Geoscience Education and Public Outreach Network (GEPON) Workshop; Boulder, CO; March 22-24, 2006

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The purpose of this planning workshop is to establish a Geoscience Education and Public Outreach Network (GEPON), to articulate the characteristics, strategies, and management models for a successful network model, and to formalize recommendations to the NSF and the geoscience community for network implementation, support and sustainability. The workshop will be co-hosted by IRIS and UNAVCO. Expected workshop outcomes include: 1) An Education and Punlic Outreach (EPO) network model that leverages existing discipline-specific networks, 2) A management infrastructure to realize a successful GEPON, and 3) Identification of representatives to move the GEPON initiative forward. The GEPON network and this workshop were formal recommendations stemming from the NSF-funded geoscience outreach workshop held in May 2005. The workshop was attended by twenty-six scientists and educators actively engaged in geoscience education and outreach activities. Attendees recommended the creation of a network as an important strategy to support effective EPO and engagement of the public with the enterprise of science. They also recommended a subsequent meeting to articulate the characteristics, strategies, and management models for a successful network effort. The workshop will advance EPO efforts in the area of Earth systems science. Workshop participants will include representatives from disciplines within Earth systems education and research. This workshop and, ultimately, the establishment of GEPON, represent significant opportunities for these scientists, educators, and outreach professionals to collaborate and engage the public in understanding the criticality of scientific research and the benefits derived from it.