December 9, 2019
Dr. G’s #AGU19 Spotlight – Scientist Spotlights and Profiles Online
Posted by Laura Guertin
The construction has ended, and the Moscone Center is ready to welcome the AGU Fall Meeting back to San Francisco! Many, many AGU members came out for the 2019 Fall Meeting, with AGU President Robin Bell reporting that this meeting has 8,200 oral sessions, 17,000 posters and more!
I flew out on Saturday so I could attend a workshop on Inclusive and Effective College Science Classrooms. What attracted me the most to the workshop was the section on the Scientist Spotlight Initiative. I had previously seen the paper in CBE-Life Sciences Education by Schinske et al. (2017), yet I hadn’t taken the time or opportunity to follow through on the idea. What I learned and from brainstorming with fellow workshop participants, I look forward to being more intentional and to Develop Students’ Science Identity (from SAGE 2YC) so that when students are asked “what types of people do science?” they provide diverse identities, and perhaps include themselves in their answer.
The Scientist Spotlight is a weekly homework assignment where students are introduced to a non-stereotypical scientist and are asked to read a prepared bio, and article on the field/discipline of the scientist, and then answer four questions (from Schinske et al., 2017):
- What was the most interesting or most confusing about the articles you read about Dr. x?
- What can you learn about [insert area of specialty] from these articles?
- What do these articles tell you about the types of people that do science?
- What new questions do you have after reviewing these articles?
There was much excitement in the workshop around this assignment and the impact it could have with our student populations, but the main question that everyone had – where are the profiles of geoscientists online? (profiles that are not a standard bio, but share a journey/experience in science, and that include a diversity of individuals)
Below, I’m listing some places to explore that I’ve learned about here at the AGU Fall Meeting and from other sites I’m aware of. Please add in the Comments box any other resources you can share!
- Time Scavengers Meet the Scientist (*featured at AGU Fall Meeting)
- Women Doing Science (Instagram) (*featured at AGU Fall Meeting)
- Rock-Head Sciences (*an amazing collection!)
- 500 Women Scientists Meet A Scientist
- Earth Science Women’s Network (ESWN) Member Spotlights
- Identify with a Scientist, from PROGRESS – PROmoting Geoscience Research, Education, & SuccesS
- Leading Women in Marine Science
- NOAA Research Scientist Profiles
- Center for Great Lakes Literacy Scientist Spotlights
- The Secret Life of Scientists & Engineers (video profiles, PBS)
AGU has also been profiling scientists with their Paths Through Science initiative. Check out the recorded YouTube videos and the following profiles on AGU members:
- Paths Through Science: Kristin Ludwig, Staff Scientist, USGS Natural Hazards Mission Area
- Flying for Science: Merging Adventure and Exploration in the NOAA Corps
- An Oceanographer’s Journey: Meet Dr. Laura Guertin, Professor of Earth Science
- Lessons Learned While on the Ice: Meet Geophysicist Martha Savage
- You Don’t Need to See the Stars to be Inspired by Them: Meet Space Physicist Alessandra Pacini
- The Interdisciplinary Scientist: Juan Declet-Barreto’s Career as a Geographer and Environmental Social Scientist
- “The Government’s Best Kept Secret”: Dale Gump on his work with the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps
- Paths Through Science: Dereka Carroll-Smith
Again, please forward along other profiles so that we can bring diverse science identities to our students!
There are speaker databases if you wish to bring a live scientist to your students:
Hydrology Guest Lecturer Database – https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1nBopezDjbRFXLl6R6u87-4BbPeBYebFeRvYYG5wt_Xo/edit#gid=1315813236
500 Women Scientists – Request a Woman in STEMM – https://500womenscientists.org/request-a-scientist
HHMI has a Scientists at Work activity, designed for college and high school students. “In our new “Scientist Role Models” activity, students select and research a scientist featured in our “Scientists at Work” videos. Two versions of the activity are available: one in which students outline a brief profile of the scientist and another in which they write a more extended essay.” Available at – https://www.biointeractive.org/classroom-resources/scientist-role-models
There is also Breakthrough, a short film anthology from Science Friday and Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) that follows women working at the forefront of their fields. Each episode blends deeply personal stories with innovative scientific research of women across STEM fields. https://www.breakthroughfilms.org/