In August, the C-CIES Team hit the road for an all-hands meeting in Albuquerque, NM hosted by Dr. Yolanda Lin of the Univeristy of New Mexico (UNM). The team traveled from across the country via planes, trains, automobiles and braved the unknown, leaving their family and pets behind to gather at the UNM campus Physics & Astromy and Interdisciplinary Science (PAIS) building for a two-day intenstive workshop. The facility was a perfect location to forge new collaborations and spur the creative juices.
The C-CIES Team, led by Principal Investigator Dr. Aaron Velasco and Co-Principal Investigators Dr. Jeff Weidner and Dr. Marianne Karplus, had an ambitious agenda not only focusing on the current Track I catalyst project, but to lay the groundwork for the upcoming Track II proposal due in March 2024.
Most of the team arrived Wednesday afternoon/evening and gathered at Dr. Lin's home, which allowed the team time to catch up and network with other local researchers from the Albuquerque area. This was also an opportunity for the team to connect socially and rest prior to the rigorous agenda planned for the next two days.
Thursday morning the team met at 8 a.m. sharp in the PAIS builiding. Dr. Velasco outline the agenda for the next two days, and went over the the goals, online tools, and resources being utlized for the meeting. There were also a number of team members participating virtually, so all collaborations and documents were electronic and had online collaboration capabilities. The virtual team members also had the opportunity to participate in breakout sessions that were happening in person.
The agenda was separated into blocks with specific goals. Each session was led by different C-CIES team members. Thursday morning the team focused on the current project, specfically the work being done on the Pilot Projects. The Pilot Projects are small research grants under the C-CIES umbrella that focus on answering specific research questions of interest, while engaging the community through the framework of Collective Impact. There were a total of four presentations that allowed each Pilot Project to provide an overview of the progress they have made during the prior months as well as field questions from the entire team. After the Pilot Project presentations were completed, the team spilt into small groups a breakout session. Each Pilot Project made up a small group and included a facilitator that guided a group evaluation and feedback. This allowed everyone the opportunity to collaborate, brainstorm, and provide input to address any issues they are facing with their Pilot projects.
The team continued working through lunch, reviewing C-CIES mission, vision, and goals as well as the phases and timeline expected for the current project. Later that afternoon, the team shifted gears to focus on the upcoming proposal identifying key information and providing vital input to key questions. The C-CIES team often focuses their efforts in the form of co-creation and collaboration.
Day two had the team putting pen to paper, literally. The overall outcomes of the meeting were phenomenal with huge strides made toward the future of the Center. Everyone who participated came to the table with feedback and new ideas. This team IS the Center, no matter what city they find themselves in.
Pictured from left to right: Steve Jaume, John Ebel, Zhigang Peng, Divya Chandrasekhar, Yolanda Lin, Aaron Velasco, Marianne Karplus, Jeff Weidner, Sue Bilek, Eric Jones, Monica Alvillar, and Amirhossein Chegini-Telegrafchi.
Virtual participant pictured: Alan Kafka
Virtual participants not pictured: Elizabeth Vanacore, Conevery Bolton Valencius, Iris Tien, Anne-Marie Nunez, Tiegan Hobbs