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The Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy is the research and public engagement group of Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri. Our mission is to promote literacy in science, mathematics, and technology among the general public and to attract future generations to careers in research, teaching, and public service. We live our “Science is Fun” philosophy by engaging with individuals and groups, both locally and around the world. Our purpose is to trigger cerebral and emotional connections to heighten the joy of learning. A major goal is to promote progress in addressing the grand challenges that face society. We advocate to have both a skilled, creative, and productive work force and a citizenry able to judge the risks and enjoy the benefits of advances in science and technology. All must engage in respectful discourse on significant societal issues related to science, religion, politics, the economy, technology, and ethics.
WISL advocates for the exploration and establishment of links between science and the arts. Creativity, passion, and the urge for expression and exploration are essential human qualities that inspire science, the arts, and the humanities, and thus constitute a common bond among them. People can value, appreciate, and enjoy science without a deep understanding of specific details, just as they can appreciate music without a specialized knowledge of music theory, or appreciate literature, the theater, and the visual arts without being experts in those fields. Programs like the Oxygen play and symposium focus on the relationships, similarities, and differences in inquiry, creativity, and personal expression among scientists, artists, and humanists. A specific goal is to give musicians, artists, writers, and performers—present and future—an appreciation of science and enable them to see and understand the connections between science and the arts.
We foster creativity.
We advocate for working together with respect, trust, and confidence.
We encourage skepticism, harmony, and dissonance.
All for the common good.