AAAS Webinar on April 5: “How to recruit citizen scientists for discovery.”


From the AAAS website:

Have a research project that requires large data collection and analysis? Working on a tight budget and an even tighter timeline? Ever thought about outsourcing some of this work to the public? Using the power of the crowd, via the Internet and social media, citizens scientists can help get the job done on time and on budget.

This webinar brings together three experts in crowdsoucing. They will show you how it works, where to find citizens scientists, and how to insure you get the best data possible.

Join us April 5 at 12 noon ET for this hour-long webinar, brought to you by AAAS MemberCentral.
Speakers:

Darlene Cavalier
Founder of SciStarter and Science Cheerleader

Darlene Cavalier is the founder of SciStarter.com, an online citizen science community. The site is a one-stop-shop for potential citizen scientists and a share space where researchers recruit participants. She is also the founder of ScienceCheerleader.com, a site that creates mechanisms for public engagement in scientific research and policy discussions, but is far better known for giving rise to the “Science Cheerleaders” comprised of more than 250 current and former NFL and NBA cheerleaders who are also scientists and engineers. Cavalier herself was a cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers. These so-called Science Cheerleaders playfully challenge stereotypes, inspire young women to consider science careers, and involve people from all walks of life in citizen science. Cavalier is the Director of Special Projects at Discover Magazine. She holds a Masters Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia where she resides with her husband and four children.

William Ludington
Bowes Fellow at UC Berkeley
Cofounder of uBiome

Will Ludington, PhD, is Bowes faculty fellow in the Immunology and Pathogenesis Division of the Molecular Cell Biology Department at UC Berkeley, where he studies the interactions between endogenous gut microbes, the host immune system, and host behavior using metagenomics and experimental model systems. Coming from a background in both large scale ecology and cell biology, the microbiome was a natural research direction. Will cofounded the citizen science startup, uBiome, in order to put metagenomic research into the hands of the public.

Iyad Rahwan
Associate Professor & Head Computing & Information Science, Masdar Institute
Coauthor of Balloon Challenge and Tag Challenge

Iyad Rahwan is Associate Professor at Masdar Institute, a research institute established in cooperation with MIT. He is an Honorary Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, and was previously a visiting scholar at the MIT Media Lab. He holds a PhD from the University of Melbourne. Dr. Rahwan’s research on crowdsourcing and social mobilization appeared in major academic journals, including Science, PNAS, and IEEE Computer, and was featured in popular media, such as The Economist, MSNBC, New Scientist, and Popular Science. Dr. Rahwan led the winning team in the 2012 US State Department’s Tag Challenge, in which he used crowdsourcing to successfully locate 3 people in remote cities in less than 12 hours.
Moderator:

Adam Ruben is a writer, comedian, storyteller, and molecular biologist in Washington, DC who has performed stand-up comedy for over 10 years at clubs, colleges, and private venues. Adam is the author of the book Surviving Your Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go to Grad School (Broadway Books, 2010) and the monthly humor column “Experimental Error” in Science Careers. He has appeared on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” the Food Network’s “Food Detectives,” and the Science Channel’s “Head Rush,” and currently co-hosts “You Have Been Warned” on the Discovery Channel. Learn more at adamruben.net.

Categories: Events

About the Author

Darlene Cavalier

Darlene Cavalier

Darlene Cavalier is a professor of practice at Arizona State University's School for the Future of Innovation in Society and a Senior Global Futures Scientist, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory at ASU. Professor Cavalier is the founder of SciStarter (a popular citizen science portal and research platform connecting millions of people to real science they can do), founder of Science Cheerleaders (a non profit organization comprised of current and former NFL, NBA and college cheerleaders pursuing STEM careers), cofounder of ECAST: Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology and cofounder of ScienceNearMe.org. She is a founding board member of the Citizen Science Association, an advisor and Fellow at National Geographic, a member of the EPA's National Advisory Council for Environmental Policy and Technology, appointed to the National Academy of Sciences "Designing Citizen Science to Support Science Learning" committee and named cochair of America 250's Innovation, Science, and Entrepreneurism Advisory Council. She is the co-editor of "The Rightful Place of Science: Citizen Science," author of "The Science of Cheerleading," and co-author of the Field Guide to Citizen Science (Timber Press). Recently, ASU President Michael Crow awarded Cavalier and her team the prestigious Medal for Social Embeddedness.