Cottrell Scholars form Collaborative to promote research and education
Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA) and its 240-plus national cadre of Cottrell Scholars announce the creation of a new scientific community, the Cottrell Scholars' Collaborative (CSC). An initial slate of leaders has been selected.
The Collaborative is being formed to help the Scholars, who are all physical scientists, to develop, promote and implement transformative initiatives for the integration of research and teaching at research universities across the country.
"Educating students in science is hard, and particularly so in a university culture that often focuses more on research expectations or science faculty than on the commitment to science education," said RCSA President & CEO James M. Gentile. "The lone scientist dedicated to both his or her research as well as the students he or she teaches can easily become frustrated and disheartened. However, when joined with a community of kindred spirits, that singular voice is magnified, and culture change can occur. Our hope is that the Collaborative will help bring about much needed cultural change."
At the recent Cottrell Scholars' annual meeting in Tucson, RCSA officials named a group of scientists to head the new Collaborative. Dr. Seth M. Cohen, professor of chemistry at the University of California, San Diego, was named Chair of the organization. Besides Cohen, other Scholars named to the Collaborative's advisory committee include:
- Dr. Rigoberto Hernandez, professor of chemistry at Georgia Tech;
- Dr. Teri W. Odom, professor of chemistry at Northwestern University;
- Dr. Mats A. Selen, professor of physics at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign;
- Dr. Jairo Sinova, professor of physics at Texas A&M University;
- Dr. Bradley D. Smith, professor of chemistry at the University of Notre Dame.