The Importance of Dedicated Scientific Outreach

Scientific outreach plays a critical role in workforce development within STEM disciplines as a multifaceted and flexible method of encouraging interest in a subject and corresponding organization or facility. Through public events such as science festivals, a facility can cement its place within the community and gain public awareness from an early age. Through focused workshops and conferences, that awareness can be made to blossom into career ambitions in adolescents and young adults, which can be further encouraged through publicly-accessible web materials, facility tours, and other actions designed to provide information and opportunity to interested parties. Yet despite these positive effects, scientific outreach is often left in the hands of volunteers, relying on individual passion and personal time. In recognition of its importance to the growth of the field of plasma and nuclear fusion sciences, the DIII-D National Fusion Facility has recently designated a full-time scientific outreach coordinator position. In this talk, we will discuss how this is increasing the quality and quantity of outreach efforts, thereby enabling key initiatives and benefiting both workforce development and the public.