The Center for Science and Society is pleased to award its first cycle of public outreach grants. These grants fund projects that have one or more of the following aims:
- Help boost public understanding of societal concerns surrounding science, technology, or medicine;
- Teach K-12 students about current issues in science and society; or
- Work with communities to respond to issues that affect or are affected by science.
Public outreach grants were open to all full-time employees and students at Columbia University, Teachers College, and Barnard College, including faculty, postdocs, researchers, and administrators. Out of the many qualified applications, the following four projects have been selected for funding:
- Formerly Incarcerated Reintegration Science Training (FIRST) Program led by Christopher Medina-Kirchner (PhD Student in Psychology). The program trains formerly incarcerated students in conducting scientific research that addresses social justice issues. Read our feature article about Christopher's project.
- Colorant Sustainability Workshop led by Naomi Rosenkranz (Project Manager, Making and Knowing Project) and Sumeyye Yar (Science Outreach Coordinator, Genspace). Workshops teach the public about the history and chemistry of natural dyes through hands-on experiments.
- For the Daughters of Harlem: Working in Sound led by Lucie Vagnerova (Core Lecturer in Music Humanities) and Ellie M. Hisama (Professor of Music). Geared towards young women, the workshop explores the social and cultural dimensions of science through digital music technology and audio production training.
- People Doing Interesting Stuff podcast led by Samuel Roberts (Associate Professor of History and Sociomedical Sciences). The podcast offers advanced public health and drug policy discussion in an accessible and jargon-free format.
