Ray has created and implemented numerous innovative public outreach programs, as well as a training program for academic scientists interested in broader engagement.

Science Leadership Program

The SLP, founded by Ray in 2013, aims to provide outstanding academic scientists with the skills, approaches, and frameworks for engaging more effectively with the media, decision makers, and the public throughout their careers.

CoolCosmos  

CoolCosmos was an unconventional initiative—an approach described as "in-your-face outreach"—to pique people's curiosity about the cosmos they live in, to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy in 2009. Its goal was to reach that vast majority of the population for whom the science of astronomy just does not enter daily life, and remind them about our cosmic connections. A pivotal piece of CoolCosmos was a campaign of 3,000 ads on the subway cars, streetcars, and buses in Toronto, thus reaching over a million people over a month. The transit ads pointed to the CoolCosmos.net website, which expands on the science behind them through podcasts and graphic-rich articles.

Cosmic Frontiers

Four Friday evening outreach events held in Toronto in 2005 drew capacity crowds of more than 1,500 at each.

 

Cosmic Origins

Series of five lectures in Ann Arbor, Michigan, attracted standing-room-only audiences to the campus of the University of Michigan in 2003.