The Center for Integrated Quantum Materials pursues research and education in quantum science and technology. With our research and industry partners, the Museum of Science, Boston collaborates to produce public engagement resources, museum programs, special events and media. We also provide professional development in professional science communication for the Center's students, post-docs, and interns; and coaching in public engagement. The Museum also sponsors The Quantum Matters(TM) Science Communication Competition (www.mos.org/quantum-matters-competition) and NanoDays with a Quantum Leap. In association with CIQM and IBM Q, the Museum hosted the first U.S. museum exhibit on quantum computing.
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TEAM MEMBERS:
Robert WesterveltCarol Lynn AlpertRay AshooriTina Brower-Thomas
resourceprojectProfessional Development, Conferences, and Networks
This project supports the Broader Impacts and Outreach Network for Institutional Collaboration (BIONIC), a national Research Coordination Network of Broader Impacts to support professionals who assist researchers to design, implement, and evaluate the Broader Impacts activities for NSF proposals and awards. All NSF proposals are evaluated not only on the Intellectual Merit of the proposed research, but also on the Broader Impacts of the proposed work, such as societal relevance, educational outreach, and community engagement. Many institutions have begun employing Broader Impacts support professionals, but in most cases, these individuals have not worked as a group to identify and share best practices. As a consequence, there has been much duplication of effort. Through coordination, BIONIC is expected to improve efficiency, reduce redundancy, and have significant impact in several areas: 1) Researchers will benefit from an increased understanding of the Broader Impacts merit review criterion and increased access to collaborators who can help them design, implement, and evaluate their Broader Impacts activities; 2) Institutions and research centers will increase their capacity to support Broader Impacts via mentoring for Broader Impacts professionals and consulting on how to build Broader Impacts support infrastructure, with attention to inclusion of non-research-intensive universities, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic- and Minority-Serving Institutions that may not have the resources to support an institutional Broader Impacts office; and 3) NSF, itself, will benefit from a systematic and consistent approach to Broader Impacts that will lead to better fulfillment of the Broader Impacts criterion by researchers, better evaluation of Broader Impacts activities by reviewers and program officers, and a system for evaluating the effectiveness of Broader Impacts activities in the aggregate, as mandated by Congress and the National Science Board. Through its many planned activities, BIONIC will ultimately help advance the societal aims that the Broader Impacts merit review criterion was meant to achieve.
The main goals of the project will be accomplished through the four specific objectives: 1) Identify and curate promising models, practices, and evaluation methods for the Broader Impacts community; 2) Expand engagement in, and support the development of, high-quality Broader Impacts activities by educating current and future faculty and researchers on effective practices; 3) Develop the human resources necessary for sustained growth and increased diversity of the Broader Impacts community; and 4) Promote cross-institutional collaboration and dissemination for Broader Impacts programs, practices, models, materials, and resources. BIONIC will facilitate collaborative Broader Impacts work across institutions, help leverage previously developed resources, support professional development, and train new colleagues to enter into the Broader Impacts field. This project will improve the quality and sustainability of Broader Impacts investments, as researchers continue to create unique and effective activities that are curated and broadly disseminated. BIONIC will create a network designed to assist NSF-funded researchers at their institutions in achieving the goals of the Broader Impacts Review Criterion. In so doing, BIONIC will promote Broader Impacts activities locally, nationally, and internationally and help to advance the Broader Impacts field.
This award is co-funded by the Divisions of Molecular and Cellular Biosciences and Emerging Frontiers in the Directorate for Biological Sciences and by the Division of Chemistry in the Directorate for Mathematics and Physical Sciences.
Our goal is to attempt the identification of Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus) that may be returning to San Diego from year-to-year, using the pattern recognition algorithm provided in ‘Wildbook,’ a web-based application for wildlife data management, designed by Jason Holmberg. 'Wildbook' which has been successfully used to ID Whale Sharks (Rhincodon typus ) by their spotting patterns.
Sevengill sharks (Notorynchus cepedianus), are currently listed as Data deficient (DD) on the IUCN Red List: "This assessment is based on the information published in the 2005 shark status survey (Fowler et al. 2005).
Discover NASA is the Discovery Museum’s endeavor to engage students in grades K through 12 as well as members of the general public in innovative space science and STEM-focused learning through the implementation of two modules: upgrades to the Challenger Learning Center, and the creation of K through 12 amateur rocketry and spacecraft design programming. The programming will be piloted at the Discovery Museum and Planetarium, and at the Inter-district Discovery Magnet School and the Fairchild-Wheeler Multi-Magnet High School, with an additional strategic partnership with the University of Bridgeport, which will provide faculty mentors to high school seniors participating in the rocketry program. Through these two modules, the Discovery Museum and Planetarium aims to foster an early interest in STEM, increase public awareness about NASA, promote workforce development, and stimulate an interest in the future of human space exploration. Both modules emphasize design methodologies and integration of more advanced space science into the STEM curriculum currently offered by Discovery Museum to visitors and public schools. The Challenger Learning Center upgrades will enable the Museum to deliver simulated human exploration experiences related to exploration of the space environment in Low Earth Orbit and simulated human exploration of Moon, Mars, and beyond, which will increase public and student awareness about NASA and the future of human space exploration. The development of an amateur rocketry and spacecraft development incubator for education, the general public, and commercial space will stimulate the development of key STEM concepts.
EvalFest (Evaluation Use, Value, and Learning through Festivals of Science and Technology) will test innovative evaluation methods in science festivals that are being held across the country and assess in what ways and how effectively they are used. Morehead Planetarium and Science Center (at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill) and the University of California, San Francisco, in collaboration with over twenty science festivals, will (1) investigate whether a multisite evaluation approach is an effective model for creating common metrics for informal STEM education, (2) develop common methods to measure the effects of Festivals, (3) create a query-able database of 50,000 Festival attendees to share with the informal STEM learning field, and (4) document whether these efforts also result in new knowledge related to informal STEM education. The project will develop the Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM) system and query-able database for the festival community. EFMs are systems, including processes and software, that enable groups (such as the festival network) to collect, organize, analyze and share data. The EFM system will be designed to integrate data across sites and to allow users to extract data of interest. The project will refine evaluation tools currently used within the Science Festival Alliance that assess self-reported festival learning, and the effects of festival attendance, motivation, and future science participation. It will collect economic impact data and longitudinal festival attendee data. The project will also develop some new evaluation tools such as secret shopper observational protocols. Data from festival attendees will be collected onsite at participating festivals.
This project will bring STEM education to rural communities through local public libraries. Museum quality exhibits labelled as "Discover Earth", "Discover Technology", and "Discover Space" will spend 3 months at a series of locations around the Nation. Twenty four medium sized libraries will be chosen for the large exhibits and forty small libraries will be chosen for scaled down versions. The project's intent is to provide exhibits in every state and to reach as many under-represented individuals as possible. The significance of this project is that rural areas of this country are underserved regarding STEM education and since this segment of society is represented by 50-60 million residents, it is important to reach out to them. There is a significant segment of the Nation's population (50-60 million) that is underserved by out-of-school learning venues such as museums and science centers. An earlier phase 1 project demonstrated at 18 sites that rural libraries and librarians could provide STEM education to community members ranging in age from adults to children using these hands-on exhibits. Each exhibit (earth, space or technology) includes information about the topic and technologically enabled models to provide interesting and fun discovery mechanisms. They use common layman friendly language that highlights the most recent discoveries in each area. Each exhibit will be placed in the selected library for 3 months during which the library will organize events to feature and advertise the STEM learning opportunities. Another feature of this project will be to determine the models of learning in library settings and as a function of the demographics. The partners in this project that bring the necessary expertise are the American Library Association, the Afterschool Alliance, the Association of Rural and Small Libraries, the University of Colorado Museum, Datum Advisors, LLC, Evaluation and Research Associates, the Lunar and Planetary Institute, the American Geophysical Union, and the Space Science Institute.
Pipeline for Remote Sensing Education and Application (PRSEA), will increase awareness, knowledge and understanding of remote sensing technologies and associated disciplines, and their relevance to NASA, through a combination of activities that build a “pipeline” to STEM and remote sensing careers, for a continuum of audiences from third grade through adulthood. This program will be led by Pacific Science Center. The first objective is to engage 50 teens from groups underrepresented in STEM fields in a four-year career ladder program; participants will increase knowledge and understanding of remote sensing as well as educational pathways that lead to careers in remote sensing fields at NASA and other relevant organizations. The second objective is to serve 2,000 children in grades 3-5, in a remote sensing-based out-of school time outreach program that will increase the participant’s content knowledge of remote sensing concepts and applications and awareness and interest in remote sensing disciplines. PRSEA’s third objective is to engage 180 youth, grades 6-8, in remote sensing-themed summer intensive programs through which youth will increase knowledge of remote sensing concepts and applications and increase awareness and interest in educational and career pathways associated with remote sensing and NASA’s role in this field. The final objective is to engage 10,000 visitors of all ages with a remote sensing-themed Discovery Cart on Pacific Science Center’s exhibit floor. By engaging in cart activities, we anticipate visitors will increase their level of awareness and interest in the topic of remote sensing and NASA’s role in contributing to this field.
The American Museum of Natural History requests SEPA support for a five-year development and implementation project entitled "Human Health and 'Human Bulletins': Scientists and Teens Explore Health Sciences in the Museum and World At Large." The program has three complementary components: (1) the development of 7 new productions for the Museum's digital media/documentary exhibition program, Human Bulletins http://sciencebulletins.amnh.org) featuring the newest health-related research; (2) a mini-course, entitled Hot Topics in Health Research NOW, an intensive after school program covering genetics, epidemiology, human health and human evolution, including a section on ethics in research; and (3) A "drop-in" Human Bulletins Science Club, where students meet monthly to watch a Human Bulletin visual news program, engage in informal discussions with significant researchers in the fields of evolutionary science and human health. The main goals of this project are: (1) to inform young people about emerging health-related research by using the Human Bulletins as core content for programming and points of engagement; (2) to promote a life-long interest in science among participants by teaching them how health-related science research could potentially affect them or their families; (3) to empower teens to critically assess the science presented to them in the Museum and in the world at large by teaching them to break down the "information bytes" of the Human Bulletins and to analyze how stories are presented visually and how to find answers to questions raised by the Bulletins; (4) for the young people in the program to see themselves as participants in the Museum by developing "mentor" relationships with Museum staff. This will allow students to see AMNH as an enduring institution to be used as a resource throughout their education and careers; and (5) to give students the means to envision themselves with future careers in science, research and in museums (thus fostering new generation of culturally-diverse, culturally enriched scientific leaders) by introducing them to scientists in an informal setting where there are no consequences for making mistakes or asking questions. The students will be given "behind the scenes" looks at new career options through the scientists featured in the Bulletins and the NIH funded researchers on the Advisory Board presenting at the informal sessions. Ultimately, the project aims to give students to critically process the information they receive about public health, see the relevance of human health science to their lives and pursue careers in health science. All of these skills are measurable through formative and summative evaluation. This project will teach young people to understand information about public health that is presented to them through visual and popular media as well as through formal scientific texts. It will also teach them to think about how human health sciences impact their lives and how the decisions they make impact larger human health. Finally, the program will also encourage students to pursue careers and further information about public health.
The National Center for Interactive Learning (NCIL) at the Space Science Institute (SSI), in collaboration with the Colorado Clinical and Translational Studies Institute (CTSCI), and Colorado Area Health Education Centers (AHECs), requests support for Discover Health/Descubre la Salud (DH/DS). The bilingual (English/Spanish) project will include an interactive library exhibit supported by media and community education resources to engage underserved communities in learning about their cardiovascular and digestive systems, and how to keep them healthy. The project will target underserved communities, including rural and Latino communities, working through libraries and community institutions. The project will use a strategic combination of bilingual, interactive exhibits presented at libraries and community health fairs and festivals, career events, family nights, science camps, and mini-med schools, to engage students, families, and adults in these important health issues. Project PI Robert Russell, Senior Education Associate at NCIL, and NCIL Founder Co-PI Dusenbery, Founder of NCIL, will direct the project. Dr. Jack Westfall, who will direct the Community Engagement Core of CCTSI and also directs Colorado AHECS, he will direct their subaward. An outstanding advisory committee includes biomedical researchers, community health educators, librarians, and informal science educators. They will provide expertise on biomedical science content and help guide the project's implementation. Knight Williams, Inc., a highly experienced media and community evaluation firm, will conduct the full required project evaluation.
The integration of research with education and outreach is an essential aspect of our Center's mission. In order to assure the most effective use of our expertise and resources, we have developed a multi-faceted approach with activities that focus on coherent themes that address our three primary audiences: research community, our neighborhood, and the general public. These activities include research internships, enrichment programs for students & teachers, and informal science opportunities.
We a have full slate of programs including science academies for underrepresented high school and middle school students; Large programs for the public including holiday lectures, stars of materials science lectures, materials science and nano days for the public; Teacher development programs including Research Experience for Teachers and Teachers as Scholars; Research Experience for Undergraduates; Graduate Summer School on Condensed Matter; and many other programs.
The Center for Sustainable Polymers implements and fosters a wide range of educational and public outreach activities. Our faculty, researchers, students, and staff work together to engage the public and educate the citizenry and policy makers on the societal importance of sustainable polymers and technologies. An important aspect of the CSP’s work is to broaden the participation of underrepresented groups in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields by relying on key community partners.