scibridge virtual conference recap

We had a great discussion today about the goals and direction of the SciBridge project during our first virtual conference!  Despite the time zone miscalculation, Nella Vargas (Penn State), Kelsey Hatzell (Drexel University) and Alula Gebresas (Mekelle University) were able to join me in a very fruitful conversation.  

Here is a recap:

• We are awaiting disbursement of the MRS Foundation award pending agreement reviews from the Foundation & University of Texas.  We are learning a lot about the grant proposal/award/administration process to apply for future fundraising opportunities!
  
• We are hoping to begin sending our first kits on dye-sensitized solar cells this fall.  As soon as we have access to the funds we should be able to order the supplies and begin packaging and shipping the kits.
• The SciBridge project is growing and we need to appoint several central management positions, particularly in Fundraising, Social Media, and Experiment Kit Development.  If you are interested, please e-mail Veronica (vaugustyn@utexas.edu).
• We discussed the need to keep SciBridge a distributed project with involvement from many institutions in the U.S. and Africa.  Kelsey suggested that each campus could form their own SciBridge chapter in order to utilize local resources.  
• Alula stressed the need for nanoscience experiment kits at his institution as well as Ethiopia in general.  He also requested thorough background literature for the instructors as well as a live chat session on experiment tips and tricks.  Nella will be the dye-sensitized solar cell experiment expert guide this fall.

We thank everyone for their participation and look forward to future meetings!