Michigan State University research, including work in areas such as cybersecurity and science education, will be on display at this year’s meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, one of the largest science gatherings in the world.
This year’s conference is Feb. 12-16 in San Jose, Calif.
"MSU representatives at the AAAS conference exemplify the creativity and expertise of our research faculty,” said Stephen Hsu, MSU vice president for research and graduate studies. “These individuals are leaders in their disciplines and represent the outstanding quality of work being done at MSU. Together, we're solving some of the world's most vexing problems.”
Here are brief synopses of the presentations MSU researchers are giving.
- Sieglinde Snapp, a professor of plant, soil and microbial sciences, will address some key questions related to food and environmental security in today’s rapidly changing world. In particular, how is progress measured? The discussion will be based on work she and her team have done in Malawi that centers on improving methods for growing staples such as maize and legumes.
- Preparing young people, especially underrepresented minorities or those from low-income families, for careers in the sciences is crucial. In her presentation, Barbara Schneider, the John A. Hannah Chair and University Distinguished Professor in the College of Education, will discuss how to best encourage adolescents to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math, with a special emphasis on the need for more preparation and making better college choices and majors.
- Rick Wash, an assistant professor of journalism and media and information studies, will be part of a panel discussing cybersecurity and risk assessments in computing. His presentation will cover the processes behind cybersecurity decision-making.
- Responsible conduct in scientific research will be the topic of a presentation by Karen Klomparens, dean of MSU’s Graduate School. As part of a panel, she will cover the results of the Survey of Organizational Research Climate/Context, a national survey that attempts to determine what faculty, postdocs, graduate students, technicians know or don’t know about responsible conduct of research. MSU was an active participant in the survey in 2009 and 2014.
For more on the AAAS conference, visit http://meetings.aaas.org/.