Join us for the first Science Literacy for Excellence, or SL4E, Research Collaboratory Community Conversation, a virtual space where language, science literacy and place come together. At SL4E, our work centers on understanding how the languages we speak shape the ways we learn and share scientific knowledge, rooted in the communities and land around us.

What are forever chemicals, and why are people becoming more concerned about them across the U.S.? How can environmental scientists, economists and community members work together to address this problem? Why does understanding the relationship between people and the natural world matter for building resilience and making informed decisions?

This community conversation will explore these questions through the work of an MSU-led team of interdisciplinary researchers who are developing tools to help us better understand PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, in the Gulf region. The conversation will especially highlight how working closely with communities can strengthen environmental research and public awareness.

About our community speakers

Brenna Jungers is an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics and an SSRC Research Fellow. She is an environmental economist who studies how people and the environment affect and depend on one another, as well as how those systems can remain resilient over time.

Katerina Sergi is an assistant research professor at MSU's Social Science Research Center. She evaluates federal and state programs using a mix of research methods, with a focus on rural education, school-based mental health, public health and community-based research along the Gulf Coast.