Darlene Cavalier is an American professor of practice at Arizona State University's School for the Future of Innovation in Society.[1] She is the founder of SciStarter[2] (a science portal and research platform), founder of Science Cheerleaders (a non profit organization consisting of current and former NFL, NBA and college cheerleaders pursuing STEM careers), cofounder of ECAST: Expert and Citizen Assessment of Science and Technology,[3] and she led the ideation and a team of collaborators to develop ScienceNearMe.org [4] to connect, promote and research all types of opportunities for the public to engage in science.

Darlene Cavalier
Alma materUniversity of Pennsylvania
Occupation(s)Citizen science advocate, writer, editor
External videos
video icon "Darlene Cavalier is The Science Cheerleader"

Biography

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Cavalier (born Darlene Ebarb), is a member of the Choctaw Apache Tribe of Ebarb, LA. Her sister, the late Mar Dixon, created the popular #MuseumSelfie campaign to bring arts and culture to people from all walks of life.[5] Cavalier earned a bachelor's degree from Temple University and a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania where she studied the role of the non formal scientists in science.

She has served as a principal investigator on several awards from the federal agencies including the National Science Foundation,[6] the National Institutes of Health, the Institute for Museum and Library Services,[7] and several private foundation grants. She is a founding board member of the Citizen Science Association, an Explorer and Fellow at National Geographic,[8] She is the co-editor of The Rightful Place of Science: Citizen Science,[9][10] author of The Science of Cheerleading,[11] and co-author of The Field Guide to Citizen Science.[12] The book was translated into the Kyrgyz language in 2021.[13]

In 2024, Cavalier was honored with the Pop Warner Inspiration to Youth Award for her efforts in promoting STEM education for young women.[14] This award recognizes leaders in sports who exemplify humanitarian principles through their voice and actions. In 2022, Cavalier was awarded the Arizona State University Medal for Social Embeddedness for her team's development of Libraries as Community Hubs for Citizen Science.[15] In 2016, Cavalier co-organized the Citizen Science Maker Summit, hosted by ASU.[16] In 2017, Cavalier was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on Designing Citizen Science to Support Science Learning to identify and describe existing citizen science projects that support science learning in both formal and informal settings.[17] The committee will develop a set of evidence-based principles to guide the design of citizen science.

She is the founder of Science Cheerleaders, a non-profit organization of more than 300 current and former NFL and NBA cheerleaders pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. They challenge stereotypes, inspire young women to consider STEM careers, and help people from all walks of life get involved in science. The organization plays on her former position as a cheerleader for the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team.[18] In 2012, Cavalier was the recipient of the Pop Warner Cheer Award.[19] In 2013, the Science Cheerleaders partnered with the Pop Warner organizations to lead the "world's largest cheerleading cheer," an event that was recognized by Guinness World Records.[20] The Science Cheerleaders have been featured on national and international media outlets] and serve as principal investigators in research projects including Project MERCCURI, a study of microbes on the International Space Station.[21]

In October 2020, SciStarter was featured on The Weather Channel[22] and on Disney's Weird But True.[23] In December 2022, her work received the President of Arizona State University's Medal for Social Embeddedness.

She was a senior advisor and contributor to Discover Magazine.[24][25][26] She served on the steering committee of Science Debate 2008. Her writing has also appeared in science publications such as the New York Academy of Sciences Magazine[27] and Science Progress.[28] The Science Cheerleaders were featured on the Today Show,[29] CNN, Fox National Headline News, the Washington Post, and other media outlets.

References

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  1. ^ "Darlene Cavalier". ASU Search. Arizona State University. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  2. ^ "About CSPO". Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes. Arizona State University. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  3. ^ "Partners". ecastnetwork.org. Expert & Citizen Assessment of Science & Technology. 31 March 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  4. ^ sciencenearme.org. ScienceNearMe https://sciencenearme.org. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  5. ^ Imam, Jareen (2015-01-21). "Selfies turn museums into playgrounds for a day". CNN. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  6. ^ "Simple Search Results". NSF Award Search. National Science Foundation. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  7. ^ Lewis, Britt (13 September 2017). "ASU partners with public libraries to advance citizen science". ASU Now. Arizona State University. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  8. ^ "Darlene Cavalier". National Geographic. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
  9. ^ Cavalier, Darlene; Kennedy, Eric B. (May 29, 2016). The Rightful Place of Science: Citizen Science. Consortium for Science, Policy, & Outcomes. ISBN 978-0692694831.
  10. ^ "Explore the Frontiers of Citizen Science in New Book from CSPO". cspo.org. Consortium for Science, Policy, & Outcomes. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  11. ^ Cavalier, Darlene (29 May 2016). The Science of Cheerleading. Apple Inc. ISBN 978-0692694831.
  12. ^ Cavalier, Darlene; Hoffman, Catherine; Cooper, Caren (February 4, 2020). Field Guide to Citizen Science. New York, NY: Workman Publishing. p. 188. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Untitled Interview with Darlene Cavalier". Google Drive. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  14. ^ "2023-24 All-American Scholars". www.popwarner.com. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  15. ^ "2022 President's Awards honor ASU employees | ASU News". news.asu.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-29.
  16. ^ "ASU researchers bring citizen scientists into the fold to advance learning". Got a Minute?. Arizona State University. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  17. ^ "Committee Membership Information". Current Projects System. National Academies. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  18. ^ Bob Grant, "Science, Rah Rah" The Scientist 2009-09-01 "[1]" Retrieved 2010-03-05. [dead link]
  19. ^ "Honors". University of Tennessee Sports News.
  20. ^ "Largest cheerleading cheer". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  21. ^ "Project MERCCURI". Scientific American. Nature America Inc. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  22. ^ "Citizen Scientists Go Online During the Pandemic". TWC. The Weather Channel. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  23. ^ "Disney Weird But True". DTCMedia. Disney. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  24. ^ Darlene Cavalier, "Science Sets Its Eyes On The Prize" Discover Magazine 2009-12-25 "[2]" Retrieved 2010-03-18. [dead link]
  25. ^ Darlene Cavalier, "A Shad Situation" Discover Magazine 2009-05-17 "[3]" Retrieved 2010-03-18. [dead link]
  26. ^ Discover Magazine "Discoblog, "[4]" Retrieved 2010-03-08. [dead link]
  27. ^ Darlene Cavalier & Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, "The Growth of Citizen Science" New York Academy of Sciences Magazine 2009-10-01 "[5]" Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  28. ^ Darlene Cavalier, "Harnessing Citizen Scientists" Science Progress 2008-07-07 "[6] Archived 2010-03-05 at the Wayback Machine" Retrieved 2010-03-06.
  29. ^ "Heard it on Today". Today.com. National Broadcasting Company. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
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