health and health care challenge, the National Academies’ Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Disasters and Emergencies convened a webinar series this summer on wildfire preparedness, response, and recovery. The series brought together experts from health care, emergency management, environmental science, engineering, academia, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and affected communities.

Sep 3, 2026

A New Look at Radiation Exposure for Flight Crewmembers

Program News

A new congressionally mandated National Academies report is bringing renewed attention to those questions, recommending a more consistent approach to occupational radiation safety across the aviation industry. Assessing Radiation Exposure, Health Outcomes, and Mitigation Strategies for Flight Crewmembers outlines recommendations for developing radiation safety programs, improving education for flight crews, and starting a centralized system to track cumulative radiation exposure over a career.

Aug 28, 2026

National Academies Report Inspires Actionable School Safety Strategies

Program News

Active shooter drills have become a standard practice in many U.S. schools, yet their potential impact on students and educators has received limited attention. Following a listening session series and consensus study by the National Academies, the impact across schools and districts has become apparent. The study’s resulting report, Active Shooter Drills: Mitigating Risks to Mental, Emotional, and Behavioral Health, explores how active shooter drills are conducted and how to reduce potential harm while supporting school safety.

Aug 21, 2026

ARPA-E Plays Unique and Valuable Role in Energy Innovation and Should Be Reliably Funded, Says New Report

News Release

Congress should continue to provide reliable funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, as it plays a unique and valuable role in the nation’s energy innovation ecosystem, helping reduce the risk in adopting new technologies and increase the likelihood of private-sector investment, says a new congressionally mandated National Academies report.

Aug 20, 2026

A Workshop Series on Data and Situational Awareness for Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response: Recordings and Presentations Available

Update

The workshop series will examine how medical, public health, emergency management, and critical infrastructure data are collected, integrated, analyzed, and translated into real-time situational awareness to support timely, coordinated decision-making across jurisdictions and sectors.

Aug 12, 2026

Updating Crisis Standards of Care — New Publication

Announcement

The COVID-19 pandemic and other recent emergencies offered a nationwide opportunity to examine how crisis standards of care frameworks functioned in practice, when usual health care operations had to adapt substantially and emergency demand vied for limited resources. A new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies reviews those experiences, identifies gaps and emerging challenges, and highlights opportunities to strengthen future crisis standards of care.

Aug 12, 2026

Watch Past Webinar Recordings on Finding What Works in Health Care: Updating Standards for Systematic Reviews

Update

Aug 6, 2026

Everyday Impacts of a Largely Unseen World: Why Mapping the Ocean Floor Matters More Than Ever

Program News

From global shipping routes to the cables that power the internet, much of modern life depends on understanding a landscape that remains largely unmapped: the ocean floor. At the 27th annual Roger Revelle Commemorative Lecture, held March 17, 2026, at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., ocean scientist Larry Mayer brought this hidden world into focus.

Aug 3, 2026

Watch Past Webinar Recordings on Data and Situational Awareness for Medical and Public Health Preparedness and Response

Update

Jul 30, 2026

Federal Statistics Enters the Age of AI — Carefully

Program News

Federal statistics occupy a critical, but often unseen, place in public life. Produced and maintained with taxpayer dollars, these data are used to inform policy, guide business decisions, support research, and help people make daily choices in their lives and understand different things occurring in the country.

Jul 22, 2026

The Science of Extreme Event Attribution — Which Analyzes Climate Change’s Influence on Specific Weather Events — Has Advanced, But Challenges Remain

News Release

A new report from the National Academies provides a comprehensive assessment of the current capabilities of extreme event attribution (EEA) — a scientific field that analyzes whether and to what extent human-caused climate change influenced an individual extreme weather event, such as a heat wave or large-scale heavy rainfall.

Jul 15, 2026

The Risks and Benefits of Synthetic Cells: Q&A with Peter Carr

Feature Story

In an interview, synthetic biologist Peter Carr explains research on synthetic cells, their potential benefits and hazards, and how governance of this research should work. Carr co-chaired a recent National Academies study of the subject.

Jul 7, 2026

U.S. Needs New Drought Assessment Framework as Droughts Become More Severe and Unpredictable

News Release

As droughts in the United States become more frequent and longer-lasting, new assessment tools are needed. A new National Academies report examines how the field of drought assessment can better account for shifting drought conditions and proposes a framework to support drought monitoring, planning, and decision-making to meet future challenges.

Jun 30, 2026

AI Will Elevate Near-Term Cybersecurity Risks but — with Investment and Coordination — Can Strengthen Cybersecurity in the Long Run

News Release

To counteract emerging cyberthreats posed by artificial intelligence, the baseline level of cybersecurity across society must rise — including stronger security practices, improved software quality, faster response to threats, and more effective sharing of cyberthreat intelligence, says a new rapid expert consultation from the National Academies.

Jun 24, 2026

Digital Overview: Implications of AI for Cybersecurity

Update

Our new rapid expert consultation examines how AI is reshaping cybersecurity and expanding capabilities for both attackers and defenders. Explore the digital overview, which presents near-term risks, long-term opportunities, and a range of policy and research options to strengthen the nation’s cybersecurity.

Jun 24, 2026