Science Communication Without Borders: reflections on ScienceOnline 2012
I’m hardly a newbie to science communication. But last week was my first trip to ScienceOnline. The energy buzzing around that conference for 72 hours made me flash back a decade to when I was still in a chemistry Ph.D. program but desperate to reboot my career without leaving science behind. At that point, I [...]
Pondering medium and “The Cave of Forgotten Dreams”
I’ll admit a kind of mixed relationship with 3D movies. Done well, I love experiencing the depth, but it seems to me that 3D should be an artistic choice for its ability to convey an experience, rather than just a way to make sure that people see a movie in the movie theater. Cave of [...]
Treating a reporter well: a case study
Scientists wear many hats, and taking the time to talk to a reporter adds one more task to their day or week. So I’m especially grateful when scientists make it easier to do my job and get the facts right. Here’s the backstory from earlier this week: I had some particularly thorny questions and wasn’t [...]
Almost Saturday Science Videos and more: Playing with the periodic table
Somehow Facebook, Twitter and my ongoing addiction to NPR have all pointed to fun chemistry science media today. This morning, I was just about to get out of bed when I heard this segment on NPR’s Morning Edition: Planet Money: Why Gold? Planet Money and a Columbia University chemical engineer play bingo with the periodic table [...]
Making sense of 200,000 gallons per day
How much? It’s one of those basic journalism questions, but when it comes to many science stories, it can be a tough one to answer in meaningful way. In most of my writing and reporting, I’m trying to find analogies to describe features smaller than the eye can see. But on the macroscale– like with [...]
Five great science blogs
Blogging is tricky and developing a good one requires both a command of the topic and a unique and entertaining angle. That’s a tough balance, but as far as I’m concerned, each of these five science blogs get it right. Not Exactly Rocket Science: Written by British science writer Ed Yong, the majority of these [...]
