Readers know well that here at the Intersection we care a great deal about increasing the public visibility of science, and trying to ensure that our researchers are recognized as the national heroes they are. That’s what Unscientific America was all about.

And that’s why I’ve decided to team up with an initiative that has dramatic potential to make Americans far more aware of science, and it’s importance to our future.

That initiative is the Geoffrey Beene Gives Back® Rock Stars of Science™ campaign–whose most famous image is pictured at right.

Geoffrey Beene is a designer men’s clothing brand; its foundation funds philanthropic causes–many of them relating to the advancement of biomedical research and the search for cures for devastating diseases like cancer and Alzheimer’s.

For instance, in 2006 it founded the Geoffrey Beene Cancer Research Center at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC), and has given over $ 110 million in value from Geoffrey Beene combined entities to innovative translational cancer research.

Rock Stars of Science™ is another Geoffrey Beene initiative, designed to raise the visibility of our leading researchers by pairing them with musicians–and showing that scientists rock and are themselves celebrities and superstars. To that end, it launched a spread in GQ magazine last summer, depicting folks like Francis Collins jamming with Joe Perry. One key goal? Increase funding for medical research–and inspire young people to pursue scientific careers.

The next installment of Rock Stars of Science™ is going to be in GQ’s December “Men of the Year” issue. I’ve seen it–it’s going to get people talking. Stand by for more about that.

But in the meantime, Rock Stars of Science™ has put a call out to any scientists who are also musicians, like Pardis Sabeti or the Professors of Bluegrass, or Andy Revkin’s “Uncle Wade” (surely science journalists also count): Identify yourselves! The Rock S.O.S.™ website is going to feature tons of videos of scientists performing music, and it’s calling for the submission of links to scientist-musician videos.

Know of any musical scientists? Happen to be one yourself? You should send an email to info@rockstarsofscience.org. Include: your name, e-mail address, short bio including research specialty & additional weblinks. And heck–post anything you may know of in the comments section here as well.

(That includes you, Sheril. We all know you’re a drummer.)

I can’t wait to start posting and watching some of these vids….to start off, here’s “Arlington,” written by top science reporter Andy Revkin and performed by his band “Uncle Wade”: