News & Blog

Looking forward to ESA 2018, there are two mentoring opportunities, as well as a travel award! Note that the travel award for those looking for support for invited speakers (not for your own individual travel). Read on for details about: SEEDS program seeks mentors (commitment just during #ESA2018) Early Career mentorship program seeks mentors (during #ESA2018) New travel award: Annual Meeting…

I feel like I have found a reference to keep on my shelf for the rest of my career […] In fact, after reading Writing Science in Plain English, I want to go back and edit every journal article I have ever written. ~S. Bayer What is the reviewer’s motive (expertise, curiosity, sharing lessons learned, etc.) and perspective (research scientist,…

In the spirit of expanding the reach and of science communication and engagement conversations happening within and beyond the Communications and Engagement Section, we are going to start re-posting and cross-posting content from C&E Section members. If you would like to have one of your projects or blog posts featured in this series, contact us! Meanwhile, here’s a cross-post from…

(Photo by Bethann Garramon Merkle, ©2018) As we mentioned in the April newsletter, nominations are now open for the next Communication and Engagement Section chairperson-elect. If you are looking for a way to enhance your scicomm skills while contributing to others’, this is a fantastic opportunity. It’s also a great way to learn more about how ESA governance works, at multiple…

When I first read this book, I was so inspired that I set out to transform every lecture in my Gen-Ed course into a TED talk. ~ J. Purrenhage What is the reviewer’s motive (expertise, curiosity, sharing lessons learned, etc.) and perspective (research scientist, educator, science communicator, etc.)?  I am a scientist and a science educator. As a lecturer in…

We know we’ve posted a lot in the last week, but when our chairperson-elect picked this photo to start our April newsletter, we just had to share a backstory with you. Check your email tomorrow for the newsletter featuring this photo and more! What’s with the egret and Terrebonne Parish? Well, this spring, the C&E Section has developed a strong connection…

Our SciComm/Engagement Lit Review series launches this week! The Lit Review series features contributed reviews of books and other scicomm and engagement resources. Reviews provide unique content about lit that has direct or indirect relevance to the wide range of scicomm careers, approaches, and interests of Section members. We seek SciComm/Engagement Lit Reviews (book review-style), and we welcome co-authored reviews.

This week, Dr. Jente Ottenburghs, a Belgian stand-up comic, biologist, and science writer responds to the #MySciComm questions! Jente Ottenburghs is a biologist and freelance science writer. He obtained his PhD at the University of Wageningen (the Netherlands) where he studied the genetics of hybridizing geese. During his PhD, Jente discovered his passion for sharing science with a broad audience….

Retrospective by Jennifer Purrenhage, series co-editor and Communication and Engagement Section secretary Bethann Garramon Merkle’s recent #MySciComm 2017 Year in Review highlighted takeaways from our 2017 contributors on building human connections through scicomm. As I looked back on the 2017 #MySciComm contributions, an additional set of theme emerged from our contributors. They offered advice and encouragement for those of us…

Retrospective by Bethann Garramon Merkle, series co-editor and Communication and Engagement Section chairperson Certainly, there is much to be learned from #MySciComm contributors regarding how to incorporate scicomm into research and how to transition into a scicomm career. But we, the editors, think the humanity this series exposes is equally important. #MySciComm shows us the people behind the science. In…