On 18 December 2014, an energetic crowd of 45 American Geophysical Union (AGU) members attending the Union’s 2014 Fall Meeting kicked off a new phase of the AGU Societal Impacts and Policy Sciences (SIPS) focus group.

SIPS was founded in 2008 and, after a period of inactivity, has slowly grown into a group with more than 2500 members. The current SIPS leadership wants the group to become more active, to bring in new members, and to provide opportunities for collaboration and engagement on issues related to science and its impact on society.

At the Fall Meeting kickoff, SIPS members discussed:

  • Engaging and assisting students interested in the connection between Earth and space science and society.
  • Improving coordination between AGU sections and focus groups, and providing information to those groups on science policy and the impacts of science on society.
  • Elevating the understanding and visibility of social science within AGU.
  • Better integrating activities focusing on societal impacts and science policy into the AGU Fall Meeting.
  • Providing tools for AGU members on how to demonstrate societal impacts of scientific research for various audiences.

In coordination with the relaunch, the SIPS focus group has a new website that will be a resource for members. It will include information on opportunities for sharing science with broad audiences and staying informed on the latest science policies and related issues.

For more information on upcoming events, SIPS’s new statement of purpose, and contact information for SIPS leadership, visit the SIPS website.

—Elizabeth Landau, AGU Public Affairs Manager, elandau@agu.org

Citation: Landau, E. (2015),  Successful focus group relaunch at Fall Meeting, Eos, 96, doi: 10.1029/2015EO023571. Published on 9 February 2015.

AGU Thanks Fall Meeting Sponsors

AGU thanks all of our generous sponsors whose sponsorships helped support the 2014 Fall Meeting and the events at the meeting.

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