Stories

Greetings Civic Science Community, 

We recognize that some of the most challenging problems of science are found outside the lab—including knowing what scientific questions are most meaningful, designing ethical ways of conducting science, and deciding what to do with research findings as they evolve. 

That is especially true for neuroscience. As Dana Foundation Barbara Gill Civic Science Fellow Claire Weichselbaum shares in our conversation below, neuroscience probes questions about “our very nature as human beings.” 

As part of her fellowship, Claire is developing strategies with science museum partners around the country to build dialogue around the social and ethical implications of neuroscience research. She’s hearing an eagerness for more opportunities to shape emerging neuroscience, neurotechnology, and the policies surrounding them.

The enthusiasm links back to neuroscience. Claire’s host partner, Rae Ostman, Director of the National Informal STEM Education Network, points out that learning is most effective when it is “social, active, creative, and intrinsically satisfying.” Engaging together around science is often the best way to learn about it. And with the right scaffolding, engagement can indeed shape science—as we’re excited to see in the new Dana Centers for Neuroscience and Society. 

These interchanges get at the heart of civic science—the imperative to spark active learning and trustworthy engagement across communities, scientific fields, and civic institutions to meet the challenges and great promise of the future.

Elizabeth

Elizabeth Christopherson
President and Chief Executive Officer, Rita Allen Foundation

Elizabeth Christopherson: How would you describe yourself to the civic science network?  

Claire Weichselbaum: I am a neuroscientist by training and an educator by passion—the only thing I love more than doing science is sharing it with others! I’m currently serving as the Dana Foundation Barbara Gill Civic Science Fellow, funded by the Dana Foundation to develop innovative approaches to neuroscience public engagement with a particular focus on the ethical and societal implications of neuroscience research. Based at Arizona State University, I work with science museum partners all over the country through the National Informal STEM Education Network (NISE Net). The namesake of my fellowship, Barbara Gill, recently retired after nearly 30 years at the Dana Foundation during which she pioneered the field of neuroscience public engagement, establishing the global Brain Awareness Week and numerous other initiatives. I am inspired by the far-reaching impacts of her work and honored to be following in her footsteps. 

Rae Ostman: I work in the field of informal STEM education, which includes educators, researchers, evaluators, and others who design opportunities for all people to learn about science, technology, engineering, and math throughout their lives. I do this work as co-director of the Center for Innovation in Informal STEM Learning at Arizona State University, and as director of the National Informal STEM Education Network. 

“I am especially interested in making and studying learning experiences that bring diverse people together to think about and shape sustainable futures. It’s an exciting challenge, because it requires strengthening and activating skills and ways of thinking that are developed through a lifetime and applied collectively.” 

Rae Ostman, Co-Director, Center for Innovation in Informal STEM Learning at Arizona State University and Director, National Informal STEM Education Network

Elizabeth: What inspires you to do the work that you do? 

Rae: Informal learning is flexible and affords a lot of freedom for professionals in the field and participating learners. It allows people to explore interesting ideas, meet new people with different perspectives, and try new things—or to dive deep into the subjects and kinds of things they love. My training is in anthropology, and I think that learning is most aligned with human nature when it is social, active, creative, and intrinsically satisfying.  

Claire: Science needs all of us—not just the scientists. This is especially true in a field such as neuroscience, which provides unique insight into our very nature as human beings, raising challenging ethical questions related to identity, autonomy, defining wellness and illness, and pushing the boundaries of humanity. Yet neuroscientists are often disconnected from the lived experiences of those most affected by their work. I strive to build those connections, creating opportunities for multidirectional learning among scientists, policymakers, and community members. The public engagement activities I’m developing are focused on building skills necessary for productive dialogue, such as self-reflection, curiosity, empathy, and collaboration, with the ultimate goal of advancing the field of neuroscience toward a more inclusive future. 

Elizabeth: What are some of the key challenges and opportunities for public engagement and outreach that drive your work?  

Rae: I am especially interested in making and studying learning experiences that bring diverse people together to think about and shape sustainable futures. It’s an exciting challenge, because it requires strengthening and activating skills and ways of thinking that are developed through a lifetime and applied collectively.  

Claire: We’ve all seen what happens when science becomes politicized and polarized, as with the pandemic, climate change, and other pressing societal issues. Many of the neuroethics topics explored in my work—from mental privacy to cognitive enhancement, human identity to agency in the context of brain-computer interfaces—are not yet in urgent public awareness, which provides an exciting opportunity to shape those conversations. Recognizing that we all bring our unique perspectives and values to the table, it can be challenging to put aside one’s own worldview and see an issue through the lens of someone else’s experience; but this is a critical component of neuroethics public engagement and creating opportunities for that open-minded perspective-taking is a major focus of our work. 

“For the field of civic science, I hope to see the day when science is indisputably woven into the fabric of our collective decision-making, and conversely, when the values and priorities of our communities are woven into the way we do science.”

Claire Weichselbaum, 2021-23 Dana Foundation Barbara Gill Civic Science Fellow 

Elizabeth: What has been a meaningful experience or insight from your partnership in the Civic Science Fellows program? How might this influence your work ahead? 

Rae: Participating in the Civic Science Fellows program as a host institution has helped me see how my work can be integrated into a bigger program that has a greater impact, by linking STEM, engagement, and civic action to promote change. Informal STEM education can have a key role in civic science, because researchers/evaluators and practitioners in the field have the knowledge and skills to support individual learning outcomes required for broad participation in civic science; and because ISE programs and organizations are well positioned to develop collaborations that can build complementary, community-wide capacities. The Civic Science Fellows program is important because it will develop early career professionals into the next generation of interdisciplinary collaborators and innovators who work across many spaces and with many stakeholders.  

Claire: I had a great interaction with a group of high schoolers a couple months ago while testing an activity about the regulation of future neurotechnology. The activity prompted lively discussion, and near the end of our time together, one of the students raised her hand and asked whether the opinions they had expressed would actually be used to shape policy in some way. Several other students chimed in with equal enthusiasm to share their views with policymakers. While that’s beyond the scope of my current work—right now we are focused on the design and evaluation of these engagement experiences—it was meaningful and exciting to see young people so eager to have their voices heard. An important part of my work ahead will be creating opportunities for them, and other community members of all ages, to take that next step and help shape the future of neuroscience research and neurotechnology. 

Elizabeth: What is your civic science aspiration for the future? 

Rae: In the future, I’m interested in further exploring the potential of storytelling, games, extended reality, and experiential futures for civic science. 
 
Claire: For myself, I hope to continue doing the work I love, widening the circle of participation in the scientific enterprise. For the field of civic science, I hope to see the day when science is indisputably woven into the fabric of our collective decision-making, and conversely, when the values and priorities of our communities are woven into the way we do science. 

“To strengthen neuroscience’s positive impact on humanity, it is imperative to connect the field to the needs of society. The work of Claire Weichselbaum and the National Informal STEM Education Network to create models for multidirectional learning around neuroethics is a critical step to open the field to diverse perspectives and to deepen engagement with the public.”

Caroline Montojo, President, Dana Foundation