PUSH: Public Understanding of Science and Health
PUSH is a research and teaching initiative of the College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin.
Our mission is to improve the public's understanding of - and engagement with - science and health topics.
Our primary goal is to facilitate relationships among UT researchers interested in public understanding of and public engagement with science and health topics.
Our secondary goal is to seek internal and external funding that will:
- Foster interdisciplinary research among UT scholars.
- Foster research collaborations with scholars external to UT.
- Facilitate theoretically rich projects that focus on how people come to understand and engage with science and health topics.
- Create communication interventions to 1) improve science and health literacy, and 2) positively impact attitudes and behaviors related to science and health issues.
- Faciliate study of the potential of new technologies to facilitate public understanding of science and health.
- Facilitate study of the impact of existing PUSH-related outreach efforts at UT.
Our tertiary goal is to provide UT students with service learning and research opportunities related to increasing public understanding of science and health.
Some of our favorite campus resources
Hot Science, Cool Talks: For more than a decade the Environmental Science Institute has hosted several large, free public lectures each semester that feature leading scientists from UT and beyond. These free lectures are intended for the public, are entertaining, and attract audiences exceeding 400 people from Austin and surrounding communities. Check out the Hot Science and see what you've been missing!
EUREKA! is a searchable database designed to support undergraduate participation in research and creative activity across the campus. EUREKA includes profiles for The University of Texas at Austin faculty members with information about their research interests as well as a listing of posted openings for undergraduates on research projects.
Sustainability, a Webpage of the University of Texas at Austin that features highlights of the efforts underway at UT to create an increasingly sustainable campus.
Science and Health News Feeds: The Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk (ComSHER) Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication hosts a news feed for science and health-related news and research.
