Education and Outreach News

In an effort to bring demographic and diversity issues to the forefront of iUTAHns’ minds, 72 participants met for an All-Hands Meeting in Salt Lake City. This year’s meeting was held on November 13, 2015 at the Natural History Museum of Utah.

In her opening remarks, iUTAH Project Director Michelle Baker discussed developments, activities, initiatives, and the positive evaluation from the Year 4 Reverse Site Visit with the National Science Foundation. She also recognized iUTAH as a catalyst for “communicating lessons learned, relationships forged, mindsets changed, and cultures transformed, ” urging participants to continue to communicate their successes to the iUTAH Project Office, and the greater community of stakeholders and constituents of which we are a part.

The morning keynote address was given by Pamela Perlich, Director of Demographic Research at the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, at the University of Utah, who talked about understanding the changing demographics of Utah, asserted that “change is our constant companion.”

In a conversation after her talk, Perlich said “an important and urgent reality to consider is that we have new people in our community who are not being given a voice, not being given the opportunity to be a part of important decision-making processes. Their inclusion in our problem solving, in our creative processes, would lead us to better solutions more quickly.”

“Humans have solved problems long before there were markets, or money, or even numbers, let alone data,” said Perlich, adding that “Data is just information.”

In addition to formal talks, much time was devoted to networking and the sharing of information. Over lunch, iUTAH postdoctoral scholars Rachel Gabor, Melissa Haeffner, Krishna Khatri, and Erik Oerter gave updates on their work. The importance of dialogue and exchanges such as these were expressed in Melissa’s talk as she said, “you mention water in Utah, and people start talking.”

Later in the afternoon, Angela Enno, Program Coordinator with the Multicultural/Access and Diversity Center at Utah State University discussed collective identity. Her talk focused on promoting the participation of diverse groups of students, faculty, and staff in STEM fields.

Drawing on data from her work with the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), Enno shared the preliminary results of interviews focused on measuring the importance of helping minority groups find communities in higher education.

The last part of the day was devoted to RFA breakout sessions, where thoughts, ideas, and actions were discussed.

The next iUTAH All-Hands Meeting is scheduled for April 6, 2016, and will be held in conjunction with the Spring Runoff Conference at Utah State University in Logan, Utah.

Mark Brunson, iUTAH Education Outreach & Diversity Director, was featured on the Utah Education Network (UEN) SciFi Friday program during the month of November.  During the program Mark talked with Program Coordinator Jenn Gibbs about the conflict over natural resources and the iUTAH project, as it relates to the Western films "Abilene Town," "The Sundowners," "The Big Trees" and "Angel and the Badman." Listen to the podcast.

The UEN SciFi Friday is a multi-platform program, using broadcasts, podcasts, and events to introduce fun, classic films, with commentary by Utah experts in science, technology, engineering, math and related fields.

Other past iUTAH contributors to the program include:

• Jim Ehleringer, University of Utah, explored carnivorous plants and the film "The Day of the Triffids." 
• Maura Hahnenberger, now at Salt Lake Community College, and Carolyn Stwertka talked about the featured movie “Man Beast,” and how it relates to Atmospheric Sciences.
• Louisa Stark, University of Utah, enlightened discussion on inherited traits, and the film “Samson vs. The Vampire Women.”
• Sarah Null, Utah State University, talked about the effects of dams combined with the 1925 silent film version of “The Phantom of the Opera.”
• Steve Corbato, formerly of the University of Utah, discussed "The Cosmic Man" and 21st century technology.
• Carolyn Stwertka and Kimi Smith, both from the University of Utah, conversed on computer coding, collaboration in science, and the partnership between Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson featured in the film "The Woman in Green."

Stay tuned for more information on iUTAH expert contributions around the state.

iUTAH researcher Jackie Grant's work doing science outreach to school children was recently featured in The Spectrum newspaper.

For three years the Garth and Jerri Frehner Museum of Natural History and the Braithwaite Fine Arts Gallery on the campus of Southern Utah University have been partnering to offer science and art in a unique way to K-12 students in Cedar City. “Scientists are far more creative than most people assume,” said Jackie Grant, museum curator and professor at SUU. “When we pair science with art it is more engaging to general audiences such as elementary school children.” The Fall Education Program has reached over 2,000 elementary and high school students since it’s beginning…

Read Original Article...

For more on iUTAH's involvement with SUU, visit “SUU museums partner to teach science with art and play,”  published on Nov. 06, 2015, on SUU News

One of iUTAH’s core missions is the education and diversification of the next generation of our state’s STEM workforce. To help us achieve this mission, iUTAH has supported the production of a new book on water by author/educator Nancy Bo Flood, who has published several books written from a Navajo perspective. “Water Runs Through This Book,” illustrated by Jan Sonnenmair’s photographs, weaves science and poetry together to stimulate awareness of and a conservation ethic toward water among readers of all ages. With the help of this book, raising awareness will be a focus of iUTAH education and outreach activities to diverse communities in the coming year.

iUTAH and USU’s ENVS 6410 Translational Ecology course are developing a web page that will help people find answers to the questions they have about water sustainability in Utah. At Science Unwrapped they asked people to take a survey that helped us learn which water-related questions are most important to Utah residents.