[Grad-postdoc-assn] Fwd: FameLab Seeks Participants

[Vanessa Schweizer]

Dear all,

Today, I was reminded about FameLab<http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov/>,
and I thought I should pass this announcement along. This looks like a
great opportunity for all early career scientists (including grad
students!). A colleague of mine doing work in astrobiology tipped me off to
this program. Although astrobiology is the theme, the competition is *open
to all scientists in "space-science related" fields*. There will be a
preliminary competition in Denver on February 10 as well as an on-line
preliminary, which is running through March. Please consider participating
or passing this along to colleagues.

Thanks,
Vanessa


---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Seth Baum
Date: Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 12:03 PM
Subject: Fwd: FameLab Seeks Participants
To: Vanessa Schweizer <vschweizer at gmail.com>


Vanessa,

See below about an awesome science communication competition sponsored by
NASA, National Geographic, and others. It's astrobiology, which I know
isn't quite your domain, but one of the competitions is in Denver, so maybe
you could find a way to fit in, or at least pass this on to others. A good
friend of mine is one of the lead organizers, and he says they really need
more participants for this.

Happy holidays!

Seth



Are you the next Sagan or de Grasse Tyson? Are you all about engaging the
public and sharing astrobiology? If so, FameLab is for you.

FameLab Astrobiology is a competition on communicating astrobiology.
FameLab aims to find talented communicators within the astrobiology
community and give communications training to a broader base of individuals
within the field.

Participants give three minute talks that are judged by a panel. The talks
can use props but cannot use slides. There will be four preliminary
competitions:

January 13, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX
February 10, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO
March 9, NASA HQ/National Geographic Society, Washington, DC
January—March: ONLINE via YouTube

Participants in the preliminaries will also get a free workshop for
developing science communication skills. The NASA Astrobiology Program is
providing attendees with lodging as well as a $500 stipend to be applied to
other travel costs.

Winners of the preliminaries compete in the finals, April 12-16, Atlanta,
GA at the Astrobiology Science Conference (AbSciCon). Full travel support
for participants is provided.

For more information or to register, see
http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov



-------------------------------------------------

Dear Early Career Astrobiologists,

*Apologies for duplicate mailings!*

This note is a personal request for your serious consideration of
participating in FameLab Astrobiology.  When we conceived of sponsoring
FameLab for our community (and indeed hosting it for the first time ever in
the US), we had YOU and your scientific career paths in mind.

Our intention was not to promote something gimmicky and frivolous that
would derail you from your research.  Quite the contrary—it’s the
sustainability of your future that drove us to initiate this activity.
 Public interest in astrobiology is high, and with missions like Kepler and
MSL and topics like the origin of life and finding ET, advances in the
field are rapid and high profile.  In this landscape, strong science
communication skills are critical to sustaining credibility, support and
funding for astrobiology research.

We saw the value in FameLab beyond the excitement of the competition
element.  At each event leading up to and including the final at AbSciCon,
there will be a science communication workshop led by professionals in the
field—this is the heart of FameLab.  These workshops are designed to
provide you with insight into how best to talk to stakeholders along your
career paths such as department heads, deans, and political
representatives, but also voting neighbors and relatives, youth in your
communities, and yes—perhaps even to broad public audiences through the
lens of a camera or the voice of a blog.  We envision the skills you gain
in these workshops may even carry over into effective proposal writing!

We realize time and travel are major considerations, and we’ve made
provisions to reduce the impact of participating.  One of the preliminaries
is 100% online via YouTube, and the Astrobiology Program will cover lodging
as well as $500 toward other travel costs to attend the in-person prelims
and final.

The first prelim is just a month away in Houston, TX—please visit the
website and register today!

*http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov/*


Sincerely Yours,

Mary A. Voytek, Ph.D.
Senior Scientist for Astrobiology
Science Mission Directorate
NASA Headquarters, Room 3Y56
Washington, DC   20546   USA
Phone: 1-202-358-1577
Fax: 1-202-358-3097
E-mail:  *mary.voytek-1 at nasa.gov*






-- 
Vanessa Schweizer
ASP Postdoctoral Fellow
Climate and Global Dynamics (CGD) Division &
Integrated Science Program (ISP)
National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)
P.O. Box 3000 | Boulder, CO 80307 | USA

Phone: +1 (303) 497-1713
Fax: +1 (303) 497-1314
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