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AGU Science and Society (SY)

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We aim to create a welcoming community at AGU for artists, communicators, policy makers, community members & scientists from all disciplines



Latest Cool Stuff at SY

Open to self and peer nomination!

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2023 Sy Year in Review

AGU23 SY Events

SY Dialogues



Join Us!

I want to be a Science & Society member

  1. Log into agu.org/account/User/my-profile
  2. Click Interests. (If Interests doesn't appear you may have to click Personal first)
  3. See under Sections. If Science and Society is listed as Primary, then you’re already a member! If not, click the pencil icon (✏️) and add it.
  4. You will also receive the Science & Society email newsletter!

⇒ I want to connect on social media

  1. Follow, tag, and engage with the community on Instagram @AGUSciSociety
  2. Save the Science and Society YouTube playlist and subscribe to the AGU YouTube channel

I want to volunteer

Fill out this form to volunteer or nominate colleagues to become more involved in SY section activities and leadership. Contact anyone on SY Leadership for more information.

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/abstract

Join us at AGU Fall Meeting for the Science and Society sessions! By each deadline, submit your Science and Society session proposal (usually March/April) or abstract (usually July/August). Contact any of the Track Leads or SY Section Leadership if you have any questions. For inspiration, check out Science and Society sessions from AGU Fall Meeting 20202021, and 2022.

⇒ 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.


AGU23 SY Events

To find all AGU23 Science & Society sessions click here

At AGU23, the SY section showcased over 50 sessions on a range of topics, including science diplomacy, transboundary water, Indigenous Science, active hope, and updates from the US Fifth National Climate assessment. 

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

OSPA: If you're a student or judge, learn more about our section's new OSPA scoring rubric and guidelines for judges on our Awards page

Science & Society Tracks Sessions

Find our flagship sessions for each of the five Science and Society Tracks

Art & Science

  • Poster (SY11C, Monday, 11 December 2023, 08:30 - 12:50, Poster Hall A-C - South)
  • E-lightning session (SY34B, Wednesday, 13 December 2023, 16:00 - 17:30, eLightning Theater V, Hall D - South)

Social & Behavioral Science

  • Oral (SY31A, Wednesday, 13 December 2023 08:30 - 10:00, 2020 - Moscone West)
  • Poster (SY33B, Wednesday, 13 December 2023, 14:10 - 18:30, Poster Hall A-C - South)

Community & Citizen Science

  • Oral (SY42B, Thursday, 14 December 2023, 10:20 - 11:50, 2020 - Moscone West)
  • Poster (SY43E, Thursday, 14 December 2023, 14:10 - 18:30, Poster Hall A-C - South (Exhibition Level, South, Moscone Center)

Science Policy

  • Oral (SY13B, Monday, 11 December 2023, 14:10 - 15:40, 2020 - Moscone West)
  • Poster (SY21D, Tuesday, 12 December 2023, 08:30 - 12:50, Poster Hall A-C - South)

Science Communication

  • E-lightning (SY43G - Thursday, 14 December 2023, 14:10 - 15:40 eLightning Theater VI, Hall D)
  • Poster (SY 41C, Thursday, 14 December 2023,  08:30 - 12:50, Poster Hall A-C - South)

SY Special Sessions

Several exciting SY-related town halls, plenaries, innovation sessions and other events. A few of these are listed below:

  • 10 Dec 8:00 | Pre-meeting Workshop - SCIWS6 - Community Science and Citizen Science: A Primer for Researchers
  • 12 Dec 8:30 | Artists Respond to Wildfires and Storm Disasters in Late Breaking Session on Late-Breaking Contributions for the Maui and Canadian Wildfires and 2023 Cyclone Activity - NH21D
  • 12 Dec 14:10 | Special Poster Session - SY23B - The Fifth National Climate Assessment: Risks, Impacts, and Responses
  • 14 Dec 13:00 | Keynote & Plenary Session - Art & Science Plenary: Rebeca Méndez
    Rebeca Méndez is an interdisciplinary artist, designer and educator examining reciprocal relationships and environmental justice in a multi-species world in the midst of climate change, mass extinction, and a ravaging extractivist society.
  • 14 Dec 9:00 | Innovation Session - INV41C - Poets for Science at AGU: Building a Community Poem

This year we have two events specifically for student and early career researchers:

  • 11 Dec 18:30 | Section Event - Connections in Science Education and Communication - Student and Early Career Happy Hour (jointly with Education)
  • 13 Dec 18:30 | Townhall - TH35J - Finding Your Place as an Early-Career Scientist Bridging Science and Society

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



Science & 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. Find contact information on the Leadership webpage.

SY Exe Comm and AGU staff
Science and Society Executive Committee & AGU Staff (SY Retreat, March 2022)

Track Descriptions

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.

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.

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.
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.

SOCIAL & BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
One of the fundamental motivations of geosciences is to produce knowledge that helps to solve society’s most pressing issues. Social and behavioral sciences can help us understand how people and institutions think, feel, and behave with respect to scientific knowledge. Insights from varied fields (including but not limited to anthropology, economics, history, political science, decision science, psychology, education, and sociology) and from non-academic communities, can help to forge stronger linkages between science and society. This track promotes research and practice from these fields, and aims to serve as a bridge between social sciences and other disciplines in geosciences.

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

SY Discussions

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