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Science and Society

The AGU Science and Society (SY) section works to (1) support and grow a community that actively facilitates stronger connections between societies and Earth and space sciences and (2) foster innovation within AGU that better enables discoveries and solutions in the geosciences to benefit humanity.

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We aim to create a welcoming community for artists, communicators, policy makers, social scientists, community members, and other decision makers at AGU

What is JEDI?

JEDI means justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We strongly encourage all Science and Society session conveners to prioritize JEDI in their events during the Fall Meeting. For more information, visit our SY Section JEDI page.

Join Us!

⇒ I want to be a section member

  1. Log into membership.agu.org/my-agu-login.
  2. Scroll down to Sections & Focus Groups.
  3. Click > arrow to select sections.
  4. If Science and Society is listed, then you’re already a member! If not, click +Add and add it.

⇒ I want to volunteer

Fill out this form to volunteer or nominate colleagues to become more involved in SY section activities and leadership.

⇒ I want to share my story

Are you a student or early career member (or know someone who is) working at the interface of science and society? Are you open to sharing your story in a spotlight? Fill out this quick survey and we’ll be in touch!

⇒ I want to submit a session or abstract

Join us at Fall Meeting for the Science and Society sessions! Submit your Science and Society proposal or abstract by each deadline. Contact any of the Track Leads below or SY Section Leadership if you have any questions. Also, check out previous 2020 Science and Society sessions for inspiration.

⇒ Check out other action opportunities 

(1) Science to Action is a grassroots effort to connect science and action with communities and decision makers. Under the Science to Action banner, AGU members and others carry out Fall Meeting sessions and network events with our Science and Society section and Thriving Earth Exchange. (2) AGU's Thriving Earth Exchange program connects scientists with communities and awards a Community Science Fellowship for training and project opportunities. (3) AGU offers programs and opportunities to share and advocate for science.

Students walking in a grassy field on a sunny day (Photo by Naassom Azevedo)

Science and Society Tracks

We have five "tracks" in our section. Please feel free to contact the Track Leads or any SY Section Leadership members for more information.

SY Exe Comm and AGU staff
Science and Society Executive Committee & AGU Staff (SY Retreat, March 2021)

2021 Track Leads

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SCIENCE POLICY
Gifford Wong - gwong[at]ida.org
illustration of a pin drop on a map

COMMUNITY & CITIZEN SCIENCE
Ryan Meyer - rmmeyer[at]ucdavis.edu
two speaking bubbles

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
Kristin Timm (she/her) - kmtimm[at]alaska.edu
colorful paintbrush and palette

ART & SCIENCE
Kathryn Semmens - ksemmens[at]nurturenature.org
Garima Raheja (she/her) - gr2645[at]columbia.edu
three circles of people connected

SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Kripa Jagannathan (she/her) - kripajagan[at]berkeley.edu

Track Descriptions

policy notebook illustration

SCIENCE POLICY

Scientists have a critical role to play in advising policy makers throughout all levels of government. Section members working in this space contribute to specific science-based public policy initiatives and include scientists, policy makers, and science advocates who work at the interface of science and public policy.
illustration of a pin drop on a map

COMMUNITY & CITIZEN SCIENCE

In community science, scientists and communities do science together to advance one or more community priorities. This encourages communities, particularly historically marginalized and oppressed communities, to guide, participate in, learn from, and benefit from science. Citizen Science, similarly, engages the public to collaborate with scientists to assist in research and monitoring, from local to global investigations. Community and citizen science (CCS) can take many forms. Through this track we promote and share innovative and effective practices, and advance scholarship that examines and reflects on CCS approaches.
two speaking bubbles

SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

Science communication includes the efforts of natural, physical and social scientists, communications professionals, and teams that communicate the process and values of science and scientific findings to non-specialist audiences outside of formal educational settings. The goals of science communication are varied, including enhanced dialogue, understanding, awareness, enthusiasm, improving decision making, or influencing behaviors. Science communication channels include in-person interaction, online, social media, mass media, or other communication methods.
colorful paintbrush and palette

ART & SCIENCE

Scientific and artistic endeavors are both used to explore and understand the world around us. Artistic techniques can help scientists visualize data and communicate results to other scientists as well as non-scientists. Art plays an increasingly important role in science education in both informal and formal environments. The integration of art and science yields interdisciplinary methodologies that enable connections between science and society.
three circles of people connected

SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

The geosciences often strive to produce knowledge that will help solve pressing societal issues. Despite this motivation, this knowledge is not used in decisions as much as is expected. Understanding why knowledge is not used and identifying strategies to overcome these challenges, requires engagement across many disciplines and inclusion of the communities whose issues we would like to address, especially those that relate to social behavior and decision-making. Insights from varied fields, including anthropology, economics, history, political science, decision science, psychology, and sociology can help ensure our geoscience is useful and useable.

"There is no planet B" sign at climate rally (Photo by Li-An Lim)

SY Announcements

  • Profile Picture

    Student and Early Career Member Spotlight

    By: James Neely 7 months ago
    Posted in: Science and Society Executive Committee

    Hello Science and Society Members, We are excited to announce our second student and early career highlight. This month we are featuring  Ian Bolliger ...

SY Discussions

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