Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

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Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Welcome to the new website of the Potomac Institute!

Center for Neurotechnology Studies

CNS has events this fall on cyborgs, neural tissue restoration, and TBI/PTSD; click here to learn more.

International Center for Terrorism Studies

Click here for more on Yonah Alexander's work in Terrorism Studies.

H1N1 News & Commentary

Don Donahue, Director of CHPP, provides weekly flu updates and analysis...

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CNS Director James Giordano, PhD, to Speak at NSF

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Prof. James Giordano, PhD, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' Center for Neurotechnology Studies, will offer a free public lecture at the National Science Foundation on Saturday, February 20. His topic will be "Brains, Minds, and Selves: What Is It Like to Be a Bat, and What Does It Matter?" Dr. Giordano comments, "The field of neuroscience has achieved considerable insight to the workings of the brain. While the most essential question – how brains produce consciousness and mind – remains enigmatic, what is becoming increasingly evident is that even simple brains enable a variety of complex functions – including the capacity to think, feel pain and be self-aware."  In his talk, Dr. Giordano will argue that the key question is not whether other organisms have a mind, but what kind of mind they have.  He will also probe the intriguing question of whether neuroscience and technology will ever allow us to know what it is like to be another organism, and what we should do with such knowledge. The lecture will be held at 1:30 pm on Saturday, February 20 at the National Science Foundation, Room 110, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA. The program is sponsored by the National Capital Area Skeptics. For more information, contact Dr. James Giordano at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

CEO Michael Swetnam on Terrorism: War or Crime?

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Potomac Institute for Policy Studies CEO Michael Swetnam comments on the latest controversy surrounding US counterterrorism policy in a report produced by Voice of America.  As VOA News reports, the Obama administration's desire to try terrorism suspects in US civilian courts has ignited fresh debate over whether terrorism should be treated as an act of war or a criminal act. That question was also articulated by moderator Michelle Van Cleave at the Institute's January 29 terrorism review seminar held at the Brookings Institution, which was covered by VOA.  Swetnam argues that while terrorist acts certainly have a criminal aspect, "We should not let the consideration that it is a criminal act prevent us from using our war powers when necessary and vice versa."  Click here for text and video versions of the full report. 
     
 

Potomac Institute Experts to Speak in Turkey

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Prof. Yonah Alexander, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' International Center for Terrorism Studies, and Michael Swetnam, CEO of the Institute, will be the keynote speakers at a Strategic Communication forum in Turkey in March.  The program, to be held in Ankara March 8-12, is an initiative of the Turkish Partnership for Peace Training Center and will provide participants with communications strategies designed to advance the goals of NATO. The program is supported by the Inter-University Center for Terrorism Studies, a consortium of academic institutions in 35 countries, for which Prof. Alexander serves as Director. For more information about the program, please contact the International Center for Terrorism Studies at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or visit www.bioem.tsk.tr     
 

ICTS Releases New Report: Maghreb and Sahel Terrorism

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 Professor Yonah Alexander, Director of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies' International Center for Terrorism Studies,  is pleased to announce the release of a new special report: Maghreb and Sahel Terrorism: Addressing the Rising Threat from Al Qaeda and Other Terrorists in North and West/Central Africa.  The report is an up-to-the-minute look at the rising threat of radicalization and terrorist activity in this troubled part of the world.  It also raises the alarm about a disturbing trend: the increasing cooperation between narco-traffickers based in Latin America and Al Qaeda in the Maghreb.  Click below to access the report in its entirety.

       

Attachments:
Download this file (Maghreb Terrorism report.pdf)Maghreb Terrorism report.pdf1709 Kb
 

Next CCNELSI Talk: "Cyborg Ear, Cyborg Mind"

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What would it be like to hear using cochlear implants?  Cochlear implants are more than hearing aids: these high-tech devices don't just amplify sound, they "create" the experience of sound for profoundly deaf users.  On February 19, attendees at the next Capital Consortium for Neuroscience: Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (CCNELSI: www.ccnelsi.com) lecture will have the opportunity to experience a simulation of cochlear-implant sound and hear more about the experiences of users from Dr. Michael Chorost, a science writer who began using the implants after going deaf in 2001. Dr. Chorost has written extensively about cochlear implants, and the implications for progressively more integration of technologicial devices into the human body. HIs talk will be entitled "Cyborg Ear, Cyborg Mind."  The event will be held at noon on February 19 at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. Click here for more details. 

 

 

 
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Our Mission

The Potomac Institute for Policy Studies is an independent, 501(c)(3), not-for-profit public policy research institute. The Institute identifies and aggressively shepherds discussion on key science and technology issues facing our society. From these discussions and forums, we develop meaningful science and technology policy options and ensure their implementation at the intersection of business and government.

Featured Publication

Pain: Mind, Meaning, and Medicine
Collected essays on the philosophical and ethical dimensions of practical pain management.
By James Giordano
Foreword by Edmund Pellegrino
Paperback, 174 pages
ISBN-13:9780615295770
$24.95
Order from the Publisher

In the Spotlight

Counter-Insurgency: Past, Present and Future

By Frank Hoffman

 

Frank Hoffman provides in-depth insights to new Army and Marine Corps counter-insurgency techniques, and discusses how these concepts of counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency approaches may be applicable both today and in the future