[CINAR_PIs] FW: CINAR report (M. DeLuca report on CSC meeting)

[Cisco Werner]

------ Forwarded Message
From: Mike DeLuca <deluca at marine.rutgers.edu>
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:41:32 -0400
To: Cisco Werner <cisco at marine.rutgers.edu>
Subject: CINAR report

Cisco,

On September 10, 2009, I met with the Directors of the NOAA Cooperative
Science Centers (CSCs) and staff of NOAA's Educational Partnership
Program to explore collaborative opportunities between the CSCs and
CINAR.  A copy of the electronic briefing book prepared for the meeting
is attached.  John Cortinas facilitated the partnering session and I had
an opportunity to deliver a ppt presentation on CINAR.  In addition to
the basic overview of CINAR, my remarks focused on education tasks,
potential collaborative activities, and mechanisms to advance
collaboration. Quite a bit of discussion followed my talk.  Key points
raised included:

*  Engaging CSC faculty as well as students in CINAR program
development, participation and exchange programs.
*  Opportunities for the CSC and CI communities to interact on a regular
basis.
*  Opportunities to sustain and disseminate collaboration beyond field
experiences.
*  Directed funding to advance collaboration.

 From the discussion, it was apparent that past collaboration between
the CI and CSC communities has been wanting, save for relatively recent
collaboration between a CI and the CSC based at CUNY on remote sensing
activities.  NOAA, as the parent organization for the CSC and CI
communities, was viewed as being in a good position to foster
collaboration and should be doing more to bring these communities
together.  Face to face discussions were viewed as ideal.

I also chatted informally with many of the CSC Directors about next
steps including identifying some pilot projects that could help advance
interaction.  For example, Paulinus Chigbu expressed interest in having
RU bring REMUS to UMES, and to use the field demonstration to pursue
comparative studies that could be sustained beyond an initial field
experience.

In summary, the CSC community possesses strong capacity that can be
brought to bear on CINAR interests.  The caliber of individuals and
consequent strength of funding is strong at these institutions.  Much
time and effort can be expended to engage the full constellation of CSC
interests.  It would be helpful to start with one or two CSCs, develop
some initial projects, and then build on this success toward more
meaningful interaction at a broader scale.  It's difficult to select the
initial CSCs, since I personally would like to work with many of them.
However, UMES (living marine resources) and Howard (climate change)
present good thematic fits for CINAR.

I strongly recommend including one of the CSC Directors in the
governance structure for CINAR.  This will ensure regular communication
to advance interaction.

Let me know if you'd like more detail about any of these points.


Mike



-- 

Michael P. De Luca
Senior Associate Director
Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences
Rutgers University
71 Dudley Road
New Brunswick, New Jersey   08901
732 932-6555, Ext. 508

732 932-8578 Fax

deluca at marine.rutgers.edu <mailto:deluca at marine.rutgers.edu>

 


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