Academic Entrepreneurship: Students Lead the Way

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Student Conference is a conference by the students, for the students.  The specific recognition of student involvement within the AMS annual meeting is important not only to acknowledge students’ immense positive impacts on the meeting, but also the importance of supporting the future generation of atmospheric science researchers.  While a multitude of social leadership opportunities exist for students within the community, limited research leadership opportunities exist.  We must strive to engage more students in such research opportunities and offer outlets for young scientists to explore their intellectual curiosities.

Academic Entrepreneurship (AE) is an opportunity for students to research a topic tangential to their graduate or undergraduate thesis.  While research funding, in general, constrains students to projects proposed by their advisors, collaboration with academic peers allows for freedom in intellectual discovery.  It is with this intellectual freedom in mind that AE proposes to unite students across a breadth of fields to collaborate on unique research opportunities.  These opportunities may range from grassroots-based curiosities to projects proposed and managed by more experienced students.  AE is expected to contribute to improved inter-collegiate relations, enhanced interdisciplinary discussion amongst students, and, ultimately, an avenue for ingenuity for the future generation of the atmospheric sciences.

This presentation highlights the proposed framework of AE and offers demo interactions with the program’s website.  Student opinions on how to maximize the success of AE will also be requested.