Outreach
Revision as of 11:13, 3 November 2011 by Cmditradmin (talk | contribs)
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Why Outreach
Why should busy graduate students or faculty take time to teach the public about their science? The are altruistic motives as well as self serving.
- Public understanding of science increases friendliness to science research funding and funds for higher education.
- K-12 students benefit from seeing real scientists and this can motivate them to consider stem careers even from an early age.
- Public communication is an important skill as your career progresses.
- NSF grants explicitly require a broader impacts statement in which you demonstrate how your research will lead to an advancement of science in general. Education outreach is a natural response for this.
- Early career awards and tenure reviews also look at your public service and outreach record.