Week 6

Speaker: Dr. Max Czapanskiy

Data, Power, and the Academy

Dr Max Czapanskiy is a teaching professor in Marine Data Science at UC Santa Barbara. Their research and teaching promote open science as an essential step in transforming scientific culture. A former software developer, their past research applied their computational background to questions in movement ecology and ecophysiology, including flight dynamics of seabirds and cardiovascular function of baleen whales. During that time, they observed the connections between access to data (or, conversely, data hoarding), power dynamics within scientific culture, and toxic workplace environments. They believe the open science movement has the potential to dismantle barriers to participation and disempower abusive scientists. But unless radical reform is an explicit goal, the movement will inevitably recapitulate the existing power structures behind a new facade. Today, they are focused on building the technical and social capacity of early career researchers to self-determine their careers and roles in science. 

Assigned reading

“How Reproducibility Will Accelerate Discovery Through Collaboration in Physio-Logging”: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.917976/full?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Anatomy of a Toxic Lab: https://michaelbalter.substack.com/p/anatomy-of-a-toxic-lab-global-biodiversity