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IUGS 50th Anniversary Essay

Episodes 2011; 34(2): 71-74

Published online June 1, 2011

https://doi.org/10.18814/epiiugs/2011/v34i2/002

Copyright © International Union of Geological Sciences.

CoCoA: The future ingredient for geoscientific research

Gemma Venhuizen

Nova Zemblastraat 23M, 1013 RJ, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. E-mail: gemma.venhuizen@gmail.com

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Even the best bakers update their recipes every now and then, to improve their world-famous chocolate pies. Why then should we not do the same within the geosciences? To keep our future research as tasty and inspiring as ever, we could start by adding some CoCoA: Cooperation, Communication and Adjustment.
Concerning cooperation, it is important for scientists from different disciplines and countries to work together and in this essay, I come up with some examples of good cooperation which could serve as possible solutions.
As for communication, I argue that scientists should focus on lay-people more often by means of disseminating their knowledge. This could be done in four different ways: through Public Awareness of Science, through Public Understanding of Science, through Public Engagement with Science and through Public Participation in Science.
Regarding adjustment, I emphasize the importance of looking at our research topics from different viewpoints – at macroscopic and a microscopic level, through the eyes of our fellow scientists and through the eyes of the lay-public.
In my opinion, interdisciplinarity and cooperation should become keywords in the scientific world and by means of this essay, I hope to stimulate the dialogue between scientists and society.