In collaboration with two program managers for the NSF Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL) grant program, Dr. Lori Takeuchi and Dr. Kevin Clark, the Association of Science Communicators is presenting a FREE virtual panel discussion on Tuesday, November 7th at 12pm PT / 3pm ET, on Successfully Navigating Informal Science Funding Opportunities at NSF.
This panel will highlight the AISL grant opportunity and several recent, successfully funded projects. Recent grantees will share insights and experiences from their AISL journey, and we'll get to hear some perspectives from grant program managers as well. This event is open to both our ASC members and the larger science communication community. Join us and learn more about how to navigate this funding opportunity!
PANELISTS
Lori Takeuchi, Ph.D. is a learning scientist with 25+ years of experience working in the educational media industry as a designer, researcher, and connector. She is currently a program director at the National Science Foundation in its Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL), where she manages grants in the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL), EHR Core Research (ECR), Research on Innovative Technologies for Enhanced Learning (RITEL), National AI Research Institutes, and Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST) programs.
Previously, Lori spent 12 years at the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop, where she led its research program and held positions including acting executive director and deputy director, and prior to that spent a decade designing middle school Earth systems simulation and visualization software.
Kevin Clark, Ph.D. has extensive experience in higher education, digital technology, and children’s media. Kevin is currently a program director at the National Science Foundation in the Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL), where he manages grants in the Advancing Informal STEM Learning (AISL), Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers (ITEST), and Racial Equity in STEM Education (EDU Racial Equity) programs.
Dr. Clark’s professional journey began as part of an Ed tech startup that created educational video games for the Sony PlayStation. Then for more than 20 years, Dr. Clark was professor and founding director of the Center for Digital Media Innovation and Diversity at George Mason University until his retirement. While a professor, Kevin also worked extensively as a children’s media consultant and producer; eventually becoming director of preschool animation at Netflix.
Sara K. Yeo, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin-Madison) is faculty in the Department of Communication at the University of Utah. Her research interests include science and risk communication, public opinion of STEM issues, and information seeking and processing. Her work has been published in journals such as Risk Analysis, Energy Policy, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and Materials Today. She has also written articles for popular science magazines, such as The Scientist and New Scientist.
Originally from Malaysia, Dr. Yeo is trained as a bench and field scientist and holds a M.S. in Oceanography from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Her training in ecology and the life sciences has been invaluable to her research at the intersection of science, media, and politics.
AISL-funded project: Exploring the effectiveness of using humor for communicating about science
Patti Parson is the Managing Producer for PBS NewsHour. She has been the PI or manager for 11 NSF grants (6 AISL/ISE, 5 Rapids), and has worked closely with science correspondent Miles O'Brien to accomplish many of those projects. She also was PI for an NIH grant. As managing producer, she has both development and editorial responsibilities, and is responsible for compliance on dozens of grants.
Her own productions and those she has supervised have won numerous awards, including those given by Peabody, the National Academy of Science, the Association of Health Care Journalists, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, CINE, and the Society of Environmental Journalists. Parson earned her bachelor’s degree from Smith College, and her master’s degree from the University of Washington.
AISL-funded project: Meaningful Math: News Media for Increasing Adult Statistical Literacy