Initially, Fallik and Klinger plan to travel to countries on every continent except Antarctica to interview people involved in or affected by the mining of energy-critical materials. As they collect data, they'll be seeking information about such aspects of the issue as what it's like to work in the industry, what measures are taken to protect the public and how information is collected and reported. They want to investigate not only countries where mining occurs but also those that are buying the materials.
A former co-director of the National Institute of Computer-Assisted Reporting at the University of Missouri, Fallik has written extensively about health and science for NPR, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal. She sees her twofold role in the research project as an especially good fit.
"Interviewing people on the ground about what the day-to-day operations are like in this kind of mining of materials ... is a good use of my background in interviewing and in collecting and analyzing raw data," she said. "That process involves looking at what data is being made public and also what is not being collected and reported."
After the data is collected, other members of the team will analyze and map the findings. Then, Fallik will work to determine the most effective ways to communicate what the researchers learn. One possibility, she said, would be to develop a multimedia presentation that could be delivered at conferences and public events to inform non-scientists and policy makers about the team's findings.
"I think that's where having someone with a background in science communication can make a difference," she said. "The academic rhetoric and field jargon that researchers use as part of their daily vernacular [can] shut out the very people we want to be excited" about our work.
And, she said, she believes there will be a great deal of interest in the findings.
"The public wants to know about this," she said. "They want to know that the mining that produces the materials that make up their phones and power their wind turbines is being socially responsible."
Her inclusion in the grant also demonstrates a larger issue, she said, which is the growing recognition that explaining science to the public in an understandable way is critically important.
"Whether we are talking about patient safety in hospitals or what personal choices impact global warming or why mask recommendations changed so dramatically, science communication is a key factor," Fallik said. "The fact that the NSF and NIH [National Institutes of Health] are encouraging public outreach and communication as part of grant applications shows how much they value the practical skills professors and journalists like myself bring to the table."
At UD, she is working on establishing a "Narrative STEM" program in the Department of English, a concept that previously received support from 25 departments across the University. The program is part of a wider trend, she said, in which universities around the U.S. are developing narrative science and medicine programs aimed at helping undergraduate and graduate STEM students connect with the public.
The NSF grant is the second federal grant Fallik has received in the past year. A $10,000 award from the National Institute for Healthcare Management supported a project on loneliness that she did with National Public Radio.
Working with Joshua Zide, professor of materials science, she also helped develop UD's Words for Nerds program, a seminar in which graduate STEM students learn to use mainstream media, multimedia and social media to share their research with the public. This year's program begins in April with Washington Post TikTok producer Dave Jorgenson.
