Summary report from the mini-conference on workforce development through research-based, plasma-focused activities

Abstract

This report is a summary of the mini-conference on Workforce Development Through Research-Based, Plasma-Focused Science Education and Public Engagement held during the 2022 American Physical Society Division of Plasma Physics annual meeting. The motivation for organizing this mini-conference originates from recent studies and community-based reports highlighting important issues with the current state of the plasma workforce. Here, we summarize the main findings presented in the two speaker sessions of the mini-conference, the challenges, and recommendations identified in the discussion sessions and the results from a post-conference survey. We further provide information on initiatives and studies presented at the mini-conference, along with references to further resources.