17 August 2023
To learn more about AGU’s efforts to advance open science, visit agu.org/open-science and follow #AGUOpenScience on Twitter, Instagram and Threads.
AGU press contact:
Samson Reiny, [email protected]
For more than 100 years, AGU has committed itself to the concept of opening science, from fostering new pathways for discovery to championing diversity, equity and inclusion within the scientific community.
With the White House having declared 2023 the Year of Open Science, AGU reaffirms its commitment to these principles while recognizing the need for further efforts to increase participation in science and access to scientific research for people and communities everywhere.
AGU has chosen “Wide. Open. Science.” as the theme for our signature meeting AGU23, which will convene more than 25,000 attendees from over 100 countries in San Francisco 11–15 December 2023.
“At AGU23, we will celebrate how the Earth and space science community has called for barriers to be lowered between scientists and the people we serve,” said Lisa J. Graumlich, president of AGU. “Open science is a transformative effort that has far-reaching influence on publications, data, education, policy and more.”
“At its core, open science is the practice of removing obstacles to inclusive scientific collaboration and, thus, discovery,” said Janice R. Lachance, AGU’s interim executive director and CEO. “It permeates every aspect of AGU’s efforts, spanning publications, meetings, data leadership, community science, policy engagement and career development.”
As a leading publisher in the scientific community, AGU is actively advancing open access. Over the past decade, AGU has transitioned many of our journals to open access, making the articles freely available online for all to read, download and share, with limited restrictions for reuse. To date, 10 of 23 journals are fully open access and more than half of all journal articles are open access upon publication.
“With open-access articles, we’re seeing more readership and more citations of the research elsewhere and more opportunities for everyone to participate no matter their funding situation,” said Matthew Giampoala, AGU’s vice president of publications. “Scientific research is a practice of constantly building upon the last researcher’s work. We’re making it easier than ever for scientists to work openly and for others to cite their work as they take the next steps.”
To that end, AGU fully embraces the FAIR principles, both encouraging our community to implement the ability for data and other digital objects to be findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable while also applying these principles to AGU’s honors and recognition, programs and policies.
“FAIR means exactly what it stands for. It’s about making sure communities have access to the data and software they need to solve problems,” said Shelley Stall, AGU’s vice president for open data leadership. That said, respecting issues of privacy— personally identifiable data, for example — giving credit where credit is due and being sensitive to communities that have been damaged by science practices weigh heavily in what constitutes FAIR, she added. “We are helping folks to realize that ‘open’ is not a binary.”
Science published in AGU journals provides enormous benefits to society: providing for clean air and water, expanding resilience against a range of hazards, improving weather prediction, and identifying causes and solutions for the hole in the ozone layer.
AGU members, especially early-career scientists, have pushed for new avenues for research to have more immediate impact, so in 2013 AGU established Thriving Earth Exchange to connect communities around the world with scientists to tackle together local challenges related to hazards, natural resources and climate change. Today, Thriving Earth Exchange has launched more than 250 projects addressing everything from improving local air quality in Illinois and accessing drought risk in Las Vegas to modeling water availability in Ethiopia and repairing river health in the Dominican Republic.
“In Thriving Earth Exchange, communities set the science priorities,” said Raj Pandya, AGU’s vice president of community science. “We’re opening doors to new people to participate in science, and at the same time, scientists gain valuable experience with building collaborative relationships and facilitating problem-solving.”
AGU offers ample opportunities for scientists to learn and explore the many ways their expertise can make a difference. For example, Congressional Science Fellows work on assignment on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., either in the office of an individual member of Congress or on a committee, tackling issues as varied as energy and water resources policy to climate research and waste management. The Voices for Science program trains scientists to engage with diverse audiences — policymakers, journalists, communities — to communicate Earth and space science priorities.
AGU’s dedication to educating, inspiring and supporting the next generation of scientists remains as strong as ever. Mentoring365 pairs students and early-career researchers with mentors to build skills and network, while the Bridge Program partners with the Inclusive Graduate Education Network to support the recruiting, admitting, and retention of students in historically marginalized communities in graduate science programs. The AGU LANDInG Academy and the AGU LANDInG Postdoctoral Research Fellows Program both offer a two-year professional development program for aspiring diversity, equity and inclusion leaders in the geosciences.
To learn more about AGU’s efforts to advance open science, follow #AGUOpenScience on Twitter, Instagram and Threads. In the coming weeks, you can expect a range of valuable information, captivating stories and insightful testimonials that will spark further conversation on the essence of open science.
###
About Open Science at AGU
Open science is a global effort to increase participation in science and access to scientific research for people and communities everywhere. Open science aims to enable the sharing and preservation of data, results and software in an ethical manner that is as open and transparent as possible. These practices accelerate scientific discovery and optimize the benefits of science for all, especially communities that have historically lacked equitable participation and access. AGU is a proud leader in open science, advancing the effort through publications, meetings, data leadership, community science, policy engagement and career development.