PSA Annual Meeting 2006
Juneau, Alaska 7 - 12 JulyAlgae and the Broader Impacts of Science
The PSA Education Committee is pleased to present a workshop organized by Richard Triemer and Gisèle Muller-Parker on Algae and the Broader Impacts of Science. Every high school and college student, teacher and professor, administrator and legislator, should know what algae are and why they are economically important to society. We as phycologists have not promoted our science as well as we should, but now we have an opportunity, and a requirement, to do so. Many Federal programs that support basic scientific research now require scientists to propose to engage in education and public outreach activities and other "Broader Impacts" activities related to the research. The Broader Impacts (BI) Criterion "What are the broader impacts of the proposed activity?" was articulated in NSF Important Notice 121 in 1997 as one of two merit review criteria, which all proposals must address. Experience at NSF shows that many proposers have difficulty understanding how to frame the broader impacts of the activities they propose to undertake. This workshop will provide a forum for phycologists to discuss effective practices and to develop strategies for effective ways to develop "Broader Impacts" activities. The goal of the workshop is to provide phycologists access to information and resources (people and organizations), and to promote discussions about the types of activities that meet the requirement for "Broader Impacts" of our science. The format of the proposed 2-hour workshop will be a combination of short presentations and group discussions. The workshop will have two parts. In the first (one hour), we will provide an overview of the "Broader Impacts" criterion and highlight selected activities by researchers that relate to the 5 Broader Impact "strands" defined by NSF (http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2002/nsf022/bicexamples.pdf):
The goal of this portion of the workshop is to provide a clear understanding of what the criteria are and to illustrate concrete examples of how phycologists have broadly disseminated information using some very creative web activities, involved teachers and brought algae into high school classrooms, attracted students from under-represented groups into their labs and illustrated how knowing about algae will directly benefit society.
- How well does the activity advance discovery and understanding while promoting teaching, training and learning?
- How well does the proposed activity broaden the participation of under-represented groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, disability, geographic, etc.)?
- To what extent will it enhance the infrastructure for research and education, such as facilities, instrumentation, networks and partnerships?
- Will the results be disseminated broadly to enhance scientific and technological understanding?
- What may be the benefits of the proposed activity to society?
The second part of the workshop will include time for participants to meet in small groups to discuss their ideas and provide input. A summary of the workshop proceedings and list of findings and resources contributed by participants will be developed by the organizers.