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Citizen Science at the Waag Society

Citizen Science at the Waag Society

Jeffrey Warren

June 27, 2012
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  1. Basically... 1. A broad-spectrum light (halogen, incandescent) is shone through

    a sample 2. Some colors are absorbed more than others depending on its composition 3. Diffraction grating splits light into colors so they can be measured separately 4. A webcam measures each color and graphs their intensities. This is compared to known samples.
  2. Problems with Environmental Science and Health Research • Expensive •

    Limited to hands of experts • Lag in knowledge between experts and people on the ground • Local residents don’t own the data • Collection/interpretation is opaque and illegible • Industry has far greater capacity to generate data
  3. Grassroots Approach to Environmental Health Monitoring • Community oriented and

    developed • Community-owned • Tools can be shared, adapted and improved in a decentralized, open source fashion • Supports public exploration and investigation of environmental issues
  4. How to Participate in Public Laboratory • Email Jeff •

    Join the website/mailing list: PublicLaboratory.org • Reproduce and improve existing tools • Work with others in the community to refine, brainstorm, challenge, test, and explore • Found a local chapter, organize meetups!