BLAST
Section of Science and Technology
750 North Lake Shore Dr.
Chicago, IL 60610

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• Letter from the Chair
• Dallas Midyear Meeting Section of Science and Technology Wyndham Anatole Hotel February 11-13, 2000
• London Program Update: Biotechnology and Law in the New Millennium
• "Nuts & Bolts of E-Business"
• Sexual Offender Risk Assessment and Scientific Evidence: a Jurisprudent Therapy Perspective
• Court-Appointed Scientific Experts: A Demonstration Project of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Special Insert: Encryption, the Internet and Bernstein v. Dep't of Justice: The First Amendment Rescues Electronic Commerce and Internet Privacy

Letter from the Chair
Section Membership Rockets to New High
by Tom Smedinghoff

Our 1999-2000 fiscal year is off to a tremendous start. A key indicator is the phenomenal increase in Section membership.

This is, of course, testimony to the vital impor-tance of the issues relating to the law of science and technology that our Section addresses. You don't have to look far, for example, to realize that every main-stream newspaper and magazine today devotes significant attention to the Internet, electronic commerce, and every other aspect of electronic communications.

In addition to addressing many of the leading edge electronic, technical, and scientific issues of the day, one of the key strengths of our Section is our flexible and informal structure. Anyone with an idea for a project is welcome and encouraged to come forward and pursue it. To that end, we have recently formed two new committees, one on Internet Governance and the other on Forensic Evidence.

In fact, the committee structure of our Section has changed significantly over the past few years. Soon we will be sending you a letter listing our current committee structure and asking you to identify those committees in which you are interested in participating. Please take a minute to review the list and return it with your selections. Even if you don't have the time to be active, but just want to have access to the work of the committees, I think you will find that signing up is well worth it.

We welcome and encourage your input. What would you like to see the Section (or one of its committees) do this year? How can we help you address the issues you face in your practice? Please let me have your thoughts and suggestions by calling me at 312-861-8670, or sending me e-mail at SMEDINGHOFF@BAKERNET.COM. We offer tremendous opportunities for individuals willing to put in the time and effort to make something happen. I look forward to hearing from you and to working with you this year.