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Researcher Development

Research Development

RIST provides a number of professional development opportunities to assist faculty in developing their skills to achieve research excellence and impact. Our training programs introduce campus research support services, teach the basics of sponsored programs, and improve grant writing skills and guide researchers through the administrative structures and processes, improve their grantsmanship.

Training Programs

Public Seminar: Introduction to Team Science with Divergent Science

"Engaged and Energized: Creating Team Structures to Enhance Engagement and Prevent Burnout"

Friday, September 13 | 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Masonboro Island Room 2011 (Fisher Student Union) | No registration required.

As researchers and scientists, how do we work together to solve large-scale problems facing our world?  Where do you start? How do you effectively manage resources, people, and ideas? This seminar will provide an introduction to the science of team science, with a focus on team structures and systems, tools, and “recipes” that can be used to improve team performance. Using evidence from a wide range of literature, we will focus on three key areas:

  1. Team structures: What does good engagement look like?  What is a good organizational structure for your team?  Who do you include and exclude in everyday interactions?  Using social network diagrams from real science/research teams we will explore different team structures and discuss pros and cons of each.
  2. Even turn-taking/communication: Numerous bodies of literature report that even turn-taking is important to build collective intelligence, increase satisfaction, and improve productivity.  What is “even?”  How do you practice “even turn-taking” every day?
  3. Project management: The PI of a scientific team CAN send calendar invites, create meeting agendas, and manage the budget, but SHOULD they use their time and energy for these tasks? How do you select a project manager and optimize the role of the project manager to increase productivity and meet your team goals?

Speakers

Co-founder Dr. Ellen Fisher currently serves at the Vice President for Research (VPR) at the University of New Mexico. Ellen has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Utah. She brings hands on and applied perspectives from over three decades of work on interdisciplinary science teams. Her background as a chemist, materials scientist, higher education administrator, and research integrity officer informs her research and practice with transdisciplinary scientific teams. Ellen has created numerous cross-disciplinary university programs to support interdisciplinary research, encourage ethical practices, create a culture of inclusion, and support women in science. She has published over 160 peer-reviewed articles spanning a diverse set of topics from laser spectroscopy to responsible conduct of research; 22 Ph.D. students and 8 masters students have completed their degrees under her guidance. Ellen has co-created interdisciplinary programs designed to enhance and promote team science culture at two R1 universities.

Co-founder Dr. Hannah Love has a Ph.D. in sociology from Colorado State University. She has been facilitating since 2010 in various areas including: higher education, water conflict, and science facilitation. Her background includes work in higher education administration, student affairs in higher education, and non-profit fundraising. Since 2015 she has been using her skills in higher education to design team science trainings, agendas and facilitations based on SciTS literature. As a scholar, she publishes SciTS studies using social network analysis of teams to understand the processes teams use to create new knowledge.

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