Thank you for your interest in contributing to the Scientist Spotlights Initiative!

By submitting a Scientist Spotlights here, you can help countless students feel more connected to science.
At the bottom of this page you will find a form where you can submit a new spotlight.

But what does a complete Scientist Spotlights include? Before submitting your spotlight, check that you have…

Picture of the Scientist

Seeing a photograph of the scientist is a quick and powerful way to humanize the scientist for students!

Brief (< 100 words) Intro Written By You

This should briefly introduce the scientist and the topic or field we can learn about through the scientist.

Biographical Resource
  • All Scientist Spotlights include a working link to an engaging biographical resource regarding the featured scientist.
  • Ideally this resource would feature relatable, counter-stereotypical aspects of the scientist’s background.
  • Remember that this should introduce a student insight to the personal life of a scientist that they generally wouldn’t know from professional sites (e.g. NOT LinkedIn).
  • Please find engaging sources that foreground the scientist’s personal story, preferably NOT links to academic and professional histories.
  • Know of a really cool scientist but can’t find existing biographical information about them?  Consider reaching out to them!  People are generally excited to have someone ask more about who they are and what they do!
Course Content Resource
  • All Scientist Spotlights include a working link to a resource that introduces course content related to the scientist’s work.
  • Ideally, this should be similar to the type of resource students might typically be assigned as a class homework assignment.  Depending on the class, that might be a popular press article, journal article excerpt, YouTube video, etc.

Picture of Spotlight Author

  • Students like to see who chose to bring this scientist to their attention!

Brief (3 sentence or less) Biography of Spotlight Author

  • No doubt you have a fascinating background and path to science!

Brief (2 sentence of less) Explanation for Why Author Chose this Scientist to Feature

  • What drew you to the scientist you’re featuring and how do you hope this assignment will impact students?

Would you like to assign your students to create a Scientist Spotlight? Feel welcome to visit our partners websites, Story Collider and Science Friday, for inspiration. Also, here are a couple of downloadable resources to get you started!