Safecast: The Power of Citizen Science

Innovators Network

Monday, May 1, 6:30 PM

“What Safecast proves is that all the preparation in the world-all the money in the world-still fails if you don’t have a rapid, agile, resilient system.” —Joi Ito, Director, MIT Media Lab and Member of the Board of Directors, Japan Society

When the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant experienced a meltdown after the Great East Japan Earthquake in March 2011, people scrambled to get accurate data on radiation. Geiger counters were suddenly a hot commodity. In that moment of crisis, a group of global citizens rose to the occasion to launch Safecast, an open data platform to track, monitor and share data on the radiation levels in Fukushima and throughout Japan. Safecast, a Japan Earthquake Relief Fund grantee, enlisted the help of volunteers who collected the data from all over Japan, and even built its own DIY Geiger counter kit. Pieter Franken, the Co-Founder of Safecast, will look back at Safecast’s evolution—a prime example of citizen science embracing open data and open source—over the last six years and the challenges that they face today as they expand their data gathering efforts beyond radiation levels. Followed by a reception.

Commemorating the 6th Anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Tickets
$10/$8 Japan Society members, seniors and students

Box Office Policy