A workshop was held in Portland, Oregon from March 27th through March 30th 2023 to launch the new NSF-funded Geohazards Track 1 CONVERSE Catalyst Center. The CONVERSE Catalyst Center provides an opportunity to engage in activities in preparation for proposing a Full (Track 2) Geohazards Center to NSF by March 2024 (link to NSF solicitation).
The CONVERSE Center is a newly NSF-funded Geohazards Catalyst Center that is dedicated to coordinating the academic response to volcanic eruptions to maximize the scientific return. The center follows on from the CONVERSE Research Coordination Network that has been operational since 2018 with the same goal of coordinating the scientific response to volcanic eruptions between the US Volcano Observatories and the non-observatory scientific community. The current center continues this effort and also aims to coordinate the science response of US academic institutions to eruptions occurring outside the US.
The purpose of the meeting was to inform the volcano science community about the activities of the current Catalyst Center and obtain input about the desired structure and activities of the Full Center. General topics discussed at the workshop include:
- Coordination between USGS volcano observatories and the non-USGS volcano science community during peacetime and during eruptions, to maximize scientific return
- The form and composition of the advisory committee for the center
- The roles individual scientists may choose to play in the center
- Facilitation of international collaborations during eruption response
- Social Science Aspects of CONVERSE
- Broadening participation in CONVERSE for Early Career Researchers and researchers from underrepresented groups and institutions
- Connections with other national and international initiatives (e.g., SZ4D)
- Evaluation of eruption responses so far and post eruption science coordination
- Funding will be available to provide a level of travel support for participants.
Workshop organizers are Einat Lev (LDEO, Columbia), Kristina Walowski (Western Washington Univ.), Yolanda Lin (UNM), Tobias Fischer (UNM) and Su Zhang (UNM).
The meeting structure and agenda can be found here.