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2026 NSF Science & Technology Centers Directors' Meeting

Aug 25 – 26, 2026
Zoom
America/New_York timezone

Contribution List

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  1. 1. Welcome - Rebecca Morss, NSF and Joan Curtiss, CBB Managing Director
    Joan Curtiss, Rebecca Morss
    8/25/26, 11:25 AM
  2. 6. The Value Proposition of STCs - COLDEX
    Christo Buizert
    8/25/26, 11:40 AM

    NSF COLDEX collects twice yearly surveys of all center participants to track how research collaborations evolve over the latter 4 years of the center. Social network analysis can track whether participating institutions are siloed in their interactions, how participants at various career stage are engaging with the center, and whether any interventions are prudent given trends. Challenges for...

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  3. 25. The Value Proposition of STCs - COMPASS
    Elena Della Valle (COMPASS)
    8/25/26, 11:50 AM

    Abstract: At COMPASS, we define our value through a strategic pivot from merely describing nature to explicitly prescribing particle architectures for "impossible" materials, an achievement enabled by our multi-institutional Math-to-Manufacturing (M-to-M) engine. We demonstrate how the STC model enables a "research multiplier effect," transforming 28 discrete laboratories into a dense,...

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  4. 8. The Value Proposition of STCs - LEAP
    Catherine Cha, Molly Lopez (LEAP)
    8/25/26, 12:00 PM

    LEAP will discuss the multidisciplinary climate data hackathon that was held at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in January 2026, in partnership with AMNH, NVIDIA and Starr Whitehouse Landscape Architects and Planners. Entitled, "Urban Futures: A Community Informed Approach to Hacking Climate Data," the hackathon engaged members of NYC community groups to help center the focus of...

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  5. 7. The Value Proposition of STCs - STEPS and CROPP
    Darius Melvin (CROPPS), Kailyn Harris-Gilliam (STEPS)
    8/25/26, 12:10 PM

    STCs as organizational sites of epistemic reordering

    STCs are organizational strategies, operating primarily in higher education, for addressing complex societal problems through interdisciplinary collaboration. They are, also, sites with the structure and capacity to flatten knowledge hierarchies. Drawing on scholarship and professional experiences as leadership staff within STCs, we will...

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  6. 5. Open Discussion on STC Value
    8/25/26, 12:20 PM
  7. 12. Break Out Session 1 - STC Directors meet with Rebecca Morss
    8/25/26, 12:50 PM
  8. 14. Tailoring the Message-Communicating the Value of Science to the Non-Scientist - STROBE
    Lauren Mason (STROBE)
    8/25/26, 1:20 PM

    Science communication as a key part of building the scientific workforce. Creating engaging environments

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  9. 15. Tailoring the Message: Communicating the Value of Science to the Non-Scientist - QCB
    Sharlene Danos (QCB)
    8/25/26, 1:30 PM

    From Research to Reels: QCB’s Social Media Ambassadors Program
    Science cannot build public trust if it speaks only to people already listening. Journal articles, institutional websites, news stories, conference presentations, courses, and public lectures primarily reach audiences already connected to science. Social media offers something fundamentally different, bringing research into the...

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  10. 16. Tailoring the Message: Communicating the Value of Science to the Non-Scientist - C-CoMP
    Victoria Centurino (C-CoMP)
    8/25/26, 1:40 PM

    Using the results of the C-CoMP MARINE K-12 Study as a conversation starter to develop ocean literacy

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  11. 24. Tailoring the Message: Communicating the Value of Science to the Non-Scientist - IMOD
    Denise Bale (IMOD)
    8/25/26, 1:50 PM

    IMOD’s Quantum Learning Engagement Ambassadors Program (LEAP) advances a dual mission of providing our Center researchers and trainees with structured, hands on training in science communication while simultaneously increasing STEM competency, curiosity, and awareness among diverse public audiences. By tailoring content to each group, such as using industry relevant case studies for partners,...

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  12. 17. Open Discussion
    8/25/26, 2:00 PM
  13. 3. Keynote Speaker - Dominique Brossard "Communicating the Value of NSF Science and Technology Centers"
    8/25/26, 3:00 PM

    Professor Brossard's Bio: https://lsc.wisc.edu/facstaff/brossard-dominique/
    Dominique Brossard is a professor in the Department of Life Sciences Communication at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and an affiliate of the UW-Madison Robert & Jean Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies, the UW-Madison Energy Institute, the UW-Madison Global Health Institute, and the UW-Madison Nelson...

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  14. 35. Breakout Session - Knowledge Transfer - Moving From Discovery to Impact
    8/25/26, 4:00 PM

    Share effective approaches for moving STC discoveries beyond the center through patents, licensing, industry partnerships, startups, and other forms of knowledge transfer—and identify the particular challenges of doing this within multi-institutional centers.

    Questions to consider:
    Multi-institutional challenges:
    - How do centers navigate IP ownership, patent decisions, licensing,...

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  15. 11. Breakout Session - Culture and Identity | Making the Center More Than the Sum of its Parts
    8/25/26, 4:00 PM

    Share strategies for creating connection, trust, communication, and a common center identity among researchers and staff distributed across institutions.

    Questions to consider:
    • What has helped people think of themselves as members of the STC rather than simply members of their home institution or research group?
    • What activities successfully build relationships across...

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  16. 36. Breakout Session - Education and Outreach | Strategies for Raising Awareness of the Science
    8/25/26, 4:00 PM

    Questions to consider:
    - Which education/outreach activities have produced meaningful results?
    - How are centers integrating their STC science into courses, undergraduate research, K–12 programs, or other educational activities?
    - What approaches have successfully reached audiences beyond the center's existing scientific community?
    - What partnerships—with schools, museums,...

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  17. 9. Breakout Session - Running an Effective Center | STC Management Practices Worth Sharing
    8/25/26, 4:00 PM

    Questions to consider:

    Managing resources

    • How do centers make funding and reallocation decisions?
    • What approaches help connect budgets to scientific and strategic priorities?
    • How do centers deal with underperforming projects or changing priorities?

    Managing across institutions

    • How do you maintain accountability across institutions without creating excessive...
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  18. 31. Breakout Session - Reporting Out
    8/25/26, 5:00 PM
  19. 33. Day Close Out
    8/25/26, 5:25 PM
  20. 28. Welcome Back
    8/26/26, 11:50 AM
  21. 18. Invited Lecturer: Chris Schaffer (Dean of Faculty, Meinig Family Professor of Engineering, Cornell University)
    Prof. Chris Schaffer (Cornell University)
    8/26/26, 12:00 PM

    https://www.duffield.cornell.edu/people/chris-schaffer/
    Select Awards
    Arthur H. Guenther Congressional Science Policy Fellowship

    Chris B. Schaffer is a professor in the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University. He received his undergraduate degree in physics from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in physics from Harvard University, where he worked with Eric...

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  22. 19. Communication Practices that work - COLDEX
    Danielle Whittaker
    8/26/26, 1:30 PM

    NSF COLDEX rapidly grew its following on Instagram after 1) investing in a 50% digital communications coordinator and 2) deploying that person with our 2025-26 Antarctic ice core field team to tell stories of COLDEX sample collection and the United States Antarctic Program. Through posts on their personal and the NSF COLDEX organizational Instagram accounts, Martin Froger Silva generated...

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  23. 27. Communication Practices that work - IMOD
    Denise Bale (IMOD)
    8/26/26, 1:40 PM

    IMOD will present an integrated communication framework that supports effective Center management alongside external engagement. Rather than treating communications as standalone products, we use recurring communication touchpoints—including strategic planning documents, meeting materials, progress updates, weekly digests, and annual reports—to align members with Center priorities, reinforce...

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  24. 21. Communication Practices that work - NewFoS
    Keith Runge, Lynn Frazier (NeWFoS)
    8/26/26, 1:50 PM

    Abstract: The New Frontiers of Sound (NewFoS) Science and Technology Center uses a design for continuous engagement in which the annual NewFoS Stakeholder Meeting functions as the culmination of an ongoing cycle of outreach, communication, collaboration, and feedback. The model is coordinated by the Knowledge Transfer (KT) team and engages all center personnel to integrate industry engagement,...

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  25. 20. Communication Practices that work - QCB
    Erik Lindhal (CQB)
    8/26/26, 2:00 PM

    Communicating Science: From Individual Skill to Center Culture - Erik Lindahl
    Science and Technology Centers are created to pursue ambitious research that no single laboratory could accomplish alone. But their impact depends on more than discovery: it depends on whether students, faculty, partners, policymakers, and the public can understand why that discovery matters. and a challenge:...

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  26. 22. Open Discussion
    8/26/26, 2:10 PM
  27. 26. BREAKOUT 1 | Rethinking the STC Annual Report How can annual reporting better serve both NSF and the Centers while reducing unnecessary burden?
    8/26/26, 2:40 PM
  28. 34. BREAKOUT 2 | Measuring STC Success and Impact How do we know whether an STC is actually succeeding?
    8/26/26, 2:40 PM
  29. 37. BREAKOUT 3 | From Research to Impact How do we maximize the value and use of the data, knowledge, and technologies created by STCs?
    8/26/26, 2:40 PM
  30. 38. BREAKOUT 4 | Developing the Next Generation How do we meaningfully engage undergraduates and early-career researchers in the scientific and intellectual life of an STC?
    8/26/26, 2:40 PM
  31. 30. Breakout Session - Reporting Out
    8/26/26, 3:30 PM
  32. 23. Next Steps - Planning for the 2027 STC Directors Meeting
    Rebecca Morss
    8/26/26, 4:10 PM

    Selecting 2027 STC Directors Meeting host

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  33. 32. Closeout - Rebecca Morss and Joan Curtiss
    Joan Curtiss, Rebecca Morss
    8/26/26, 4:40 PM

    Selecting 2027 STC Directors Meeting host

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  34. 13. Break Out Session - What NSF and Directors should know - useful metrics, challenges, site visit format

    What NSF and Center Directors should know.

    Site visit format and panelist
    Useful metrics
    Special challenges

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  35. 29. Breakout Session - Education teams and how to raise visibility of the science

    education teams in their second round of awards to learn how they raised visibility of the science:
    Per reaching faculty - to adopt/incorporate the STC science/engineering topic(s) into their foundation teaching courses
    Approaches that worked (and did not work)
    Strategies that worked (or did not work)
    Leveraging conferences - if so, how?
    With Center faculty - per new courses solely...

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  36. 4. Breakout session 1

    Center Directors meet with Rebecca Morss

    Other communication topics.

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  37. 10. Chris Schaffer talk
  38. 2. NSF Update - Rebecca Morss