Nature spoke to five researchers spearheading programs that they hope will make geosciences a more welcoming space. ESS professor Juliet Crider‘s work to make more inclusive field experiences is highlighted.
“The technology used to turn photographs into accurate, measurable 3D models has become more advanced, as have digital tools for video-game development. As a result, my lab group – notably PhD student Max Needle – created a virtual field-trip experience. The first one was based on exposed folds of bedrock near Shamokin, Pennsylvania, informally called the Whaleback anticline. It’s possible to build high-resolution digital models of landforms and outcrops for research purposes, and it’s also an opportunity to make field-representations that students can explore and measure digitally.
In our department, we are changing the nature of our capstone project requirements, including alternative tracks that emphasize lab science – an increasingly important element of our discipline. Digital field trips are part of a larger cultural shift to illuminate the many paths into geosciences – which do not always require going to remote mountains – to hopefully attract a wider range of prospective students.”