Our Organization
We believe that everyone has the right to know how important science is to their lives. To be able to ask questions like: “What is alternative energy?” “What is climate change?” or simply, “What is cancer?”... and “How are we doing on the research?” We have made it our mission is to build a stronger community through understanding of science. We are doing this by actively going out into our communities and engaging the public with fun science demos and a forum for everyone to ask science questions they might have never had a chance to ask before. Through efforts like yours, we can begin to build a stronger community through understanding of science. Because we believe that everyone has the right to know how important science is to their lives.
National Ask a Scientist Day
All of our chapters will be participating in a full day synchronized Ask a Scientist event all across the nation! We have tentatively scheduled our National Ask a Scientist day for Spring 2015. Our hope is to host this event in a larger public park at each chapter location. Having a big science demo like a long shallow pool of non-newtonian fluid (dense fluid you can walk on) with booths of Ask a Scientist volunteers from all disciplines around the main demo showcasing how exciting science can be with other fun demos. While we hope to inform the public how important science is to their lives, we hope to inform the public about very pressing scientific issues that we all face today.
Founders
Matt Bishop
Matt is a very talkative chemical physicist, and avid rock climber. He has a knack for starting conversations about science with anyone. A habit that formed from teaching physics back in university. Matt has been participated in multiple science advocacy chapters, and has helped start a few. He has conducted research in biofuels, batteries, pharmaceuticals, and is currently doing his doctoral work at Los Alamos National Laboratory. If he has a day off, you can find him a few hundred feet up on the side of a cliff or on the side of a mountain.
Ryan Need
Ryan is an enthusiastic student, budding researcher, and avid outdoorsman. Ryan obtained his Bachelor's degree in Materials Engineering from Clemson University in the winter of 2011, and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the same subject at the University of California Santa Barbara. His passion for science education and outreach began during his undergraduate education with a part-time job as a tutor, something he continues to do today. Ryan has also participated in numerous science outreach programs around the Santa Barbara area, volunteering for both the Center for Science and Engineering Partnership and the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys being active and outdoors and is currently pursuing his yoga teacher certification.