Mission Statement

The Education and Public Outreach committee (E/PO) of the AGU Space Physics and Aeronomy (SPA) section is comprised of AGU research scientists and science educators who are dedicated to promoting science education at all levels both nationally and internationally, and providing information about AGU science to public audiences.

The SPA - EPO committee has three goals:

• To promote and share information about E/PO events and best practices in the field.
• To provide support for AGU scientists interested in becoming involved in E/PO activities.
• To participate and support AGU wide education and outreach events from the SPA section.

The work done by the SPA-EPO committee and its individual members supports all of the Goals and many of the Objectives set out in the AGU Strategic Plan (see the end of http://www.agu.org/about/strategic_plan.shtml). Here is a list of the specific objectives that the work of the committee supports directly or indirectly.

The Work of the Committee

Through the committee, members of the SPA-EPO community can inform each other about on going work and events via monthly telephone conferences and the AGU annual Fall meeting. These meetings are also a good venue to organize AGU sessions focused on education in space physics and aeronomy. In addition, the committee helps organize and support AGU Education and Public Outreach efforts such as Exploration Station and the GIFT (Geophysical Information for Teachers) Workshops at the Fall AGU. Many members of the committee are supported though funding from NASA and NSF.

Leadership

The committee leadership is made up of a chair, vice-chair and secretary. The leadership communicate regularly with the SPA leadership, other AGU education committees and working groups, and the AGU education leadership.

Chair — Nicholas Gross, Astronomy Department, Boston University, gross@bu.edu
The chair has primary responsibility for leading and representing the committee. The chair is responsible for organizing regular committee meetings, communicating with the SPA leadership, communicating with other AGU education committees and working groups, and communicating with the broader SPA. The chair is also responsible for keeping the committee members updated as to broader activities around the AGU that the members may want to be involved in. The committee chair first serves as vice-chair for two years and then serves as chair for two years.

Vice-Chair — Laura Peticolas, Space Science Lab, Berkley, laura@ssl.berkeley.edu
The vice-Chair is primarily responsible for supporting the chair and becoming familiar with all aspects of the committee's work and its relationship to the larger AGU community. The vice-Chair is elected to a two year term after which she/he will take over the committee chair.

Secretary — Erin Wood, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, Erin.Wood@lasp.colorado.edu
The Secretary has primary responsibility for taking notes for the meeting and making those available to the group.

To Join

AGU members, both educators and researchers, who are interested in Space Physics or Space Science education are encouraged to joint the committee. Contact one of the current officers to be added to the email list and be informed about committee activities.

Past Chairs

Past chairs are still very active the education and the community. Feel free to contact them with any questions you may have.

Mark Moldwin, 2008–2010, mmoldwin@umich.edu
Deborah Scherrer 2006–2008, dscherrer@solar.stanford.edu
James Thieman, 2004–2006, james.r.thieman@nasa.gov
Roberta Johnson, 2000–2004, rmjohnsn@gmail.com
Cherilynn Morrow, 1996–2000, cmorrow@gsu.edu
Ramon Lopez, 1992–1996, relopez@uta.edu
Mark J Engebretson 1988–1992, engebret@augsburg.edu

Links

Space Physics and Aeronomy

Guide for researchers [pdf] who want to become involved in education and public outreach

Mission Statement

The Education and Public Outreach committee (E/PO) of the AGU Planetary Sciences section is comprised of AGU research scientists and science educators who are dedicated to promoting planetary science education at all levels both nationally and internationally, and providing information about AGU science to public audiences.

The Planetary E/PO committee has four goals:

• To promote and support professional development of early career scientists and students in planetary sciences
• To develop a network of planetary science educators that share information about E/PO events, opportunities and best practices in the field
• To provide support for AGU scientists interested in becoming involved in E/PO activities
• To participate and support AGU-wide education and outreach events from the Planetary Sciences section

The work done by the Planetary E/PO committee and its individual members supports all of the Goals and many of the Objectives set out in the AGU Strategic Plan (see the end of www.agu.org/about/strategic_plan.shtml).

The Work of the Committee

Through the committee, members of the Planetary Science EPO community can inform each other about on-going work and events via monthly telephone conferences and the AGU annual Fall Meeting. These meetings are also a good venue to organize AGU sessions focused on education in planetary sciences.

In addition, the committee helps organize and support AGU Education and Public Outreach efforts, including:

• The Student-Scientist Mixer at the Fall AGU meeting that brings graduate students and scientists together for an evening of information and fun
• Exploration Station, a family-based afternoon of hands-on activities,
• GIFT (Geophysical Information for Teachers) Teacher Professional Development Workshops at the Fall AGU

Leadership

The committee leadership is made up of a chair, vice-chair and secretary.  The leadership communicates regularly with the Planetary Science Section leadership, other AGU education committees and working groups, and the AGU education leadership, as well as their counterparts from other professional science organizations, such as the Division of Planetary Sciences of the AAS.

• Chair: Emily CoBabe-Ammann
  • Emily A CoBabe & Associates, Inc.
  • ecobabe@spaceeducation.org
• Vice-chair: Brooke Hsu
  • Lunar and Planetary Institute
  • brooke.c.hsu@nasa.gov
• Secretary: Keri Hallau
  • Montana State University
  • kgarver@montana.edu

Click here for a current list of members and their expertise.

To Join

AGU members, both educators and researchers, who are interested in Planetary Science education are encouraged to join the committee. Contact one of the current officers to be added to the email list and be informed about committee activities.

Mission Statement

The Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology (VGP) Education and Outreach Committee is dedicated to achieving improved accessibility to educational resources related to the understanding our planet, with particular emphasis on volcanology and chemistry of the Earth. We strive to provide VGP membership with direct links to the educational community at all levels with the goal of broadening the impacts of this exciting body of research. We facilitate development of a wide variety of tools and media for enhanced understanding of volcanoes, their essential role in shaping our oceans and atmosphere, and for bettering understanding of their hazards.

The Work of the Committee

The VGP Education and Outreach Committee (VGP E&O) is actively involved in developing contacts throughout the educational community. Additionally, an area of focus is examining rewards for scientists engaging in E&O activities; the committee believes that these need to be enhanced and clarified. VGP E&O promotes best practices, especially for E&O projects described in NSF CAREER proposals and as broader impacts in proposals submitted to NSF and similar funding agencies. So, watch for future workshops and town halls at the AGU Fall Meeting on best practices in bringing research to the broader community.

Another area of focus is quantitative literacy (QL). VGP is ripe to participate in QL and benefit from the experience of others. Resources are numerous, including a set of modules developed for physical volcanology for use in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses. Interested faculty should also see articles on QL in the Journal of Geoscience Education and in the relatively new open-access journal Numeracy. These resources can help faculty teach quantitative concepts in undergraduate and graduate courses as well as provide a platform for reaching the math education community, and for exposing students at the K-12 level to the mysteries of the solid earth and volcanism, viewed through the lens of quantitative thinking.

Other committee goals include developing a webpage and Facebook group for VGP members and educators to facilitate development of new resources and effective use of existing resources. The committee plans to have VGP section members join the VGP E&O committee simply by registering as part of this group, hopefully stimulating broad participation in VGP E&O activities. Committee members are particularly interested in promoting discussion of big ideas and misconceptions in VGP learning.

Leadership

Chuck Connor (Chair) University of South Florida, cconnor@cas.usf.edu

Steve Carey, University of Rhode Island, scarey@gso.uri.edu

Howard Day, UC Davis, hwday@ucdavis.edu

Karen Harpp, Colgate University, kharpp@colgate.edu

Diana Roman, University of South Florida, droman@usf.edu

Bill Rose, Michigan Tech, raman@mtu.edu

To Join

AGU members, both educators and researchers, who are interested Volcanology, Geochemistry, and Petrology education are encouraged to join the committee. Contact one of the current officers to be added to the email list and be informed about committee activities.

Links

VGP Section page

Resources:

Digital Library for Earth System Education
Vhub (collaborative volcano research and risk mitigation)
Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College
Windows to the Universe
Steve Carey's Vesuvius tour