Our lab performs both community-engaged research and outreach to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in our field and broaden the impact of our work. The following projects reflect some of our major goals. If you would like someone from our lab to speak to or bring a hands-on activity to your group, please get in touch with us.
Promote Indigenous language revitalization and build Indigenous belonging in STEM
Our lab works at a land grant university located on the historical homelands of the Cherokee people and our Principle Investigator is a Cherokee Nation citizen. Indigenous people in general are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at every level, which is a particular problem because research in ecology and evolutionary biology is used to make management decisions that profoundly impact places, animals, and plants of cultural importance to Indigenous people. Additionally, Cherokee language is endangered, with fewer than 2,000 speakers estimated to remain. One of our major projects, called ᎤᎾᏙᏣᎵ (Unadotsali - "Belonging"), involves building a database of traditional Cherokee-language stories about animal behaviors and the ways in which human beings relate to animal communication. Our dual purpose is to preserve the Cherokee language for current and future speakers and learners, and to develop classroom lessons and mentorship plans to broaden student perspectives and build belonging in STEM among aspiring Indigenous scientists.
Increase participation of underrepresented groups
Systemic barriers continue to limit the full participation in STEM of people with marginalized identities, leading to groups of people who are underrepresented in STEM fields. A major focus of our outreach program is conducting hands-on science activities with young people. Activities have included observations of animal behavior, day-camp style STEM introductions, and science fair mentorship. Our goal with these activities is to demonstrate that anyone who adopts the scientific method is a scientist, and thereby to empower students with marginalized identities to seek science careers. Beyond improving outcomes for individual people, we are committed to dismantling systemic barriers that perpetuate inequities across generations and making my field truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse.
Advance science literacy and understanding of ecology and evolution
We work primarily in ecology and evolutionary biology, a key field in understanding and mitigating climate change and related environmental disasters. An ecologically informed global citizenry is critically important moving forward. We regularly volunteer in partnership with various organizations, including public schools, natural history museums, and professional societies, to engage with the public on issues of ecology and evolutionary biology and broaden access to knowledge created by research communities.
Turn our work products into useful tools or resources for other scientists
Scientists use an increasing number of code-based tools to conduct research; cultivating the expertise to create these tools can be time-consuming. The creation of shareable resources such as software helps advance the research community. SynSing, a collaboration with Mark Bee and Joshua Justison, is a free and open-source, MATLAB-based software application designed for generating animal sounds. SynSing helps bioacoustics students and researchers make and use synthetic animal sounds as experimental stimuli.
Promote Indigenous language revitalization and build Indigenous belonging in STEM
Our lab works at a land grant university located on the historical homelands of the Cherokee people and our Principle Investigator is a Cherokee Nation citizen. Indigenous people in general are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields at every level, which is a particular problem because research in ecology and evolutionary biology is used to make management decisions that profoundly impact places, animals, and plants of cultural importance to Indigenous people. Additionally, Cherokee language is endangered, with fewer than 2,000 speakers estimated to remain. One of our major projects, called ᎤᎾᏙᏣᎵ (Unadotsali - "Belonging"), involves building a database of traditional Cherokee-language stories about animal behaviors and the ways in which human beings relate to animal communication. Our dual purpose is to preserve the Cherokee language for current and future speakers and learners, and to develop classroom lessons and mentorship plans to broaden student perspectives and build belonging in STEM among aspiring Indigenous scientists.
Increase participation of underrepresented groups
Systemic barriers continue to limit the full participation in STEM of people with marginalized identities, leading to groups of people who are underrepresented in STEM fields. A major focus of our outreach program is conducting hands-on science activities with young people. Activities have included observations of animal behavior, day-camp style STEM introductions, and science fair mentorship. Our goal with these activities is to demonstrate that anyone who adopts the scientific method is a scientist, and thereby to empower students with marginalized identities to seek science careers. Beyond improving outcomes for individual people, we are committed to dismantling systemic barriers that perpetuate inequities across generations and making my field truly equitable, inclusive, and diverse.
Advance science literacy and understanding of ecology and evolution
We work primarily in ecology and evolutionary biology, a key field in understanding and mitigating climate change and related environmental disasters. An ecologically informed global citizenry is critically important moving forward. We regularly volunteer in partnership with various organizations, including public schools, natural history museums, and professional societies, to engage with the public on issues of ecology and evolutionary biology and broaden access to knowledge created by research communities.
Turn our work products into useful tools or resources for other scientists
Scientists use an increasing number of code-based tools to conduct research; cultivating the expertise to create these tools can be time-consuming. The creation of shareable resources such as software helps advance the research community. SynSing, a collaboration with Mark Bee and Joshua Justison, is a free and open-source, MATLAB-based software application designed for generating animal sounds. SynSing helps bioacoustics students and researchers make and use synthetic animal sounds as experimental stimuli.
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