CIMMS was proud to take part in the American Meteorological Society’s “From Innovation to Societal Benefit: the way there” workshop December 2-3, 2015 in Washington, DC. A 2006 report from the International Council for Science cited three challenges to incorporating new technologies into everyday life. These include:
- A widening gap between advancing scientific knowledge and technology and society’s ability to capture and use them.
- Apparent declining interest in the study of science and engineering around the world.
- A need to turn knowledge consumers into knowledge creators.
The AMS workshop endeavored to spotlight how we can leverage opportunities to improve our efforts. Participants considered answers to the following important questions:
– What are federal agencies currently doing to translate advances in the geosciences into services and societal benefit?
– What lessons can be learned from related tech-transfer efforts in the private sector and in other realms of science?
– What do we know about “the science of science application” and how can we learn more?
– What innovations in science application are emerging? What are contemplated?
– How can we improve societal uptake of innovation?
– What policy options might foster the application of science and its uptake by society?
Randy Peppler, Kodi Nemunaitis-Monroe, Kristin Calhoun, and CIMMS post-doc Shree Mishra attended as representatives. The mPING project, a collaboration with NOAA’s National Severe Storms Laboratory, was highlighted during presentations. The project has received national recognition as an example of effective crowd-sourcing. It is just one innovative service that CIMMS and NSSL offer to positively impact society.