Let's Talk About Science Communication with Letizia Diamante from Graphene Flagship

Letizia Diamante, a science communicator from Graphene Flagship, is here with us to talk about science promotion and graphene obviously.

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What do you do for your career?

I work as a science communicator for the Graphene Flagship. My main goal is to engage a wide range of audiences by highlighting interesting research and innovation outcomes produced by our scientific consortium. I interview leading scientists regularly, but I also ensure that lesser-known researchers, as well as early career researchers, receive recognition. That’s part of the Diversity in Graphene initiative that I coordinate.

It also includes a mentoring scheme, career days, and so on. It is also a way to create diverse role models in science and technology for the future generation. Talking about the next generation, I'm also passionate about promoting science to children, and I write science books for them and organize activities for science festivals and schools.

Okay, so basically, you're crazy about science promotion.

Yeah, somehow my work and my hobbies overlap, so I don't finish work at 5pm.

I can totally relate to it, my boss and I exchange messages for the whole weekend. Crazy, isn’t it?

Yes! I think when you have this type of love for science and science communications, it is really hard to stop. For example, I really like writing about science for children and took time to do it during the lockdown. The result is a colourful, 180-page gamebook (similar to a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book) that takes readers on an adventure through the experiment areas and particle accelerators at CERN. The reader can choose to play the role of a researcher, a student or a tourist. The book features science-themed quizzes and games, and aims to combine adventure and science to create a fun and playful reading experience. It's available in English and Italian and will be available in Bulgarian soon. I hope it will be available in Polish one day.

Communicating science to non-experts is a skill and it takes some practice.

We are also thinking about projects including kids. We have already submitted a proposal to involve kids to take them to labs and create a video game.

Great idea! Some children go crazy about Minecraft.

Yeah! We are thinking about Roblox.

Of course! Roblox! You will have fun creating a virtual place where kids can explore.

What you told me is that you studied science communication, what's the aim of these studies?

Yes, I studied science communications after my PhD thanks to a scholarship. My aim was to gain a broader perspective on the impact that science has on society. I learned to analyse the interaction between journalists, scientists, science communicators, policymakers, and non-experts. I also familiarised with various communications tools, such as press releases, traditional media and social media platforms. I also learned how to create videos from scratch and use a professional video editing software.

Tell us how to promote science in non-obvious ways.

There are several examples. You can go outside of the university walls, to places where you can find a lot of people. For example, you can promote science in shopping centers, at music festivals, in pubs, etc. You can combine science with other fields, such as art, theatre, and music.

I think that you have done an incredible job with the graphene jewels for charity, and it is so exciting to learn about your creative ideas to reach the greater audience.

Thank you! What else have you learned during the course?

For example, we had to visit a science museum, walk through an exhibition and evaluate it with a critical eye. We analysed whether the exhibition guided visitors towards a particular direction or allowed them to wander randomly, assessed the clarity of the descriptions, evaluated the effectiveness of analogies used to simplify complex subjects, and gauged the overall experience for the audience.

Since researchers receive public funding from taxpayers’ money, they have to share their findings with the public.

If you wanted then you could create your own exhibition, right?

Yes, maybe one day. In the past, I helped with an arts&science exhibition, and it was a lot of fun.

They gave you the tools, but they also taught you how to talk to scientists. (Also scientists who are skeptical about communicating their science outside of academia).

Yes, for example, I organised an interactive event about science comms for postdocs. It is relatively easy to put myself in their shoes because I used to do research in the past. Recently, I can see that more scientists are using social media for different professional reasons (networking, promoting their publications, etc.). I guess they are getting used to popular science videos on YouTube and other digital forms, but of course communicating science to non-experts is a skill and it takes some practice.

Sometimes researchers need to have a science communications plan because it is required in their grant proposal: they need to plan how they are going to disseminate their results or engage with the public even before they begin with a new project. In the UK, most (if not all) universities have a communication department to help with these tasks as well.

Oh, that's a great thing. I need to look it up.

Yes, since researchers receive public funding from taxpayers’ money, they have to share their findings with the public.

It is very important to think about the target audience. When scientists communicate with their peers, they often focus on their methodology and results. However, when engaging with non-experts, it is crucial to explain the broader motivation and impact of the scientific findings. This means providing sufficient context and background information to help non-experts understand why a research question is important and how it relates to their lives or to society as a whole. In other words, the “Why?” is as important as the “How?” and “What?”.

If the level is still too high for the target audience, my job is to unpack the technical concepts as much as possible. To understand what I mean, you can watch Wired’s “5 Levels” video series, where experts explain the same scientific topic to kids, teens, college students, graduate students, and other experts. I think it was such a great and fun idea.

Metallurgy has?led to the creation of new tools, plastics revolutionized the manufacturing industry, silicon has been essential to the development of electronic devices, and so on. So what’s next?

We know every citizen should have the chance to engage with science, right?

Exactly. Both scientists and science communicators play a vital role in making this happen.

Let’s move on to the graphene part of the interview – since you work for Graphene Flagship, there must be something in graphene that has attracted your attention to this material, right?

Absolutely! Graphene is an incredibly fascinating material with a unique set of properties that make it promising for a wide range of applications. From its unparalleled strength and conductivity to its remarkable flexibility, graphene has the potential to revolutionize everything from electronics and energy storage to biomedicine and even space exploration.?

Human history has evolved in parallel with the history of scientific discoveries, and several of these discoveries relate to new materials.?Metallurgy has?led to the creation of new tools, plastics revolutionized the manufacturing industry, silicon has been essential to the development of electronic devices, and so on. So what’s next??

To move to a more sustainable world, we need to push the current boundaries and develop materials that are less harmful to the environment and have a lower carbon footprint. The Partners and Associated Members of the Graphene Flagship are developing several products that are going in that direction. An example of such an innovation is concrete reinforced with graphene, which doesn't require the use of cement, a material whose production is a significant source of carbon dioxide emissions.

Great. Thank you very much for the talk.