During the dinner, 20 students and two professors discussed various options to increase connections of science and technology and policymaking. Student science leaders plan to organize a variety of forums and speakers in the spring as well, Kirchhoff said.

Professor of History of Science Everett Mendelsohn, the main speaker, elaborated on the general principles Kirchhoff laid out.

Mendelsohn did not propose anything for the future; rather, his purpose at the dinner was to educate the student leaders about science and technology so they could take the next step.

"We are looking at how appropriate decisions are made, and how issues are sorted," Mendelsohn said prior to the dinner. Nuclear proliferation is currently one of the must crucial policy issues, he said.

"We're standing at the point at which any number of states, sub-states or organizations might develop nuclear weapons, and we need policies on how to handle that," Mendelsohn said.

Other crucial issues that are equally important politically are the ability of nations to produce biological weapons, the new trend of gene therapy and modification and where other forms of technology are leading the country, he said.

If people want to participate in science and technology policy, Mendelsohn said, it is important for them to feel they have "a responsibility to be involved."