Advancing Access to Cutting-Edge Tabletop Science

Abstract

Hands-On Research in Complex Systems Schools provide an example of how graduate students and young faculty working in resource-constrained environments can apply key mindsets and methods of tabletop experiments to problems at the frontiers of science. Each day during the Schools two-week program, participants work in small groups with experienced tabletop scientists in interactive laboratories on topics drawn from diverse disciplines in science and technology. Using modern low-cost tools, participants run experiments and perform associated data analysis together with mathematical and computational modeling. Participants also engage in other scientific professional activities; in particular, they learn best practices for communicating their results visually, orally, and in writing. In this way, the Hands-On Schools foster the development of scientific leaders in low- and middle-income countries.