Science Duties and Responsibilities

General Roles

Chief Science Officer

The primary responsibilities of the Chief Science Officer is control of starship or unit sensor arrays, coordination of scientific endeavors, and interpretation of sensor data. Since sensor systems are a shared resource the Chief Science Officer is usually involved in a number of scientific projects. Departments such as stellar cartography often contact the Chief Science Officer for advice and input. Command decisions are made based on all available information; this includes scientific information. The Chief Science Officer is responsible for the interpretation and dissemination of all scientific data collected by available sensor systems. The Chief Science Officer is a liaison between the Command Staff and the Science Department.

Science Officer / Specialist

The primary responsibilities of the Science Officer is operation and shared control of starship or unit sensor arrays, coordination of scientific endeavors, and interpretation of sensor data. Since sensor systems are a shared resource the Science Officer is usually involved in a number of scientific projects. Departments such as stellar cartography often contact the science officer for advice and input. Command decisions are made based on all available information; this includes scientific information. The Science Officer is responsible for assisting in the interpretation and dissemination of all scientific data collected by available sensor systems. The Science Officer is a liaison between the Science Department and the Chief Science Officer.

Systems

Sensors

Main Article: Sensors

The Chief Science Officer has control of all sensor systems. Sensors are vital to starship operations, providing the ability to detect phenomena at great distances. They have wide application in scientific, engineering, medical and defensive endeavors. There is no single all-purpose sensor on a ship; rather, they tend to be grouped together in sensor arrays. Most sensors work by detecting various energy fluctuations, such as electromagnetic oscillations, spectral wavelengths and gravimetric distortions, which are then interpreted by the main computer into usable information.

Starfleet vessels have three primary sensor types: Long-range, lateral (short-range) and navigational sensors. The main sensors are located at the front of the ship, designed to sweep far ahead to gather navigational and scientific information. The lateral sensors provide coverage in other directions – aft, port, starboard and so on. Both are tied into the science stations and various laboratories on board. The final group is the navigational sensors, which keep track of the ship’s position and velocity, and are tied directly to the Conn’s flight control systems. This combination provides starship crews with extensive capability for astronomical observation, planetary analysis and remote life-form analysis.

Stellar Cartography Lab

Main Article: Stellar Cartography

Ships that have these labs on board, the Science Department has sole control. Its main function is to correlate all the data collected through the sensors and represents it in a visual form. The information is just not limited to the sensors. Information can be received form the Computer Library, manual inputs, and from personal/duty logs.

Departmental Support

• Medical: Sciences are used by the Medical Department to help study new life forms, help cure diseases, and to help with the general smooth running of the department.
• Biologist: Studies living things from cells to sentient beings and the processes that occur in living things.
• Microbiologist: Biology concerned with very small and microscopic-sized, living cells and organisms.
• Exobiology: One who specializes in the study of alien life form physiology.
• Zoologist / Vet (as needed): Life scientist concerned with the study of animals and their evolution, characteristics and behavior.
• Tactical: The Tactical Department uses the Sciences, but not to the extent as some of the other departments. When a tactical situation arises, a hostage situation for example, it may draw on the resources of the Political Sciences to get a feel for the volatility of the situation, or the Geologists to discover a possible hidden base on a planet.
• Operations: When Ops encounters a new life form and is unable to communicate with them, linguists will assist Ops with the langue so a line of communication can be established.
• Linguistics: The study of languages past and present, including idiosyncrasies, slang and dialects.
• Flight Control: With the aid of the Astrophysicists and the sensor array, the FCO will be able to plot the ships course and avoid any stellar matter that the FCO feels might be a threat to the ship and/or crew.
• Engineering: Even though the Engineering Department is not to concerned with Science Department as a whole, they still utilize members of the Science Department to aid the department in its daily work and repairs.
• Cybernetics Specialist
• Computer Specialist (hard and soft ware)
• Away Team: Depending on the nature of the Away Team’s mission, a variety of scientists may accompany the Away Team. Main mission of the scientists on an Away Team is to study the environment, culture, and the planet in general.