volunteer

The Wisconsin MRSEC motto is "everyone participates.” Scroll down to learn why.

Volunteer Opportunities

Everyone Participates

The Wisconsin MRSEC has established the culture that “everyone participates” when it comes to educating the general public about the wonders of materials science. Every graduate student, postdoctoral fellow, staff, and faculty member assists in the development and dissemination of engaging, hands-on content inspired by their own research. Listed below you’ll find upcoming outreach opportunities that MRSEC members are encouraged to take part in.

For more information on any activity, or to sign up for an event, please email Shelly Grandell at sgrandell@wisc.edu.

________________________________________________________________________________

Engineering Expo

Engineering Expo occurs every April on the Engineering Campus of the UW-Madison. The MRSEC has an enormous presence at the event, running multiple activities for the general public. This is a great opportunity to teach many people about some of the amazing research going on in the MRSEC, and to implement some of the ideas and activities we discussed at the BREW.

________________________________________________________________________________

Wisconsin Science Festival

Join us each October at the Wisconsin Science Festival, by participating in the Discovery Expo! The four-day festival held in Madison and across WI connects people with science, engineering, technology, art and math and provides opportunities for you to reach new audiences, create community connections, and celebrate sciences in Wisconsin. The Discovery Expo is held at the Discovery Building on campus all four days of the festival.  It is a great place to showcase your work to the K-12 students on field trips as well as the general public. To be involved in the Discovery Expo, all you need is a willingness to share your science at a hands-on exploration station.

________________________________________________________________________________

Host an RET Participant

The Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program lasts from the middle of June until the end of August, and involves a middle or high school teacher working with a graduate student to translate the research being done in your lab into an educational module for the classroom. This program works well as a mentoring opportunity for your graduate students, and also results in a research-inspired hands-on module to communicate your work to the general public and the next generation of material scientists. Please contact Shelly Grandell at sgrandell@wisc.edu for more information!