PRESS RELEASE
1000th Steve to be crowned at AAAS press conference
Nobel laureate and Energy Secretary Steve Chu says "It's about time!" (OK, we made that up.)
Steve Martin, Stevie Wonder, Steve Ballmer, Steve Carell, Stefanie Powers, and Steve Jobs could not be reached for comment.
CHICAGO — Walk under that ladder. Cross that black cat's path. Break a mirror. If ... you're a Steve.
This Friday the 13th will be a lucky day for one very lucky Steve.
After minutes of deliberation, the 1000th person to join NCSE's Project Steve will be announced this coming Friday at the Improbable Research press conference held in the Chicago Fairmont's News Briefing room at 5 p.m. CT. The conference takes place as part of the AAAS annual meeting being held in Chicago.
Sponsored by the National Center for Science Education (NCSE), Project Steve encourages scientists named Steve (or Steven, Stephen, Stephanie, Stefan, Stefano, Etienne, Esteban, Tapani ...) to sign up and publicly support evolution. To demonstrate that even among the subset of scientists named Steve, there are hundreds — nay, thousands — who confirm that evolution is scientifically sound and central to our understanding of life on this planet.
Project Steve began as a tongue-in-cheek response to a creationist list of alleged Darwin-doubting scientists. From the original 220 signatories, Project Steve has since become a full-blown movement, counting 999 Steves as members. Who will be Steve #1000? Who will be ... the kilosteve? And will he or she be ready to assume the mantle of official Stevehood?
Becoming an NCSE Steve has changed many a Steve's life:
"I had the worst love life in the whole field of leech systematics, but now that I'm an NCSE Steve, my social life has really taken off! I have 2000 Facebook friends and most of them are vertebrates."
—Steve
"I was out of shape and lethargic, and didn't care what other people thought of me. Since becoming an NCSE Steve, I've lost 35 pounds, improved my tennis game, my hair is coming back, and I'm dating a supermodel! Thanks, NCSE!"
—Stephen
When asked how the 1000th Steve was picked, NCSE Executive Director Dr. Genie Scott mumbled something about being late for a dental appointment, referring all queries to NCSE Communications Director Robert Luhn, who lacks a telephone or e-mail.
The kilosteve will be announced by Dr. Genie Scott and Scientific American's Steve Mirsky, and be given a fitting award — once we figure out what that will be.
Project Steve is sponsored by the National Center for Science Education, a nonprofit organization that defends and promotes the teaching of evolution in the public schools. The NCSE is affiliated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
WHAT: "Project Steve", Improbable Research press conference
WHEN: 5 p.m., Friday the 13th
WHERE: News briefing room, Chicago Fairmont Hotel
(200 N. Columbus Dr.)
WHO: Dr. Genie Scott, Executive Director, NCSE;
Steve Mirsky, Scientific American;
and a gould of Steves
CONTACT: Robert Luhn, Director of Communications, NCSE
510-601-7203, 707-758-6790 (cell), luhn@ncseweb.org
Website: www.ncseweb.org
For more information, visit:
The Project Steve FAQs
http://ncseweb.org/taking-action/project-steve-faq
The Morphology of Steve
http://improbable.com/pages/airchives/paperair/volume10/v10i4/morph-steve-10-4.pdf