Did You Know: Rice University has launched a new center for science communication called SCOPE?

Did you know there is a growing collection of efforts around the world to train scientists to engage with broader publics with their science? One of the newest additions that launched this past summer is the Center for Science Communication and Public Engagement – also called SCOPE– at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

When we at the Civic Science Media Lab discovered this center, we added it to our growing archive, and had the following questions:

1. Through its offerings, what set of skills in science communication will the center specialize in? Why? Science communication has diverse skillsets (speaking, social media, inclusive scicomm, writing, visual communication, ethics) and no one workshop, course or center can cover them all. 
2. How will the Center track the impact of all its training?
3. Better yet (and you know this was coming), how does SCOPE define impact?  Is there a specific outcome they are hoping to achieve through providing the training to their students, faculty and staff?

So we did some digging to get a little insight into some of our initial curiosities.

The SCOPE Center aims to train their STEM students to effectively communicate to broader audiences so they can move with the fast-paced changes in society as AI and social media are on the rise. This isn’t just a certificate program though. As inaugural director Dr. Scott Solomon puts it in their announcement, “The SCOPE Center is for everyone. We’re doing events and workshops and activities for the campus community.. And also for the broader community, including folks in Houston and beyond.”

So this is a great plan and opportunity, but why does this matter? At the minimum, scientists should ideally receive training to communicate their research to other researchers. Yes that’s important, and is essential to train academics to converse with other academics. Buuut how about communicating and engaging the broader publics? One can even argue that it’s even more important. SCOPE and many other training initiatives, like these, are creating opportunities for scientists to do just that. Ultimately, training scientists to step outside their labs to bidirectionally engage broader audiences is an important element of building and maintaining trust in science.

Did you know about SCOPE at Rice University? Well, now you know!

Update: October 27, 2026

Following publication of the video, we heard back from SCOPE director Scott Solomon, whom we had contacted with questions about the center’s plans, evaluation and funding. Below are our questions and his email responses.

JT: What does success look like for SCOPE and over what period of time?

Scott Solomon: For student programs, we will be tracking a number of metrics, including enrollment in our science communication courses, the number of students completing the undergraduate certificate, as well as several more specific and nuanced metrics for assessing the learning objectives built into the certificate program. For other programs aimed at the larger campus community, including workshops and other events for faculty and staff, we will be tracking the number of participants and their roles on campus. We may add some surveys to ask for feedback from participants at these events as well. For our public facing programs, like the science cafe series and science open house events, we will be tracking the number of participants and also conducting periodic surveys. We will doing some of this every semester and some annually.

JT: How will SCOPE track the effectiveness of science communication training outside of curriculum requirements?

Scott Solomon: We will track effectiveness based in part on reach (i.e. how many people engage with our training opportunities) but also on outcomes. We intend to keep an archive of science communication products and activities produced by people who have engaged with SCOPE by participating in courses or events such as workshops. We also have a network of SCOPE Fellows (Rice faculty engaged in science communication) and SCOPE Affiliates (alumni and community partners who are experienced science communicators) and we will be inviting them to share any news about their work.

JT: As SCOPE is within Rice University’s Wiess School of Natural Sciences, is there a designated funding source for the launch of SCOPE (i.e., a grant, departmental funding, or tuition-based pay)?

Scott Solomon: Funding for SCOPE comes from a variety of sources, including school seed funding for new initiatives, resources that follow enrollments in courses, and gifts to Rice to support experiential learning opportunities for students. We hope that in the future there will be philanthropic or foundation support to allow us to grow.

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Jacinda Taggett

Jacinda is a neuroscience-trained science writer and journalist, editor-in-chief of a science publication and founder of a neuroscience platform with 1,000+ monthly readers. She is currently working toward a Master of Science in science communication at Stony Brook University.