TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) - Last week I took a few days off the air to travel to Knoxville, Tennessee for the summer conference of the Federation of Earth Science Information Partners. Sounds like a boring, technical conference...huh?
No way! This group of scientists from NASA, NOAA, EPA, academic institutions, and much, much more, gather to talk about how their research can be better communicated to both scientists and the public. It's all about sharing information. A good thing in our modern world, especially since it's our tax dollars paying for most of the research.
My job was to present a day long workshop on how to better communicate research to the public through the media. After getting to the conference (an hour and half late thanks to a late flight attendant and mechanical troubles with the radio on the airplane), I set up and dove into my presentation. The people in the room, about 20 of them, were into it! They asked questions, aired concerns about media reports, and took notes. There was lots of interaction and even suggestions from the participants that made this workshop what I hope was a success.
There were some technical difficulties...as usual not everything can go perfect! But we found work-arounds and got everything done. However, I wanted to put the participants on the spot more, through mock science panels with the audience (myself and the other participants) asking question the public or reporters might ask. We did this exercise once but I was unable to critique the panels because of microphone problems. But at least the participants got an idea of what could be thrown at them. (And being on-camera isn't all that painful!)
My goal was to get the participants thinking about how they communicate science to the media and how that is then communicated to the public. Clear, concise statements based in the science is what we need to make sure the public understands where their tax dollars are going. As I get deeper and deeper into my PhD research, I am getting deeper and deeper into the subject of science communication. I hope to be asked back and/or expand my presentation for future conferences and groups. Communicating science is tricky business...breaking it down so we can all understand the facts and the consequences is key to making sure everyone and everything on Earth lives the best lives possible.
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