Inspiring Citizen Science

As a deeply interested individual in brain science and neurotechnology myself, this particular report has instantly inspired my own future plans for new directions in amateur research and citizen science at my own home.

Tim Marzullo, a recent PhD candidate at the University of Michigan, has been working on a project to develop a very low-cost amateur neurological recording device. Along with his friend, Greg Gage, they are nearing success on a prototype, and even presented their work at the recent Society of Neuroscience conference in Washington, D.C.

With a home-made micro-manipulator, a classic bandpass filter with amplifier, and a willing bug, they will soon be recording neuronal action potentials in their own garage for under $100.

A thorough guide created by past directors at the Great Smokey Mountains Institute at Tremont and published by the Association of Nature Center Administrators is a wonderful resource for program leaders around the world who are interested in developing new and improving existing citizen science projects.

In addition, this guide will prove to be useful for the individual amateur researcher to help organize personal projects and stimulate ideas for getting involved within the community and even within ones own backyard.

A partial version is available for download below (16 pages of 88), and the complete document may be purchased for $20 directly from the ANCA.

“The Director’s Guide to Best Practices in Citizen Science” :: Copyright 2007 :: [ DOWNLOAD ]

So, it might be less frightful and more magical, but the planets will be aligned this Halloween night for a great show for all of the trick-or-treaters and their parents. Be sure to look up toward the sunset this Friday evening — in between doorbell rings and candy looting — to witness a fantastic early evening alignment of the crescent moon, Venus, and Jupiter.



More great Moon-planet alignments will be visible over the next month, and you can read more about these great observing and photographing opportunities with the article below…

“Halloween Sky Show” :: Science@NASA :: October 28, 2008 :: [ READ ]

A research collaboration from Intel Research Berkeley is currently beta testing mounted air quality sensors on the Street Sweepers in San Francisco to map out pollution levels throughout the city.

After successful results from this test, the program could then spread to other cities where pollution is a serious problem. With detailed spacial urban maps of air quality variations, city officials might then be able to really get a handle on primary sources of pollution and determine solutions for improving the urban atmosphere.

The research team is also proposing a next-generation version of this project, which would provide higher-resolution data and would involve a massive citizen science effort… including anyone with a cell phone. With air monitoring devices built into personal mobile devices that also contain GPS tracking software, real-time, continuous air sampling data can be transmitted to scientist’s databases. Live current conditions could also be provided back to the user, so people with asthma or other sensitive respiratory systems could consider avoiding parts of the city that was experiencing a “bad pollution day.”

Future research programs into “urban informatics” will ultimately rely on citizen science participation, and it’s exciting that Intel will likely be on the forefront of these efforts. Check out the research proposal linked below, sign up for their mailing list, and keep a watch on future opportunities to turn your cell phone into an ultimate data collecting device!
“Common Sense Research Project” Proposal from Intel Research Berkeley :: [ VISIT ]

The classic “evening star”, Venus (more), is now beginning to make its twinkling debut, and will be a beautiful sparkle to watch throughout the Fall and Winter seasons. Extremely visible to the unaided eye, Venus is a great celestial object for novice sky-watchers to begin learning how to track and enjoy observing the night sky.

Joe Rao, writing for Space.com, provides a nice overview of the Venus experience for 2008-2009… so, grab your binoculars, telescope, or just your family for an evening stroll through the neighborhood and check out the twinkle of Venus this Fall.

As previously reported in the DPRI AmSci Journal (read), this year’s Ecological Society of America Annual Meeting had an wonderfully fresh emphasis on the opportunities for and importance of citizen science.

A professional in the field, Nalini Nadkarni, wrote a nice commentary for The Olympian that describes the new, broad applications for amateur research. The author also remarks on the absolutely critical task of scientists to work toward bring a wider understanding of how our universe functions to a larger audience.

We feel at DPRI that this is a fundamental need, and we’re so excited to see more professional researchers (who are often so buried in their instruments that go “ping!”) are taking seriously the need to bring their work to the masses. This is why we are trying to support citizen science opportunities and are working to bring more people into the world of science… we don’t expect everyone to delve so deep into science that it overtakes their lives, but just enough to increase our appreciation of our amazing universe and to have a bit more understanding of how things really work.