Empire State University Professor Wins National Science Award

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Karis Jones, an assistant professor at Empire State University, won an award last week from the National Science Foundation to serve as a principal investigator for a group research initiative.

Her project, “GP-IN: Communities of Aquatic Sciences in Teaching and Learning (COASTAL) Research Partnerships for Equity,” is a two-year initiative that will examine educational programming related to geosciences, including field trips and other outreach programs among middle school and high school students.

“This COASTAL Research partnership will build a cross-region innovative research group focused on equitable educational innovations to support historically excluded middle and high school youth in geosciences communities,” Jones said in a statement.

Jones said that her group hopes to create a network of researchers, teachers, and students across New York and Maine that will collaborate and develop equitable paths for participation in geoscience communities.