Centers and Large Facilities - Education and Outreach

Project Name: Integrated Ocean Drilling Program

Location: 815 Connecticut Ave., NW, Ste. 210, Washington, DC (Int’l Mgt. Hdqrtrs)

Contact information: Nancy Light, nlight@iodp.org, 202-465-7511

Main Project description/purpose

IODP is an international marine research program that uses drilling technology and multiple platforms to explore, monitor, and sample the sub seafloor ocean. IODP scientists conduct drilling expeditions to support scientific investigations of 1) the deep biosphere and sub seafloor life, 2) environmental change, 3) Earth processes and solid geodynamics.

Education and Outreach Mission and Goals

IODP Education and Outreach promotes IODP research activities with the loftier goal of conveying the value of scientific ocean drilling to society at large and increasing public awareness of this science discovery program globally. Key goals, coordinated among multinational program partners, include:

Raising the visibility of IODP as a cutting-edge international Earth science research program to new and existing audiences.
Building a strong, common foundation of knowledge about scientific ocean drilling-- its achievements, its merits, its abundant multinational contributions, and its high value to future scientific achievement—and placing it within easy reach of public attention and other targeted communities: online, in public spaces, in the media.
Exploiting news-making opportunities to make a strong connection between emerging scientific knowledge gained through scientific ocean drilling and its positive impact on society worldwide.
Increasing the number of scientists and engineers who are familiar with IODP and who participate in IODP.

Primary Audience(s) served (i.e., high school teachers, college students, etc.)

Scientists-at-large; academics, nonscientists interested in new technologies, Earth science, scientific discovery, and the global environment; engineers, technology professionals.