Southeast Community Engagement

Hello Everyone, 

Since we're starting to build groups of friendly local scientists, let's start off with friendly introductions. 

What should we call you?  (And pronouns if you're comfortable sharing) 
Where are you local to? 
What particular branch of science are you interested in advocating for? 
Favorite species on planet Earth? 

Since I'm starting the conversation, I'll add mine below. 

I'm Bradley Hague (He/Him), a science communicator local to Washington DC and Northern Virginia.  I'm a generalist when it comes to science, the joy of focusing on communication means I get to cover it all.  I've written about astrophysics, hydrothermal vents, ecosystem restoration, quantum computing and more.  I love focusing on applied science where you can really see the impact on the ground, with just a dash of astrophysics or quantum physics to make my head hurt and remind me how small we truly are.  As to my favorite animal, while I have a particular love of the Dodo's original latin name (Didus Ineptus, "The Idiot Bird"), I'll stick with living animals and go with ornithorhynchus anatinus, better known as the platypus.  

Who are you? 

What should we call you?  Taz
Where are you local to?  Lynchburg, Virginia - three hours south of DC by Amtrak + one hour from UVa, where I earned my BS and MEd
What particular branch of science are you interested in advocating for? As a recently retired educator (high school, community college, university) I will be advocating for science education at all levels. I'm currently polishing presentations suitable for school or public on exoplanets and exobiology, bringing together plenty of astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, and biology.
Favorite species on planet Earth? Big fan of Homo sapiens, who need plenty more nurture and respect.

Hi all, I am Laurie Betts. She/ her and I am lgbtq ally. I am at UNC Chapel Hill as a retired protein biochemist/ .molecular biologist. My real passion is cancer patient advocacy. I had an early stage esophageal cancer 6 years ago

 Still No Evidence of Disease 

 I want Congress to know how important basic research is even if it seems unrelated to medicine. The AAAS Golden Goose Awards highlight how discoveries driven by curiosity have led to medicines or devices that help people.

I am also interested in ALL science and science for ALL. It is so important that underrepresented students and international students study in the US. The current attacks by the Administration on science and diversity are going to take us in the wrong direction.  

Laurie Betts, Phd 1992 UNC Chapel Hill

Greetings, and thanks Bradley for starting this thread.

I am Ethan Schubert (he/him) near Chattanooga, TN. I am an informal educator with UL Research Institutes advocating for safety science (not science safety, but why do things break and hurt people, places, and things). Our focus is creating secondary school resources around the research produced by our various institutes in an engaging way (Home Page | Xplorlabs). I travel to mostly educator conferences, sometimes to local school districts, to share our resources and equip teachers with the supplies necessary to participate in the hands-on portion of our no-cost website. I am on the lookout for more opportunities to engage with more rural and Native American communities as our organization has done a good job supporting low-income communities in urban areas.

Individually I am interested in sharing the concerns around wildland urban interface (WUI) fires such as the southern planes from Louisiana to Virginia experience more individual wildfires than every state in the Rockies and west combined (the west has way more acreage)! And more individuals are hospitalized from wildfire smoke east of the Mississippi when the west has a heavy fire season. Also been diving into the limited research around first, second, and third hand electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS or "vapes") exposure.

Favorite species - I like what you're thinking Taz, could have gone with the mythical liver bird myself. But I will stay rooted in reality and say currently a fan of the Eudyptes Chrysolophus or the Macaroni Penguin. Chattanooga Aquarium hatched one just over a month ago!

------------------------------
Ethan Schubert
UL Research Institutes
------------------------------