WHAT: University of Nebraska at Kearney Science Café
HOSTED BY: Sigma Xi The Scientific Research Society
TITLE: Climatologist Stress: Are Climate Scientists Feeling the Heat?
SPEAKER / PRESENTER: Julie Lanz, assistant professor in UNK’s department of psychology, received her Bachelor of Science from the University of Iowa, where she majored in psychology with a minor in French. She earned her Master of Science at Missouri State University in industrial-organizational psychology. She graduated with her Ph.D. in I-O psychology in 2015 from Florida International University, where she specialized in occupational health and safety. Her dissertation studied how stress affects job outcomes in nurses, and the buffering effect of trait resilience on burnout.
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
DATE: Monday, March 12
PLACE: The Loft, Cunningham’s Journal, 15 W. 23rd St., Kearney
TOPIC: Research examining the effects of climate change has focused on high-risk communities such as villages in Alaska and cities such as New Orleans and Houston. There is little research examining adverse effects of climate change on scientists themselves.
“Given the critical role climate scientists play in communicating information to at-risk populations in an effort to save lives and livelihood, it is crucial they receive the support they need,” says Lanz. “Unfortunately, there is a surge in cases of climate scientists reporting high levels of gloom, despair, reports of punishment for speaking openly about their findings, and receiving death threats.”
Due to the high profile and high-stakes nature of these careers, understanding what particular stressors this population faces is the first step in mitigating the negative outcomes associated with a stressful workplace.
CONTACT: Allen A. Thomas, assistant professor of chemistry, 308.865.8452, thomasaa@unk.edu
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