Ep. 6 Dr. Corey Knox: From Educational Research to Astrobiology

In this captivating episode of the Inquiry Oasis we explore the fascinating journey of Dr. Corey Knox. Dr. Knox, newly appointed as the Deputy Director at the University of Arizona’s Astrobiology Center, shares her unique trajectory from education researcher to her role in this new center. Throughout our conversation, Dr. Knox illuminates the profound ways in which science interacts with local communities and cultures and reveals the interconnectedness of astrobiology with urgent global issues such as climate change. Knox’s reflections on her time at the College of Education and its vibrant community are as enriching as her insights into education as a tool for liberation. This episode is a must-listen for those intrigued by the confluence of science, education, and social equity.

Topics Discussed:

• The mission and vision of the University of Arizona's Astrobiology Center
• Interdisciplinary nature of astrobiology: Combining astronomy, biology, humanities, and indigenous knowledge
• Relevance of astrobiology to understanding and addressing climate change
• Connecting astrobiology discoveries with lived human experiences across cultures
• The foundational role of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in astrobiology and education
• Incorporating Tucson's local community histories and innovative practices in educational initiatives
• Educators as facilitators: Bridging various disciplines in the university
• Influence and significance of Dr. Knox's recommended readings on her worldview
• Education as a tool for individual and societal liberation: Insights from 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed'

Books:

• Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe by Aomawa Shields
• Pedagogy of the Oppressed by Paulo Freire

Transcript

Jeffrey: 0:02

Welcome to the Inquiry Oasis, a University of Arizona College of Education podcast. Here in the heart of the Sonoran Desert, we bring you conversations with our esteemed faculty members whose research impacts lives from Southern Arizona to the far reaches of the globe. Recording From the College of Education's Digital Innovation and Learning Lab, we explored the transformative power of education in this border town where diverse cultures and ideas converge, weaving a tapestry of innovation with compassion and a sense of wonder. Join us as we journey through the sands of curiosity, unearthing insights that enrich and inspire. So, sit back and relax as we invite you to dive into The Inquiry Oasis. Thank you for tuning in to the Inquiry Oasis. I'm your host, Jeffrey Anthony, and today we're thrilled to be joined by Dr. Corey Knox. For the past five years, Dr. Knox has served as the educational research scientist and later the associate director of STEM Learning Center, a proud alumna. She received her PhD. From the UA College of Education's Teaching, learning and Sociocultural Studies Department in 2018. This year, she's embarking on an exciting new journey, transitioning from the College of Education to the brand new Arizona Astrobiology Center, where she'll serve as deputy director. Our conversation will delve into Dr. Knox's impactful work ranging from community-based research to the development of programs addressing social justice, youth, women science, and the environment. Now her expertise will extend into the realm of astrobiology. So without further ado, let's embark on this journey of exploration and discovery here in the Inquiry Oasis. Thank you for joining us, Corey.

Dr. Corey Knox: 1:44

Thanks, Jeffrey. Glad to be here.

Jeffrey: 1:46

Before we jump into your research and work with the brand new Arizona Astrobiology Center. Would you give us a bit of background on your path to becoming the educational research scientist at the College of Education?

Dr. Corey Knox: 1:56

sure. Like you mentioned, I graduated, from this college in 2018 and, before that I've worked here at the U of A for 20 years or so, as a social science researcher, but switched to education, and did my work here. and so I stayed, I never left after I graduated and worked on projects with science faculty, integrating education and inclusion, with different science faculty all across U of A. So it was a great experience. I learned a lot. I got to be a part of big. Different, diverse science topics. it was a great five years of learning and, working people all over U of A

Jeffrey: 2:39

Can you tell us how you integrated your educational and social science background with science here at the college?

Dr. Corey Knox: 2:45

Sure. So I have always loved science as a little kid. I think that it really hit home when I was working on education projects, about how science can tend to, push certain groups of people out. Women, people of color, as a, as a kid, even like no one suggested going to college for me to be a scientist. I didn't know scientists, I didn't even know it was really a, career when I was a kid, growing up. So I think the education and my focus on inclusion and people being able to follow their passions. Connected with this, feeling like I want people to be included in science, in whatever way they want to. I think we need diverse voices. We need diverse ideas, and I think that sort of that social justice and education, focus of mine, even before I was in education, and then connecting with science and science projects and seeing who was and was not involved in, some of these bigger grants and as faculty and different disciplines really struck me as okay, this is a great, path and a role and I got to work with amazing people here at the college who are, very focused on inclusion and social justice in across fields and in society. And I picked science as my sort of place that I wanted to to sort of put my energy into, related to inclusion.

Jeffrey: 4:14

We're lucky that you did choose science as that field, and I was wondering why is the College of Education an important partner to science and innovation at the University of Arizona, I

Dr. Corey Knox: 4:23

Um, yeah, so I think that, our college has nationally known and internationally known scholars on different pedagogical, theories and practices, culturally relevant pedagogy, inclusive science, bilingual education, social justice we have at the College of Ed. just amazing, scholars and practitioners and educators. And I feel through my work with a lot of science faculty and different science projects here outside of the College of Ed, they're looking for that. They're asking for it coming to us and to Dr. Chavarria and saying, can we get your education folks involved in this big project? But a lot of them aren't knowing what they don't know. So I feel like, there's just a lot of emphasis right now on. Diversity and equity and inclusion in stem, both for workforce or future force development, but also just to make science more inclusive. And representative of different worldviews and indigenous knowledge. And I think College of Ed is here and we've been here, but I don't think. People know about us enough, and I think that there's so many folks here, faculty, staff who do this work on a daily basis of inclusion and culturally relevant pedagogy that it's just a great. Partnership when it happens.

Jeffrey: 5:48

So I'm gonna throw a question in here that wasn't prepared I was thinking about the ontologies of every language that they have and how they can bring a specific view to a scientific question that may be, unanswerable, but because they come from a different understanding through their language, it opens up new potentialities that we didn't know before. Through your work in social justice and what you've done here at the University of Arizona College of Education, have you seen some of that, how broadening the, expansive scope of who was included in science education as, breaking through some barriers that maybe haven't been able to break through before because of these other ways of seeing the world?

Dr. Corey Knox: 6:24

yeah. Well, so I have a couple examples. one example and we do this a lot, in our work is people bring the why question. Why are you doing that? Why is it important? I think scientists and people in their own discipline, Are focused on this is what I'm doing and this is important. And I think when you bring diverse groups of people and people who aren't necessarily from that discipline, they ask, why are you doing that? We say, why should we care often? as a prompt for scientists. So, tell us why we should care about that. so I think that's the, a big. Sort of question that science could use more of..... People going, why should we care about that?... Can you explain it in a way that connects to our community or our people, or, you know, people on earth you know, a very concrete example that I've been running into lately related to language is. In space science, for example. there's a lot of military terms that are used to describe missions, change of command, like exploring other worlds. so that kind of language is really interesting to think if you're talking to, a black person who's hearing that, or an indigenous person who's going oh, I've heard that before.

Jeffrey: 7:45

Right.

Dr. Corey Knox: 7:45

We're going to discover new worlds.

Jeffrey: 7:48

Mm-hmm.

Dr. Corey Knox: 7:49

Right. So there's even that, that's like language, but it's also philosophical. Mm-hmm, and it has to do with traditions of different fields. So, that's a very concrete example that I ran into lately about sort of military language used in different kinds of sciences.

Jeffrey: 8:07

Mm-hmm. I, I think we're ready. I think we are. I think we're ready. We're all excited to learn about your recent appointment as deputy director at the Astrobiology Center, could you share the intriguing journey that led you to this remarkable opportunity?

Dr. Corey Knox: 8:19

sure. So I've been working with, Dr. Dante Loretta, who is a astrobiologist and the PI of this big asteroid mission called Osiris Rex. Um, for off and on for six years as the education person on some of his projects, We were introduced by Dr. Chavarria When he came looking for some education person to help with a Boys and Girls Club project, like, can you help me design a service learning project that we can do at the Boys and Girls Club? So I started working with him on that. we were working with, super diverse group of both. members of Boys and Girls Club, but also undergraduate students who wanted to work with youth. so I worked with him on that While that was happening, the Osiris Rex Big project, one of the biggest, projects. have been funded at U of A ever. This seven year mission to an asteroid, and connects to astrobiology in that astrobiology is defined as the search for the origins of life in the universe and on earth. The diversity of life in the universe and the conditions by which life can emerge Or not, is kind of the central science questions of that discipline. so, I was interested. That is like a huge interesting, juicy question for me since I was, again, a kid. Where did we come from? What is, um, and so I worked with him in a class that he taught, And did research, did a little participant observation research on how he was connecting culture and, communities into teaching this very, general, astrobiology course to freshman and sophomores, really early, undergraduates. so he had been working on this idea in his head that this is his next, after the asteroid. Sample came back. He wanted to start a center that focused on astrobiology, which is a hugely booming and emerging field across the US because of James Webb Telescope and all the discovery of all these exoplanets that, have just come into focus, so to speak, in the last probably five years, right? So, it is what's happening there, what's happening in the universe, what is, the spark of life? And so it's a awesome field for me because it's super interdisciplinary. It's astro astronomy, biology. It involves, humanities, cultural studies, indigenous knowledge about origins and all cultures have both astronomy and have, knowledge about how they view how we got here. So he asked basically, would you like to join this center? And it was. Like it was a hard decision because one of 'em is, am I ready to focus on one science at the College of Ed, I got to work on environmental science. I got to, work on projects related to water and environmental justice and quantum mechanics, and sort of move around and work with different projects at different times. And so this was about like, In a way picking a science, although it's a very big, broad science topic. And, Dr. Loretta was very, committed to having d e i, diversity equity inclusion at the foundation and core foundation of the center, attracting new students, new community voices. basically our logo became the universe's calling come and talk with us about this big question. So there will be a lot of research and research development related to different disciplines, scientific disciplines, but also we're viewing it as a place where the community students, no matter what their major or career path is, can come and engage in these questions and topics with us at this center.

Jeffrey: 12:18

That is fascinating. know, in preparing for this talk today, I read the background information on the new astrobiology center, and your mission statement is really remarkable. I would like to quote it for our audience here. to quote, 'Our mission is to provide bold, interdisciplinary, and transformative leadership through cutting edge research, inclusive training of future leaders and collaborative dialogue on the origin and existence of life and consciousness in the universe; and making astrobiology discoveries relevant to the lived experiences of all people on Earth.' When it comes to a mission statement that is awe inspiring, to say the least. Can you unpack this for us? To begin, let's focus on the second part of the mission statement, 'making astrobiology discoveries relevant to the lived experiences of all people on Earth.' Why is that important and how does this mission influence the type of activities the Astrobiology Center will focus on?

Dr. Corey Knox: 13:12

one of them I talked about before and that is it is already relevant, to the lived experiences, histories, and cultures of the world. There is, as I said, most cultures do have an origin story and practices around how we got here, our purpose here. So, that's that sort of humanities conversation about who we are and how we study. What we study and know what we know. But, more immediate, it also contributes to research on climate change, which is an area I've been reading a lot about now is astrobiology, involves research and, planetary sort of comparisons of climate, change of environment over millions of years instead of a hundred years so there are a lot of examples of the ways that research both astronomy, astrobiology, evolution, biology and research connects to concrete issues that we're facing here like mass extinction of many species, on earth that is occurring as we speak. Climate change, habitability, right? So, a lot of of astronomy and astrobiology focuses on what are the conditions on these far off stars or planets, and, what would that mean for us here? and there are also this very interesting subfield of extremophiles, which is like these biologists who study, creatures on Earth that survive and flourish in the most extreme environments, like at the bottom of the ocean, in those black smoker vents and in the Mojave Desert. So I think it's relevant because of our imagination of humans and sort of space and why are we here, and the knowledge that already exists from cultures for millennia. And it's relevant to very specific technologies and science discoveries that could be, applied and help us think through some of the environmental challenges we're facing now as a planet.

Jeffrey: 15:14

What has been the most surprising insight or discovery you have had during the journey you have had here at the University of Arizona?

Dr. Corey Knox: 15:21

I think it's that there are so many people Scientists, scholars, psychology, people working on amazing projects, At U of A. And often not connected. I think that working with, College of Ed and with Dr. Chavarria and getting to know the bigger community and not just the science sort of STEMy fields, but humanities and creative writing and poetry like that, there's these stories that are really amazing. and, discoveries and histories that are very Tucson based. Mm-hmm. Um, that I don't think we know about often the larger community and. That they're not connected into these cool stories like climate change research and indigenous communities and say, new agricultural techniques, but really traditional agricultural techniques that different groups in our area have been using for millennia and now it's being connected back to agricultural innovation. I think, I don't know if it was surprising, but it's amazing. I've been here for about 20 years and the stories and connections and work, That I've seen and been a part of in a little way, is pretty, pretty astounding. And I think that's, again, education, we're science communicators, we're communicators. I think of educators and education scholars as, liaisons between different sort of, endeavors that might be going on. And so I think that. I've been able to see that in action, working here at the college.

Jeffrey: 16:56

We're getting to the end of our conversation here, and as we ask each of our guests, is there a book or a paper that has been meaningful to you, and could you share one with our audience and explain how it has impacted you?

Dr. Corey Knox: 17:08

So I have two. That I'll share with you. One I'm still reading and I just got four days ago, which I love, and it's called 'Life on Other Planets: A Memoir of Finding My Place in the Universe.' And the author is a Aomawa Shields. She is an African-American astrophysicist at uc, Irvine, and also a professional actress. Hi. And also runs this amazing program for, black and brown youth in LA called Star Girls. And so it's this memoir about her moving through science and not being able to be in science because she was viewed as, you're an actress type person. It's really beautiful, and so I'm, I'm just like halfway through it. And I would just say it's the perfect mix of a science book and it's like a story of inclusion and becoming. And then the other one, the standard is, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, which connects education to liberation. And I think at core, education should be about liberating individuals and their passions and where they want to move, through their life, but also societies. Mm-hmm. And I would say those two that all the education people already have read 'Pedagogy of the Oppressed,' but the 'Life on Other Planets' is a nice, really contemporary recent memoir.

Jeffrey: 18:30

Corey, thank you for opening up your world to us today. Your titleless work from community-based research and development programs to your significant roles within the College of Education, and now, the new Arizona Astrobiology Center, is truly inspirational. To our listeners, thank you for joining us today in The Inquiry Oasis. It's conversations like these, filled with the profound insights and dedication to the broader impacts of education that fuel our curiosity and drive our thirst for knowledge. We're here on the first and third Wednesday of every month with intriguing discussions and perspectives. So be sure to keep tuning in as we shed light on the transformative power of education. Until our next journey. Until the inquiry oasis, keep your curiosity alive and remember, knowledge is our oasis.