Dr. Isaac Ginis sees one of his roles as that of providing inspiration to students. By bringing the subject of hurricane
forecasting into the classroom, and presenting his "big list of whys", he is able to engage students' curiosity. He sees
his responsibility not to necessarily create more scientists, but to help develop citizens who are connected to their
environment.
We live in an age in which much contemporary scientific research is viewed skeptically, if not downright derisively – a
far cry from the time when science was held in high regard and scientists embraced their duty to educate the public. Today,
there are plenty of examples of politicians describing a distrust of scientists – an attitude which naturally rubs off on
the public. Thus once again it falls to scientists such as Isaac to present their research as solid evidence and in an
understandable way.
Hurricane research is ideally suited to this renewed emphasis on scientists engaging in education and outreach. It is a
subject which the public can easily understand, and understand how it impacts their lives on a real basis. In exchange,
the scientists and students doing this research understand that they are performing a public service – helping their
fellow citizens manage disaster preparedness.
