Advocating for science in the misinformation age

Advocating for science in the misinformation age

UC center tries to build trust, transparency and science literacy with public

By Michael MillerEmail MichaelEmail Michael513-556-6757

6 minute readSeptember 10, 2024Share on facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit Print StoryLike

The University of Cincinnati received a record $314 million in grants last year for research projects across its campuses.

Faculty and their students publish their discoveries in the most prestigious journals and present their findings at conferences around the world. UC's reputation across disciplines as a top-ranked research university precedes it.

One group of faculty helps researchers share their work with an audience that's a little harder to reach: the general public.

UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science, known as PEWS, was created to help researchers showcase their work, build more trust and transparency in science and improve community science literacy.

"The goal is to help scientists and other academics understand how to effectively connect with the public about the things that make them excited," said Angela Potochnik, director of the center and head of UC's Department of Philosophy.

"We help them find ways to engage more effectively on the topics they want to talk about," she said.

UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science invites graduate students to develop creative ways to share science with school children and other members of the public. Photo/Provided

The center helps researchers demonstrate how their work benefits or is relevant to the public - often within their own communities.

The more people interact with scientists, the more likely they are to trust science, Potochnik said.

"Seeing science put to work productively about problems you're worried about in your community is a good way to ameliorate the lack of trust and lack of connection to science," she said.

One thing journalists and scientists have in common these days is there is a lot of public mistrust. People mistrust science and mistrust journalists.

Jenny Wohlfarth,UC Professor of Journalism

To that end, Potochnik said UC researchers work with a wide variety of public groups such as the regional climate nonprofit Green Umbrella and The Open Notebook, which provides training to science writers.

Potochnik is author of the 2024 book "Science and the Public." She cited the work of UC College of Engineering and Applied Science Assistant Professor Amanda Webb, who regularly works with the center. Webb and her students each year conduct energy audits and help property owners save money and improve energy efficiency in their homes. Webb is also partnering with Carlie Trott, associate professor of psychology, on grant-funded research to improve energy equity in Cincinnati.

"This grant is noteworthy because it targets residential energy consumers and people who rent, especially in underserved and lower-income communities," Potochnik said. "And that's a population that isn't typically targeted for innovation."

UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science invites fifth and sixth graders from Cincinnati Public Schools to tour UC science labs and participate in science activities. Photo/Provided

Funded by the UC Office of Research, the center works with community partners to help UC engage with the public on science topics through talks and events. UC each year invites Cincinnati Public School children as young as fifth grade to campus to tour labs and get them excited about science, Potochnik said.

But the center also works with science communicators - journalists, science writers and educators - in collaborations designed to generate public interest and understanding of science.

"One thing journalists and scientists have in common these days is there is a lot of public mistrust. People mistrust science and mistrust journalists," said Jenny Wohlfarth, a professor of journalism in UC's College of Arts and Sciences.

"That's why PEWS is so important right now. We bring together experts from so many disciplines with a common goal to help share their work," she said. "It's even more important now in the face of so much misinformation and disinformation."

UC Assistant Professor Melissa Jacquart serves as associate director of the center. She cultivated an abiding interest in science while working at the National Science Foundation, which typically requires grant recipients to demonstrate the broader impacts of their work to the public.

"Some scientists didn't consider the broader impacts to be as critical as the research they did - explaining why their work is useful to society," she said. "But every proposal was evaluated in part based on that."

Jacquart said there are many examples at UC of researchers who do a fantastic job of communicating their work to the public in relatable ways. And the center offers training on public engagement with science to graduate students, which is rare among public universities, she said.

Each year, UC graduate students participating in the center's seminar develop their own public engagement activity with participating community groups, she said.

"Those are my favorite events. Students haven't learned what's expected of them or what's normal, so they have these incredible outside-the-box ideas. The students deliver amazing work."

Likewise, Jacquart said, UC is one of the few universities that provides graduate students with training in the ways to engage the public through their work. This can be invaluable even for students who don't plan to pursue a career in academia, she said.

"It's one of the things that will set UC students apart when they go to the job market," Jacquart said. "It's one reason students come to UC. The next generation of scientists see public engagement as super important. And few places offer that kind of training."

Featured image at top: UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science was created to help researchers showcase their work, build trust and transparency in science and improve community science literacy. Photo/Unsplash

UC's Center for Public Engagement with Science offers hands-on activities for children at the Northside Farmer's Market every Wednesday from 4 to 7 p.m. Photo/Provided

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