SciComm Excellence

It’s challenging to effectively communicate about health and science with public audiences as evidence evolves. On Wednesday Oct 9 from 10-11:15 am ET the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Standing Committee on Advancing Science Communication is hosting a webinar called “Perspectives on Communicating Evolving Health and Science Information,” where panelists will discuss the nature of these challenges and their perspectives on equipping people to understand the nature of science and how it evolves. They will offer evidence-based insights into how media outlets portray change and conflicting evidence in science and how this affects people’s perceptions of science. Finally, discussion will explore implications for improving science communication. Panelists include Sibel Erduran, Professor of Science Education and Director for Research at University of Oxford, Rebekah Nagler, Associate Professor, Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication at University of Minnesota, and Ivan Oransky, Distinguished Journalist in Residence at New York University's Arthur L Carter Journalism Institute & Co-Founder of Retraction Watch. The panel will be moderated by Brian Southwell, Distinguished Fellow and Lead Scientist for Public Understanding of Science at RTI International. Learn more and register at: https://lnkd.in/g_9aj7mF #sciencecommunication #healthcommunication #publichealth

Congratulations to 2022 award winner J.D. Allen on becoming a full-time lecturer at Stony Brook University!

Yvette Cabrera is a senior reporter at the investigative news nonprofit, the Center for Public Integrity, where she covers inequality in economic and social well-being with a focus on environmental justice issues. She has reported extensively on the pervasiveness of toxic lead contamination, and her most recent series, "Ghosts of Polluters Past," was honored with a 2023 international Sigma Award for Data Journalism. She also served as immediate past president of the NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists), and is a founding member of The Uproot Project, a network for environmental journalists of color. Yvette is also a 2023 top award winner of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications. In celebration of #HispanicHeritageMonth, we asked Yvette about her experiences involving LatinX communities in her science journalism. Read the full interview at: https://lnkd.in/dRCxXwW7 #sciencecommunication #sciencejournalism #localjournalism #communityjournalism

“For the third year in a row, seawater creeping up the drought-stricken Mississippi River is threatening the drinking water supply for the nearly 1 million people in and around New Orleans,” 2023 award winner Tristan Baurick writes. In a piece for Verite News New Orleans, Baurick covers saltwater intrusion in Louisiana, its effects on drinking water supplies, and the state of policy and potential solutions to preserve clean drinking water in New Orleans. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gNyheJ68 #sciencecommunication #cleanwater #sciencejournalism #localjournalism

In a piece for The New Yorker, 2022 award winner Brooke Jarvis describes the complex history behind defining and measuring “sea level,” and what it could mean for our world today. “We confidently assert that Mt. Rainier rises 14,411 feet above sea level, without stopping to ask ourselves what exactly we mean: what sea, and where and when, and in what state of weather?” she writes. “The oceans, we know, are never at rest; they’re pulled to and fro by the moon (in the Bay of Fundy, a single tidal change can lower the water by more than fifty-three feet), the wind, the atmospheric pressure, and the considerable gravity exerted by glaciers and landmasses.” Read more at: https://lnkd.in/geizsh3x #sciencecommunication #geology #oceanography #climate

In a piece for Science Magazine, 2023 award winner Vaishnavi Chandrashekhar discusses the ways in which India is working to distance its science education systems from centuries-long British colonialism and lean into its history and traditions. This story is part of an ongoing series about global equity in science, which was spearheaded by 2022 award winner Rodrigo Pérez Ortega, along with Elizabeth Culotta and Shraddha Chakradhar. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gbM6RnKS #scienceeducation #sciencecommunication #STEMeducation

SciComm Excellence winners Elijah J Yetter-Bowman, Rodrigo Pérez Ortega and Yvette Cabrera are the panelists for the virtual opening plenary at this year’s ScienceWriters annual meeting hosted by the National Association of Science Writers and the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing on October 17 from 1-2pm ET! During the panel, "Working Together to Make a Difference: Science communication collaboration to drive real-world impact," winners will discuss how science communicators can collaborate with diverse constituencies to develop projects that make a difference for communities. Moderated by jury member Erika Check Hayden, the panel will explore how science communicators in many roles can collaborate with allied groups to make an impact. You can learn more about #ScienceWriters2024 and register to attend at: https://lnkd.in/gQq8hD9s #sciencecommunication #sciencewriting #sciencejournalism

Interdisciplinary thinking builds connections and breaks boundaries to help us better understand and weave together the complex whole of topics in science, engineering, and medicine. 2023 award winners Saad B., Steven Strogatz, Janina M Jeff Ringo, PhD, MS, and Elijah J Yetter-Bowman discuss how interdisciplinary thinking leads to excellent science communication and new scientific discoveries. The National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Science Communications, given by the The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Sciences, honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists who have developed creative, original work to communicate issues and advances in science, engineering, or medicine for the general public. Learn more about our program and the 2023 winners at: https://lnkd.in/gE7XfUbQ #interdisciplinary #sciencecommunication #discovery #STEM #science #engineering

In a public lecture at the University of Oxford, 2022 award winner Jordan Ellenberg tells the story of the “random walk” and how it’s history connects to the intersection of math and artificial intelligence in the present. Between 1905 and 1910 the idea of the “random walk,” now a major topic in applied mathematics, was invented simultaneously and independently by multiple people in multiple countries for completely different purposes – in the United Kingdom, the story starts with Ronald Ross and the problem of mosquito control. In this lecture, Jordan shares this story and ways that “random walks” underlie current approaches to artificial intelligence. You can watch the full lecture at: https://lnkd.in/gJxn_byM #sciencecommunication #mathematics #artificialintelligence

“The summer of 2024—the fifth since the COVID-19 pandemic began—is projected to be the biggest summer wave of COVID infections to date,” writes 2023 award winner Sanjay Mishra, MS, PhD. In a piece for National Geographic, he discusses the updated vaccines approved by the FDA, FLiRT variants, and the effectiveness of COVID medicines. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/gXEMiUFM #sciencecommunication #covid19 #healthcommunication