CHEMISTRY IN PRIMETIME AND ONLINE
Communicating Chemistry in Informal Environments
WORKSHOP SUMMARY
Tina Masciangioli, Rapporteur
Chemical Sciences Roundtable
Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology
Division on Earth and Life Studies
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Grant DE-FG02-07ER15872, the National Institutes of Health under Grant N01-OD-4-2139 (Task Order 25), and the National Science Foundation under Grant CHE-0621582.
The report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the project.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Charles M. Vest is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone and Dr. Charles M. Vest are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
CHEMICAL SCIENCES ROUNDTABLE
CHAIR
MARK A. BARTEAU, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware
WILLIAM F. CARROLL JR.,* Occidental Chemical Corporation, Dallas, Texas
MEMBERS
MICHAEL R. BERMAN, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Arlington, Virginia
APURBA BHATTACHARYA, Texas A&M, Kingsville, Texas
PAUL F. BRYAN, Biomass Program, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
MARK CARDILLO,* Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation, New York
ROBERT J. CELOTTA, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Maryland
JOHN C. CHEN, Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
JENNIFER SINCLAIR CURTIS, University of Florida, Gainesville
TERESA FRYBERGER, NASA Earth Sciences Division, Washington, D.C.
JOHN W. KOZARICH, ActivX Biosciences Inc., La Jolla, California
LUIS E. MARTINEZ, Private Consultant, Jupiter, Florida
JOHN J. MCGRATH, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
KENNETH G. MOLOY, DuPont Company Experimental Station, Wilmington, Delaware
ROBERT PEOPLES, American Chemical Society, Washington, D.C.
MATTHEW PLATZ, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia
DOUGLAS RAY, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington
MICHAEL E. ROGERS,* National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland
ERIC ROHLFING, U.S. Department of Energy, Germantown, Maryland
JAMES M. SOLYST,* ENVIRON International Corporation, Arlington, Virginia
PATRICIA A. THIEL, Iowa State University, Ames
LEVI THOMPSON, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
RICHARD P. VAN DUYNE, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director
AMANDA CLINE, Administrative Assistant
KATHRYN HUGHES, Program Officer
TINA M. MASCIANGIOLI, Responsible Staff Officer
ANGELA OLSON, Christine Mirzayan S&T Policy Fellow (January-April 2011)
SHEENA SIDDIQUI, Research Associate
RACHEL YANCEY, Program Assistant
__________
* These members of the Chemical Sciences Roundtable oversaw the planning of the Workshop on Chemistry in Primetime and Online: Communicating Chemistry in Informal Environments, but were not involved in the writing of this workshop summary.
BOARD ON CHEMICAL SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY
CO-CHAIRS
RYAN R. DIRKX, Arkema Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania
C. DALE POULTER, University of Utah, Salt Lake City
MEMBERS
ZHENAN BAO, Stanford University, California
ROBERT BERGMAN, University of California, Berkeley
HENRY BRYNDZA, E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, Wilmington, Delaware
EMILY CARTER, Princeton University, New Jersey
PABLO DEBENEDETTI, Princeton University, New Jersey
MARY JANE HAGENSON, Chevron Phillips Chemical Company, LLC, The Woodlands, Texas
CAROL J. HENRY, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
JILL HRUBY, Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico
CHARLES E. KOLB, Aerodyne Research, Inc., Billerica, Massachusetts
JOSEF MICHL, University of Colorado, Boulder
MARK A. RATNER, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
ROBERT E. ROBERTS, Institute for Defense Analyses, Washington, D.C.
DARLENE J. S. SOLOMON, Aligent Laboratories, Santa Clara, California
ERIK J. SORENSEN, Princeton University, New Jersey
JEAN TOM, Bristol-Myers Squibb, West Windsor, New Jersey
WILLIAM C. TROGLER, University of California, San Diego
DAVID WALT, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL STAFF
DOROTHY ZOLANDZ, Director
AMANDA CLINE, Administrative Assistant
KATHRYN HUGHES, Program Officer
TINA M. MASCIANGIOLI, Senior Program Officer
SHEENA SIDDIQUI, Research Associate
RACHEL YANCEY, Program Assistant
Preface
The Chemical Sciences Roundtable (CSR) was established in 1997 by the National Research Council. It provides a science-oriented apolitical forum for leaders in the chemical sciences to discuss chemistry-related issues affecting government, industry, and universities. Organized by the National Research Council’s Board on Chemical Sciences and Technology, the CSR aims to strengthen the chemical sciences by fostering communication among the people and organizations—spanning industry, government, universities, and professional associations—involved with the chemical enterprise. One way it does this is by organizing workshops that address issues in chemical science and technology that require national or more widespread attention.
In May 2010, the CSR organized a workshop on the topic “Chemistry in Primetime and Online: Communicating Chemistry in Informal Environments.” The one-and-a-half-day workshop was held to
• Examine science content, especially chemistry, on television, on the Internet, in museums, and in other informal educational settings,
• Explore how the public obtains scientific information, and
• Discuss methods chemists can use to improve and expand their efforts to reach a general, nontechnical audience.
Specific consideration was given to the rapid changes taking place in mass media communication and the opportunities that interactive web technologies may provide scientists in developing and distributing materials for informal education. Means of measuring recognition and retention of the information presented in various media formats and settings was also discussed.
Workshop participants included chemical practitioners (e.g., graduate students or postdocs, professors, administrators); informal learning experts; public and private funding organizations; science writers, bloggers, publishers, and university communications officers; and television and web producers.
This document summarizes the presentations and discussions that took place at the workshop. In accordance with the policies of the CSR, the workshop did not attempt to establish any conclusions or recommendations about needs and future directions, focusing instead on issues identified by the speakers and workshop participants. In addition, the organizing committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop. The workshop summary has been prepared by the workshop rapporteur Tina Masciangioli as a factual summary of what occurred at the workshop.
IMPORTANT NOTE ABOUT INTERNET WEBSITES
The Internet information provided in this Summary was correct, to the best of our knowledge, at the time of publication. It is important to remember, however, the dynamic nature of the Internet. Information on websites can be transient, and is not always validated or verifiable. Resources that are free and publicly available one day may require a fee or restrict access the next, and the location of items may change as menus and homepages are reorganized.
Acknowledgment of Reviewers
This workshop summary has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published summary as sound as possible and to ensure that the summary meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this workshop summary:
Jo Ann Caplin, Science TV Workshop, Wynnewood, Pennsylvania
Jennifer S. Curtis, University of Florida, Gainesville
Al Hazari, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Terri M. Taylor, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
David R. Walt, Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they did not see the final draft of the workshop summary before its release. The review of this summary was overseen by Jeffrey I. Steinfeld, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this summary was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this summary rests entirely with the author and the institution.
Acronyms
AAAS | American Association for the Advancement of Science |
ACC | American Chemistry Council |
ACS | American Chemical Society |
AIChE | American Institute of Chemical Engineers |
AP | Advanced Placement |
ASTC | Association of Science and Technology Centers |
CAISE | Center for Advancement of Informal Science Education |
CHF | Chemical Heritage Foundation |
CRPA | Communicating Research to Public Audiences |
CSI | Crime Science Investigation |
EA | Electronic Arts |
IGERT | Integrative Graduate Education and Research |
ISE | Informal Science Education |
IYC 2011 | International Year of Chemistry 2011 |
NCW | National Chemistry Week |
NIH | National Institutes of Health |
NISE | Nanoscale Informal Science Education |
NRC | National Research Council |
NSDL | National Science Digital Library |
NSF | National Science Foundation |
PBS | Public Broadcasting Service |
PROS | Parallel Remote Online System |
SMILE | Science and Math Informal Learning Educators |
STEM | science, technology, engineering, or mathematics |