On May 21st, 2024, NASA SCoPE (NASA SMD Community of Practice for Engagement) held its first Virtual Networking event for 2024 in direct response to community feedback from annual surveys requesting more networking opportunities. This event series aims to connect early career scientists, engineers, and NASA Science Activation teams, providing a platform for networking and mutual learning on science communications topics. The event brought together 21 NASA science content experts from across the United States, all eager to learn more about balancing their research and educational outreach to make a meaningful impact.

During this event, NASA SCoPE hosted a panel featuring six Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) professionals from various NASA Science Activation Teams who shared their best practices for balancing scientific research with educational outreach. The panelists included:

Ariel Anbar: President’s Professor, Geochemist, Infiniscope Principal Investigator (PI), and Director of the Center for Education through Exploration at Arizona State University

Matthew Cass: Physics & Astronomy Professor at Southwestern Community College, Rural Education Advocate, Smoky Mountain STEM Collaborative PI

Lin Chambers: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow, Aerospace Engineer, and Deputy Director of NASA Science Activation

Emma Marcucci: Astrobiologist and Geophysicist, Co-Investigator for NASA’s Universe of Learning, and Science Communications and Engagement Branch Manager at the Space Telescope Science Institute

Juan Torres-Pérez: Research Scientist at NASA Ames, Biological & Geological Oceanographer, OCEANOS (Ocean Community Engagement and Awareness using NASA Earth Observations and Science for Hispanic/Latino Students) PI

Patricia Udomprasert: Astronomer, Cosmic Data Stories Science PI, and Research Associate at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

Attendees praised the event, with one participant noting, “The personal experiences were valuable to hear about from each panel member. Careers in this space can take so many trajectories and be hard to find at the same time, so learning about the pathways others took and the navigational details that matter along the way was really valuable.”

Another attendee highlighted the importance of supportive environments, saying, “Finding environments that value outreach is important – I have had an advisor who thought of outreach as only a distraction and I didn’t realize that wasn’t necessarily typical.”

There are two remaining Virtual Networking opportunities for 2024, scheduled for August 20th with a STEM BIPOC Panel and November 5th for SciComm Best Practices. If you identify as a NASA science researcher or a Science Activation team, we encourage you to register here for upcoming workshops:

August 20th Topic: This session you’ll hear from our panelists of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) professionals. They’ll be sharing their challenges, successes and ways that you can impact your community.

November 5th Topic: We’ll be sharing our top 3 SciComm best practices that we’ve learned along the way and how to implement them in your own outreach efforts. You’ll also have the chance to practice your new skills!.

Register: https://asu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAuc-yvrzwuGNCzCVmKGiVrxRs7jB1B_jV5

NASA SCoPE is supported by NASA under cooperative agreement award number 80NSSC21M0006 and is part of NASA’s Science Activation Portfolio. Learn more about how Science Activation connects NASA science experts, real content, and experiences with community leaders to do science in ways that activate minds and promote deeper understanding of our world and beyond: https://science.nasa.gov/learn