An essential part of my job is to share my passion for science with a broad audience, whether fellow researchers or the general public. Scientists, students, and enthusiasts from all backgrounds should feel welcome and supported in our professional community.
I am an active contributor to a number of outreach programs and initiatives, several of which aimed at historically marginalized communities in science with the goal of communicating our enthusiasm for biology and paleontology in a wide range of contexts, and hopefully inspiring new vocations within and outside academia. Such initiatives include:
I am an active contributor to a number of outreach programs and initiatives, several of which aimed at historically marginalized communities in science with the goal of communicating our enthusiasm for biology and paleontology in a wide range of contexts, and hopefully inspiring new vocations within and outside academia. Such initiatives include:
Geoscience Ambassadors Program
I have been one of the main facilitators of the Geoscience Ambassadors program since 2018. Geoscience Ambassadors are geoscience majors from diverse backgrounds (black and brown/Asian/hispanic, first generation and international students, LGBTQIA+, students with disabilities, etc.) willing to share their passion for science with historically marginalized groups, generally their home communities. In this program, I have worked with three other educators at the University of Texas to design and lead exercises in reflective storytelling with ambassadors. We help students incorporate their respective identities into an engaging narrative that showcases their personal journey as young geoscientists. Ambassadors used those exercises to share their stories in a short video format and give seminars in their respective home communities (high schools, student organizations, etc.).
This program has had a powerful impact on me as a scientist and mentor. It has showed me the importance of understanding and defining your own identity as a scientist. Our respective backgrounds play a key role in defining how we approach our fields of interest, and the opportunity to document this pathway reinforce your sense of belonging in a professional community that supports and accepts you for who you are. Furthermore, the opportunity to interact with students from diverse backgrounds and discuss their respective paths to becoming a scientist was incredibly inspiring. Finding ways to frame your personal journey into a cohesive story is challenging, and it helps students and instructors communicate openly about their personal stories to create a sense of empathy and acceptance among peers. It has also encouraged me to implement similar discussions on diversity and mindfulness of each other’s journey in classes I teach, with the reaction from students being very positive.
The feedback from ambassadors at the end of each semester has allowed us to collect and organize data on the program and its potential for outreach to more aspiring geoscientists from all backgrounds. This has resulted in a number of educational outputs from the program:
The feedback from ambassadors at the end of each semester has allowed us to collect and organize data on the program and its potential for outreach to more aspiring geoscientists from all backgrounds. This has resulted in a number of educational outputs from the program:
- All ambassadors’ stories have been compiled on a website designed as an outreach resource;
- A full-length article on the program was published in the Journal of Geoscience Education;
- The material we developed for the workshops and activities used in the program has been made available as the Storytelling for Change kit for educators;
- A workshop for educators on personal storytelling as a tool to implement change for inclusive science was implemented at the 2021 Earth Educators Rendezvous;
- A preliminary report on the program and its impact was published in In the Trenches, a publication of the National Association of Geoscience Teachers;
Scientific seminars
In addition to giving presentations at many scientific conferences, I have also been invited to give seminars and symposium talks at various scientific institutions (see my CV for a full list). If you would like to book me for a seminar, please reach out by email or using the contact form below!
Scientific resources in French for students and teachers
I am very passionate about designing and writing scientific material for teachers, educators, and students in my native French language, for which there are way less resources available than in English. This is especially true of phylogenetic comparative methods, for which there are many educational resources and tutorials in English available online, but no equivalent in French.
In this role, I have written:
In this role, I have written:
- The article Phylogénétique comparative in special volume 'Phylogénie: regards de paléontologues' of the scientific magazine Géochronique, published by the French Geological Society (Société Géologique de France)
- The article Introduction pratique aux modèles linéaires phylogénétiques, a pratical introduction to phylogenetic comparative methods in French, in special volume 'Introduction aux méthodes comparatives phylogénétiques' of the scientific magazine Biosystema, published by the French Society for Systematics (Société Française de Systématique)
Comments on the work of other researchers in general media
I have been asked to comment on research I was not involved with in popular science media articles, including:
- New Scientist: 'Megalodon may have been warm-blooded unlike most other sharks' by Sofia Quaglia (reporting on Griffiths et al., 2023, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
- Popular Science: 'Were dinosaurs warm-blooded or cold-blooded? Maybe both' by Kate Baggaley (reporting on Wiemann et al., 2022, Nature)
- Chemical & Engineering News: 'Fossil biomolecules provide insights into which dinosaurs were warm- or cold-blooded' by Carolyn Wilke (reporting on Wiemann et al., 2022, Nature)
- EarthDate: 'Dinosaurs run hot and cold' by Juli Hennings (reporting on Wiemann et al., 2022, Nature)
Feel free to contact me for inquiries, collaborations, ideas, proposals, etc.
|
Dr. Lucas Legendre
Research Associate Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences The University of Texas at Austin 2305 Speedway Stop C1160 Austin, TX 78712, United States [email protected] All pictures on this website belong to me, unless mentioned otherwise. |