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The purpose of this chapter is to foster exchange of communication on best practices between the NIS, European scientific communities and media organisations. Particular attention is given to the skills of young scientists to communicate with the public, as demonstrated by Vladimir Komlev, winner of the INTAS Young Scientist Writing Competition 2004, who was invited by several publishing houses to write reviews based on his winning article. The experience also provided him with the opportunity to develop a network of European partners

Without question biospherology is primarily a Russian discipline, as its appearance is closely related to Russian scientists such as V.V. Dokuchaev, V.I. Vernandsky, and N.V. Timoffeev-Ressovsky. The role of V.I. Vernadsky, the student of the founder of genetic pedology, V.V. Dokuchayev, in its creation is especially great, for he discovered the phenomenon of living matter which forms the biosphere. With his theory of living matter he was also the first in the history of science to place life in its proper position in the general picture of the universe and discovered fundamental laws which control geochemical acitivities of living matter in the biosphere. In the first half of the previous century V.I. Vernadsky founded a vitally important science for the future of mankind that we have named biospherology. N.W. Timoffeef-Ressovsky, even as a young scientist, correctly assessed the importance of V. Vernadsky's ideas on biospherology. TimoffeevRessovsky was the first scientist to re-establish Vernandski's forgotten discipline of the biosphere. He left us a short but very persuasive program with his report called "The Biosphere and mankind." It is now possible to include this program in any national or international program for "Sustainable Development."

As we have seen in broad outline, the motivation for Mach’s early theory of “psychophysical monadology” was to establish the new psychology of the 1860s on a rigorous basis by bridging the ontological gap between psychology and physics, a very ambitious subject for a young scientist who was just establishing a solid reputation.

As the series of IUTAM Symposia on Creep in Structures enters its 5 decade it is appropriate to begin with some brief notes on the history of IUTAM. In 1899** the International Association of Academies was created to initiate and to promote scientific meetings. This association survived World War I. But, in 1917 the International Research Council, known as the IRC, was formed to stimulate exchanges across the borders formed after the war. However, in parallel with the IRC, informal scientific groups were established which became known as International Unions. Subsequently, it was found desirable to establish links between the International Research Council and the International Unions. Hence, in 1931, when the IRC had 40 member states and 8 International Unions existed, the International Council of Scientific Unions, known as ICSU, was formed. In 1946 after World War II, again in an effort to stimulate scientific exchanges across the new borders; the Applied Mechanics community met in Paris and formed IUTAM. It was agreed that it should hold symposia which were: (i) open to invited scientists, (ii) organised to encourage and develop young scientists, (iii) small scale, and (iv) an effective means of establishing personal and international contacts. It is now over one hundred years ago since the formation of the International Association of Academies, that we meet here in Nagoya to develop, and to foster the same ideals.

ECSA is a direct continuation of the Estuarine and Brackish-Water Association (EBSA). The association was founded in 1971, and is the major European focus for the communication of research and scholarship in estuarine science. Membership is open to all who are interested in estuarine and coastal marine science, whether in Europe or further afield.

I had the privilege of meeting Edith Muller at IAU and other scientific meetings during the 1960s and 70s. I remember her as a charming and gracious lady whose contributions to these meetings were always acute and helpful. Unfortunately, I was not directly associated with her in any scientific projects but I remember, with gratitude, her friendship and her encouragement to a young scientist from the antipodes.

Ernest Rutherford, known all over the world as the greatest scientist of our time, was born in 1871 in the village of Brightwater near the town of Nelson in New Zealand. A man who received all the international prizes and distinctions that a scientist could ever gain, Rutherford began his life in a very modest way. He was the fourth child of a small farmer who had eight more children after him. His father, who was a modest flax grower, could not afford to send his 12 children to school, and Rutherford depended on scholarships from primary school to the university.

Our traditional evening for graduates and senior students of the Moscow Physical-Technical Institute consists of two parts. The first part is of a solemn nature, and dedicated to the life and activity of our institute. During the second part we review our own activities, meet with old friends, and have a good time. I have to participate in the ceremonial part of the program, which is less attractive than the second part. But we must remember, dear friends, that in a good meal the nourishing dish always precedes the much-awaited dessert. As a cook I find it rather difficult to prepare a tasty dish for you within the 15–20 minutes placed at my disposal, and to discuss our matters in a serious but not soporific way. For we have a lot of matters to consider in connection with our institute.

The biological and social sciences used to be largely descriptive. They have become increasingly quantitative, with insistence that counting and measuring are essential to a proper understanding of the phenomena discussed. Statistical science is a discipline, and an evergrowing collection of methods, that aids the process of investigating quantitative problems in which inherent variability of material obscures simple relations. This is widely accepted in subjects as diverse as genetics, ecology, pharmacology and agriculture; in every field of pure or applied biology, however, to equip himself for his career a young scientist needs an appreciation of statistical ideas even if he is not prepared to become skilled in statistical practice. I write with special concern for any student of biology who developed a fear of mathematics when first introduced to quadratic equations, who struggled through school mathematics with ever-decreasing understanding, and who chose a biological science because he thought it non-mathematical. He will not read this book as easily as will a more mathematically able student, but he can understand almost everything important without dependence on other mathematical study. The aims and logic of mathematically-based statistical method can be appreciated with little mathematical skill. What is necessary is a willingness to think about problems with logical precision, and to read basic mathematical symbolism as part of the exact language of science.

When I came back to work in the U.S.S.R. in 1934, I was deeply interested in the organization of science generally and of research at my institute in particular. I was well acquainted with the organization of science and research abroad. For many years I was director of an institute in Cambridge, the focus of scientific research in Britain. On the basis of this experience I felt that Western organizational patterns of research were not fully applicable here. I was convinced that we had to work out our own organizational patterns of scientific research at the institute and even more so for our science generally.