This is a past event.

Zachary Pruett from The American Physical Society will be presenting at this week's Physics Colloquium.

Pruett's presentation is titled "The Science Trust Project: Who We Are, What We Do, and You."

The seminar will be presented in person at 4 p.m. on Thursday (Mar. 28) in Fisher 139.

ABSTRACT:

The Science Trust Project (STP) strives to empower physicists to meaningfully contend with issues of trust and misinformation about science in their professional and personal lives. Science communication is an integral part of the job of scientists; and, is a requirement for receiving funding, developing a career, maintaining a healthy information environment, ensuring public support for science, and preserving institutional-community relations. Many members of The American Physical Society (The APS) are concerned about issues like vaccine hesitancy, hostility toward science, climate change, pseudoscience, and misinformation. They have voiced a desire to know what they could do about it as physicists in the wake of the pandemic, the epistemic crisis associated with social media, and the politically-polarized and polluted information environment. The STP is a member-driven program developed by The APS with the purpose of promoting trustworthy, responsible, and humane relationships between individuals, science, and society. STP Lead Facilitator, Zachary Pruett, will give a brief overview of The STP as it relates to the scientific community, career pathways, and public engagement around trust and misinformation about science in this presentation. This presentation will also serve as an active invitation for all present, no matter your perspective, experience, or career level, to get involved in this valuable work.

BIO:

Zachary Pruett is the lead facilitator and primary content developer on The Science Trust Project for The American Physical Society. He has a bachelor’s degree in Applied Physics and a master’s degree in Engineering Physics concentrating in systems and laboratory automation, both from Appalachian State University in his home state of North Carolina. Subsequently, Zack spent 5 years as the Electronics Engineering Technologies Instructor for a rural two-year college in Western North Carolina. He has experience in informal education, creating the model rocketry curriculum for a sleep-away summer camp for elementary, middle, and high schoolers.