2022 was an exciting year here at PEWS! Here’s a look back at our year.
We began 2022 by hiring our new Program Director, Max Cormendy. Max came to us from the University of Cincinnati Office of Research and is an experienced event planner and outreach coordinator. He is also the Executive Director of the Philosophy of Science Association.
In April, our Community Partners for Sustainability event brought together five community organizations to discuss their UC collaborations in local sustainability research and engagement. We teamed up with the UC Office of Sustainability to stream the 2022 Sustainability Awards, which featured two fantastic PEWS Affiliate Faculty, Andrew Bernier (School of Education) and Carlie Trott (A&S Psychology), among the awardees. This hybrid event marked the return of in-person gatherings, a trend that will hopefully continue.
Our panel discussion cosponsored by Research!America and the UC Science Policy Ambassadors, Careers in Public Engagement with Science, brought together four Cincinnati-area professionals to discuss their careers working with the public or on matters of public concern about science.
In September, we held a panel discussion, Research to Action, about how academic research can lead to community change, policy, and other tangible outcomes. This discussion featured Danielle Bessett (A&S Sociology, PEWS Faculty Affiliate), Carl Fichtenbaum (College of Medicine), and Whitney Gaskins (College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, PEWS Faculty Affiliate) and was moderated by Eduardo Martinez (A&S Philosophy, PEWS Faculty Affiliate).
If you missed any of these events, you can find recordings of these events and other content related to public engagement with science, such as our video series highlighting sustainability research at UC, on our Youtube page. Give us a like and a subscribe while you are there, and you won’t miss any new PEWS content!
Our contributions to Public Engagement with Science were recognized in significant ways this year. In May, PEWS Associate Director Melissa Jacquart was awarded a Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship, which celebrates and supports faculty in the humanities who embrace public engagement as part of the scholarly vocation. Each Fellow receives $50,000 to pursue a public-facing project. Melissa’s project, “Bringing Philosophy to Science Fairs: A New Approach to Public Engagement with Science,” was also awarded $25,000 by the University Research Council here at UC.
In September, the National Science Foundation awarded PEWS funding through its Innovations in Graduate Education program. PEWS will receive $500,000 over three years to pilot coursework and internships in public engagement with science and to research the impact of this training.
We also welcomed two cohorts of Sustainability Graduate Student Fellows and PEWS Graduate and Undergraduate Student Interns. We began a Graduate Student Affiliate program as a compliment to our Faculty Affiliate program, welcoming graduate students to take leadership roles within PEWS and to serve as access points to our center across campus.
Our interdisciplinary research and discussion groups continue to meet regularly to share ideas, discuss papers, evaluate current events, and receive feedback on projects and writing. And, our Faculty and Graduate Student Affiliates have done a tremendous amount besides–hosting events, developing research, running learning communities, and more.
Thank you for your participation in PEWS. Our community’s input and contributions are invaluable. We wish you a restful and enjoyable holiday season!
