Broader Impacts of Advanced LIGO

Advanced LIGO is the proposed goal of the entire LSC, including more than 38 institutions and 470 members globally. In this light, implementing Advanced LIGO should be used as an opportunity to join the separate LSC education and outreach activities of member institutions into a coordinated and networked program. The broader impacts of the LIGO Laboratory and the LSC will be developed into a mutually supportive program, fully leveraging the facilities, resources and capabilities of the LIGO community to reach the broadest audience.

Other LIGO Outreach Activities

The LIGO Laboratory has engaged in significant education and outreach during the mature phases of LIGO construction. These activities have generally been centered near our observatory sites where LIGO is able to have the most immediate and tangible impact.

This program has continued during the operations phase under the new Cooperative Agreement as described in this proposal in the section "Outreach". The Laboratory has begun to add staff support and has formed local educator networks (LEN) about each observatory. These networks have initiated a new program plan for observatory-based outreach. Additional staff will be added to the observatory-based outreach programs to support the additional scope.

The Laboratory is also submitting a new proposal based upon the work of the two LENs, to the NSF IPSE program. That proposal addresses new initiatives in formal and informal science education, and the creation of the civil infrastructure in Louisiana to support the expanded program. It has been discussed with NSF and guidance received has been considered in forming the LIGO proposals. The proposal is a three-year proposal for FY2004 through FY2006. Continuation of the activities of that proposal would be included in the LIGO Laboratory proposal to continue operations in FY2007 through FY2011.

Similarly, a plan is emerging for production of an educational film about LIGO. This is under discussion with NSF. The goal for this film is to reach audiences from high school students, to educated members of the public, visitors to the LIGO observatories, and the public television audience. This is part of the LIGO Laboratory strategy to begin to address broader national audiences as we build mature programs on a regional or local basis. This first step, a LIGO documentary, should be completed in FY2004.

The LSC Outreach Program

The LSC Executive Committee has endorsed the formation of a coordinated LSC education and outreach program. As an LSC effort, the Advanced LIGO construction project provides the inspiration. The separate efforts of the 38 institutions in the LSC will be leveraged to produce this new thrust.

In addition to leveraging the disparate programs, this is an opportunity to advance LIGO-related outreach from the character of an "add-on" to basic research programs to a world-class education and outreach activity in itself. A great deal has been accomplished in the last decade in bringing broader impacts into the vision of the NSF supported research community. The public’s investment in frontier research has been exploited to provide excitement, education and knowledge to the public. But the creation of so many individual outreach efforts by scientists expert principally in their own fields has not always been able to match the excellence of the basic scientific research itself. LIGO hopes to develop an outreach program that fully matches the excellence of LIGO scientific research in quality. In order to accomplish this, we propose to combine our individual collaborating team resources with the leadership of a world-class expert in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. LIGO and the LSC would be the home for a program led by this individual.

We propose to recruit the leadership needed and to survey, design and found the LIGO/LSC education and outreach program during the period of Advanced LIGO construction. Future operating awards would support the program that would be developed for the LIGO Laboratory and LSC institutions as appropriate to the detailed program.

Since the earliest construction-related funds requested in this proposal are scheduled for FY2004, we propose to commence the LSC outreach program development in FY2004. The resulting program should be in place by the end of FY2006 when the LIGO Laboratory should begin support in a new operating award that would sustain the developed program.

The development of the program will follow the steps:

• FY2004 - Recruit LSC Outreach Director and assistant
• FY2004 - Survey all LSC education and outreach activities and develop a descriptive survey document
• FY2004 - Formation of LSC Educators Advisory Network
• FY2004 - August 2004 LSC meeting is used to host an additional two day LSC Outreach Workshop at which all LSC activities will be showcased and attendees, including outside consultants and advisory network members will participate in design descussions for an enhanced, coordinated LSC program
• FY2005 - LSC Outreach Director develops detailed program plan with review meetings and educators advisory network participation
• FY2005 - March 2005 LSC meeting hosts one day LSC Outreach Outreach Workshop to finalize and approve program plan
• FY2005 - Initial elements of the plan implemented
• FY2005 - Supplemental proposals to NSF are submitted as necessary
• FY2006 - Initial operation of the coordinated LSC outreach program

The developed program will include all elements of the existing LIGO Laboratory outreach program. The LSC Outreach Director will assume overall responsibility for these and for new program elements. The Director will also coordinate the efforts of the LSC institutions through governance mechanisms established by the LSC. A formal program management plan and appropriate Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) will be employed to establish the governance, responsibility and accountability.