Dear all,<br><br>Today, I was reminded about <a href="http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank"><span class="il">FameLab</span></a>,
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 <b>open to
all scientists in "space-science related" fields</b>. 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.<br>
<br>Thanks,<br>Vanessa<br><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Seth Baum</b> <span dir="ltr"></span><br>Date: Wed, Dec 21, 2011 at 12:03 PM<br>Subject: Fwd: FameLab Seeks Participants<br>
To: Vanessa Schweizer <<a href="mailto:vschweizer@gmail.com">vschweizer@gmail.com</a>><br><br><br>Vanessa,<br><br>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.<br>
<br><div class="gmail_quote">Happy holidays!<br><br>Seth<br><br><br><br>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.<br>
<br>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. <br><br>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:<br>
<br>January 13, Lunar and Planetary Institute, Houston, TX<br>February 10, Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Denver, CO<br>March 9, NASA HQ/National Geographic Society, Washington, DC<br>January—March: ONLINE via YouTube<br>
<br>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.<br>
<br>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.<br><br>For more information or to register, see<br>
<a href="http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov" target="_blank">http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov</a><br><br><br><br>-------------------------------------------------<br><br><div>
<p>Dear Early Career Astrobiologists,<br>
<br>
<b><i>Apologies for duplicate mailings!</i></b></p>
<p>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.<br>
<br>
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. <br>
<br>
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!<br>
<br>
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.<br>
<br>
The first prelim is just a month away in Houston, TX—please visit the website and register today!<br>
<br>
<u><a href="http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov/" target="_blank">http://astrobiologyfamelab.arc.nasa.gov/</a></u> <br>
<br>
<br>
Sincerely Yours,<br>
<br>
Mary A. Voytek, Ph.D.<br>
Senior Scientist for Astrobiology <br>
Science Mission Directorate<br>
NASA Headquarters, Room 3Y56<br>
Washington, DC 20546 USA<br>
Phone: <a href="tel:1-202-358-1577" value="+12023581577" target="_blank">1-202-358-1577</a><br>
Fax: <a href="tel:1-202-358-3097" value="+12023583097" target="_blank">1-202-358-3097</a><br>
E-mail: <u><a href="mailto:mary.voytek-1@nasa.gov" target="_blank">mary.voytek-1@nasa.gov</a></u></p>
</div><br><br>
</div><br>
</div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Vanessa Schweizer<br>ASP Postdoctoral Fellow<br>Climate and Global Dynamics (CGD) Division &<br>Integrated Science Program (ISP)<br>National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR)<br>
P.O. Box 3000 | Boulder, CO 80307 | USA<br><br>Phone: +1 (303) 497-1713<br>Fax: +1 (303) 497-1314<br>