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Many scientists view communication with the public as a professional responsibility.  The science of science communication identifies the challenges to fulfilling that responsibility – and ways to overcome them that are within the reach and resources of working scientists.  The research addresses the strengths and weaknesses of lay intuitions about science and of scientists’ intuitions about laypeople.  However, the research only provides best guesses for how to formulate messages.  Fortunately, there are easy and interesting ways of testing drafts.  The talk will illustrate the research in diverse applications, including energy, climate, medicine, pandemic disease, natural hazards, and cybersecurity.

Attendees are invited to visit exhibits in the College and Graduate School Fair

Join us for 30 minutes of science humor, followed by virtual networking.

 

Science is under attack, and has become highly politicized.  Scientific expertise is routinely discounted and devalued.  Funding for research is scarce.  Now, more than ever, it is essential for scientists to be able to communicate the findings and relevance of their research to diverse audiences, including funders and donors (as well as potential funders and donors), policy makers, and the general public.  In fact, communicating the societal impacts of research to non-expert audiences is increasingly becoming an expectation of funders.  This activity-based workshop will introduce best practices for communicating your science to diverse audiences (including funders, donors and policy makers), as well as strategies and approaches for developing impactful public engagement activities.

Contemporary social issues, from COVID-19 to racial justice, have highlighted the importance of local policy and the need for science and technology to be included in these decision-making processes. However, city, county, and state governments often lack the technical expertise needed to assess the scientific dimensions of many issues. This is an often overlooked opportunity for scientists to fill this gap and shape policy in their community. However, for scientists and engineers looking to engage with local government, it can be difficult to know where to start. This workshop will provide an overview of how city, county, and state governments are structured and highlight avenues for participating in the local policy-making process. Topics covered will include how to strategically deliver public comments, develop relationships with local policymakers, and serve on a local advisory body. Through concrete examples and step-by-step guidance, this workshop will help prepare scientists to impactfully engage with local government. Participants will also participate in an interactive activity and be encouraged to develop their own local engagement plans.

Codifying The Responsible Research of Scientists

Codes of Conduct, sometimes called Codes of Ethics, are a nearly universal feature of modern scientific organizations, and some scientific societies such as the American Chemical Society proudly trace their Code’s evolutionary origin back decades, to vocational creeds that have long oriented the discipline.  Within the literature on Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR), the value of Codes as an element of RCR education has begun to be explored, yet not much work has been done explicitly analyzing the Codes themselves.  There is value in investigating and thinking deeply about the purpose, content, and structure of the Codes that govern communities of scientists.  The existing literature on Codes is overwhelmingly focused on the business sector, but there are insights that can inform the Codes and professional standards in STEM.  In this paper, Codes from several paradigmatic scientific organizations are reviewed, and a broader set of Codes from the biological sciences are especially considered.   One challenge to such an analysis is that there is no standard terminology or structural organization across societies governing how Codes are named or disseminated to their members.  As part of our analysis, a “broad” and “narrow” conceptualization of Code of Conduct is considered and applied.  The comparative results of this review of codes suggest some interesting “phylogenetic” insights.  Finally, in line with an overarching virtue-theoretic approach to responsible conduct of research, this paper suggests ways in which the typical structuring of codes of conduct can be framed to positively emphasize the virtuous characteristics of exemplary scientists and scientific practice.

Ethical Concerns with Advances in Medical Technology and Genetic

Mistrust of science is growing as indicated by climate change deniers, the anti-vaccination movement, and the increasing political divide. Thus, ethics in research and publication are crucial today. Unfortunately, society is increasingly polarized, and information is spun and selectively viewed by opposing camps. This is not only a threat to the promise of a prosperous future; this is also a threat to our survival. Scientists need to present the risks as well as benefits of new innovations with full transparency such as gene editing, new imaging technologies, implants, devices, vaccines, and other advances in Biomedical treatments. Yet, in our risk adverse society, we must be skilled in helping the public understand that some risk must be accepted to avert a greater calamity. Still novel technology must be entered into with deliberation. Today more than ever, we need effective communication and public engagement to regain public trust in science. The public not only needs an opportunity to weight how a technology affects safety but also how advances impact values such as privacy and autonomy.

What Most Affects the Probability of Experiencing Poverty? Examining the Effect of Family Background and Educational Attainment on Receiving Public Assistance with Multivariate Regression

Understanding poverty as a state of being poor with regard to concretely being unable to meet basic needs such as water, food, clothes, shelter, and essential services (e.g., sanitation, health, and education), its concerted study in the United States not only stands tandem with constitutionally upheld values such as equality but is crucial for soundly informing and assessing law, policy, and programs that ensure a robust society. Especially amidst global challenges like COVID-19, it becomes all the more important to understand what factors may most impact a person’s movement into and out of poverty. For this project, I examine how family background and educational attainment interact to jointly affect poverty in the United States using data from a nationally representative panel study sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). After proxying poverty with receiving public assistance, I tested 18 independent variables consistent with demographic and family background by conducting a multivariate regression. Ten variables were found to have a statistically significant effect on the probability of receiving public assistance with dependents (under the age of 18), recent unemployment (within the past three years), and sex (i.e., being female) being among the strongest predictors of receiving public assistance (p<0.001). Roughly 36% of the variation in receiving public assistance is explained by our 18 independent variables tested, helping paint poverty with more color. More importantly, these results signal a need to buttress public programs through at least 2023 given the skyrocketing unemployment rate of the 2020 year. Leaders in education, non-profit, and government may ask how, while further research can expand the list of independent variables and/or focus on a single ascribed or achieved status to test varying hypotheses in response to the “causes” of poverty.

Role of Biofuels and Bioplastics on Sustainability: A Complex Ethical Dilemma

The development of renewable fuels, chemicals and bioplastics and their perceived potential has suffered from a lack of complete understanding of their sustainability metrics and the possibility of negative impact on food and environment. Controversies surrounding conflict versus holistic sustainability and veracity of carbon neutrality have begun to rapidly shift the paradigm regarding first generation biofuels. A perceived downside of its popularity is also influenced by flamboyant corporate advertising and promotions. The provision of sustainability indices on such products without a complete evaluation of its impact on climate change achieves little by way of mitigating the real challenge for achieving sustainability. Rapid diversification of international energy and plastics portfolio, with an impetus towards using low GHG emission bio feedstocks and biopolymers could be a sustainable alternative. Intelligent conversion of poor-quality feedstocks and waste streams, that require high disposal costs and pose a health hazard, to higher value end products could prove to be a real solution. Integrating infrastructure for fuel and cogeneration of power at waste treatment facilities could be a potential sustainable and profitable answer to the challenges of waste management industry and environment.
 

This presentation emphasizes the need for human values to be embedded in the design process of a novel technotherapeutic implantable system for US warfighters being developed by DARPA’s BTO called the “ADAPTER”. As an ELSI panelist my role is to raise awareness on the importance of ethical legal and social aspects and possible implications as they pertain to the development of the NTRAIN semi-autonomous complex system. When we consider responsible innovation the question often asked is how to actually prove that values or principles have indeed been embedded into the design process and executed with the appropriate safeguards. Here we take a look at three well-known stages of development- proof of concept, prototyping and testing as they align to DARPA’s three phases of technical activities, and ask the fundamental corresponding ELSI questions. The main contribution of the presentation is a multi-layered socio-technical inquiry from the macro (defense oriented viability supported by government drivers), to the meso (technical oriented feasibility articulated by systems of innovation), and the micro (end-user desirability driven by social contracts and choice) levels.

(op-eds and policy position papers) - RSVP REQUIRED
Speaker: Deborah Stine 
Founder & Chief Instructor, Science and Technology Policy Academy 

Supported by Sigma Xi, this two-day workshop is part of a series of events on Re-envisioning STEM Education and Workforce Development for the 21st Century, which is being organized to coincide with the Journal of Science Policy & Goverencance and Sigma Xi’s joint call for policy position papers and op-eds inviting students, policy fellows, and early career researchers to consider ways we can re-envision the landscape of STEM education and workforce development in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and build towards a future that is focused on equity and inclusion, access to technology, and aligning training with workforce demands. 

The goal of this workshop is to equip students, policy fellows, and early career researchers with skills needed to write policy position papers and op-eds. During the workshop, participants will learn about major policy issues in STEM education and workforce and the elements needed to construct science policy position papers and op-eds, and practice writing policy proposal outlines in breakout rooms.

RSVP by: November 4, 2021 EOD 



 

Diversity is necessary for innovation. We need everybody’s talent to be successful. It is essential to create a scientific culture of connection that increases access and opportunity for people with disabilities. Technology plays an important role in forging a world where people with disabilities can participate and contribute their talents to the fullest extent possible. This requires creating science, technology, engineering and mathematic pathways the are inclusive and allow full participation by people with disabilities. Fortunately, there is a pool of eager talent and scientific and technical challenges that are interesting and that when addressed can make a real positive difference in people’s lives and in society. Dr. Cooper will suggest some pathways to expand the talent pool of scientists and engineers, as well as provide a glimpse into the work the he and his colleagues are doing to create technologies and systems for older adults and people with disabilities.
 

Gold Key Award Presentation 
Student Research Conference Awards Announcement 
Induction Ceremony 
Remarks by Sigma Xi President-elect Nicholas Peppas