Mitchell Center hosts team science and lessons from kindergarten talk

The Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions at the University of Maine will host a talk about how collaborative teams can draw from lessons learned in kindergarten to tackle complex problems 3–4 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13. 

Humanity is grappling with many “wicked” problems — such as climate change, ocean plastic pollution and the coronavirus pandemic — that are complex, dynamic and difficult to solve. No single person, approach or knowledge base can adequately address these issues. 

Collaborative research teams representing western science, traditional ways of knowing, funding agencies, businesses, municipalities and organizations have a greater capacity to develop novel and effective solutions. In this talk, “Team Science and Lessons from Kindergarten — The Essence of Collaborative Research,” Pips Veazey will discuss how people can draw from and expand on lessons learned in kindergarten to bolster collaborative research efforts today.

Veazey is director of the UMaine Portland Gateway, a new initiative that provides a dedicated office in Portland to help people and businesses in southern Maine access research and education opportunities at the flagship research university. She served as principal investigator for the Alaska Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and led the University of Alaska Fairbanks Vis Space, a high-resolution visual environment designed to promote conversations about complex problems, co-develop creative solutions and enhance team development. She has worked with research teams across the country to facilitate research collaboration and is a founding board member of the International Network for the Science of Team Science.

This is the first event in the Mitchell Center’s Sustainability Talks series for fall 2021. All talks are free and will be offered both remotely via Zoom and in-person at 107 Norman Smith Hall on the UMaine campus in Orono. Registration is required to attend remotely via Zoom; to register and receive connection information, visit the event webpage.

Please note that face coverings currently are required through at least Sept. 30, 2021 for all persons — students, staff, faculty, visitors and others — when indoors at a University of Maine System facility. For the latest health and safety guidance, see umaine.edu/return.

Updates for this event will be posted to the event webpage. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Ruth Hallsworth, 207.581.3196; hallsworth@maine.edu.