Mission Statement & Goals:
Outreach is a form of scholarship that cuts across teaching, research
and service. It involves generating, transmitting, applying and
preserving knowledge for the direct benefit of audiences outside
North Carolina State University. The Outreach effort is independent
of the formal degree-granting process, occurs in a variety of forms
and places, and is an integral part of the University's broader
mission.
Outreach goals for the Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences include increasing the enthusiasm of students to study
science; promoting Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences programs
to the public; hosting visitors to Jordan Hall, Jordan Hall Addition and Research
III facilities; information and technology transfer to state, federal
and other agencies; and promoting college and University Outreach
initiatives.
Opportunities for Elementary, Middle and High School Students
School Visits: Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences faculty
members and graduate students often make visits to elementary, middle
and high schools. We actively promote NC State University and the
department at high school career days, serve as judges during science
fairs, host field trips for the N.C. Science Teachers Association
and incorporate high school students in field and laboratory research
activities.
Demonstration Tours: During the university's fall and spring
breaks, elementary through high school students visit the department.
Students are assigned to groups of 20 to 30 members and are rotated
through a series of hands-on activities and demonstrations presented
by faculty members and graduate students. Topics include marine
biology, geology, meteorology and remote sensing.
North Carolina Ocean Sciences Bowl
is a quiz bowl open to NC high school students. Each year teams of
five students coached by science teachers travel to NC State, UNC-Chapel
Hill or UNC-Wilmington to answer questions about the oceans. The competition
is a round-robin, double elimination event. Winning students receive
scholarships to attend NC State if they enroll in a major within the
College of Physical and Mathematical Sciences.
School Projects
Schools are for Fish is for kindergarten
through 5th-grade students. It is a series of fun activities that
encourage children to mimic schooling fish, flocking birds, automobile
traffic and other natural phenomena that are familiar but surprisingly
full of good scientific questions. The activities can be used indoors
or outdoors, can involve a lot of running and physical exercise,
are well-suited to large groups and require a minimum of equipment.
Disseminating Expertise to the Public
Advising the Public: Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences
responds to telephone and in-person inquiries concerning issues
limited only by the imagination. For example, by contacting Marine,
Earth and Atmospheric Sciences Outreach personnel, the general public
can ask about saltwater aquarium set-up, the identity of marine
organisms or minerals found during vacations, natural phenomena
such as severe thunderstorms and tornados, and computing capabilities
of the FOAMv facility.
Advising State of North Carolina Agencies: Marine, Earth
and Atmospheric Sciences has advised state agencies on a number
of topics, including air quality in the Southern Appalachian Mountains,
evaluation of waste disposal sites, evaluation of groundwater contamination
sites, management plans for fisheries species, sampling design and
protocol for fishery-dependent and -independent surveys, and statistical
data analysis and modeling. Faculty members have conducted training
workshops for groundwater contamination regulators with the Department
of Environmental Health & Natural Resources. Marine, Earth and
Atmospheric Sciences faculty members or graduate students have given
assistance to the N.C. Department of Environmental Health &
Natural Resources, N.C. Department of Marine Fisheries, N.C. Fisheries
Moratorium Steering Committee, N.C. Department of Agriculture, N.C.
Geological Service, N.C. Supercomputer Center, N.C. Ocean Task Force,
N.C. Sand Resources Task Force, N.C. Division of Coastal Management,
N.C. Division of Transportation and N.C. General Assembly.
Advising Federal Agencies: Marine, Earth and Atmospheric
Sciences has covered such issues as forecasts of flooding in coastal
North Carolina, data collection and analysis of severe thunderstorms
and tornados, weather prediction demonstrations, carbon-flux on
the N.C. slope, carbon-cycling in coastal sediments, management
plans for fisheries species in the South Atlantic Bight and Caribbean,
and strategic long-term research initiatives for the National Undersea
Research Program. Federal agencies given assistance include the
National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, National Academy
of Sciences, National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries
Service, National Park Service, South Atlantic Marine Fisheries
Management Council, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences also provides advice to
a wide range of agencies in other states and countries, as well
as to various local and national environmental consulting firms.
Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences faculty members or graduate
students have served as consultants to international agencies such
as the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, Ministry of Agriculture
& Fisheries in the Sultanate of Oman, Fundacion LaSalle de Ciencias
Naturales in Venezuela and Ocean Research Institute at the University
of Tokyo, Japan. Advice offered covers issues such as fisheries,
water, and land-use management plans.
In the Media: Newspaper interviews with Marine, Earth and
Atmospheric Sciences faculty members, offering expert opinions,
have appeared in the Raleigh News & Observer, the Washington
Post and the Baltimore Sun; and in such national science magazines
as Discover. Faculty members also have given interviews and appeared
as guests on local and national television programs, including the
Weather Channel.
N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences: Faculty members provide
advice on setting up displays, assist in gathering specimens and
conduct seminars geared to museum patrons.
