Let's Talk SciComm Unimelb SciComm

This week we had a wonderful time speaking with Dr Jen Payne about her amazing initiative STEMpals. Jen grew up in a small country town, where the closest thing to scientists she saw was her teachers. She had no idea really what a scientist was or could be. Fast forward to now, where Jen is a research scientist, minimising deadly infections due to antimicrobial resistance.

She is an award-winning science communicator who is passionate about real-world STEM in the classroom. This led to becoming the founder and CEO of a STEM charity the Curiosity Factory, which runs STEMpals. STEMpals is a pen pal program for upper primary school students where each student in the classroom is paired with their very own STEM professional to exchange handwritten letters across the year. This cross-curricular program inspires our next STEM generation one letter at a time. Jen also fosters greyhounds and has represented Australia around the world playing ultimate frisbee.

You can follow Jen and learn more about her work here: 

https://stempals.org.au/

https://au.linkedin.com/company/curiosityfactory

https://au.linkedin.com/in/jenniferaepayne

https://twitter.com/DrPayne_AMR 

https://www.australiansepsisnetwork.net.au/community-awareness/signs-symptoms-sepsis

And here is some important information about sepsis, a fatal condition we discuss on the podcast:

Sepsis comes down to TIME, as every hour treatment is delayed, the likelihood of death increases by 4-9%. 


TIME can save your life.
T = temperature - is it higher or lower than normal?
I = infection - may have signs and symptoms of an infection
M = mental decline - confused, sleepy, difficult to rouse
E = extremely ill - severe pain, discomfort, shortness of breath

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/c9d8

What a treat this week’s episode is! We had a blast catching up with one of our brilliant former science communication students, Milly Formby.

Milly is a qualified zoologist, pilot and illustrator of the children's book, A Shorebird Flying Adventure. In 2022-23 she was the first woman to fly a microlight aircraft around Australia. The aim of the adventure was to promote protection of wetland habitats for endangered migratory shorebirds. Milly took 160 hours of flight time over 365 days covering 14,000 kilometres to complete the journey. Along the way she visited 105 primary schools reaching over 6500 students in remote, regional and urban Australia.

Milly has extensive experience in many different types of science communication and we know you’re going to love this conversation!

You can follow Milly and learn more about her work here:

https://wingthreads.com/ 

https://www.facebook.com/wingthreads/

https://www.instagram.com/wingthreads/

https://www.youtube.com/@wingthreads2347

https://www.linkedin.com/in/milly-formby-a607a64b/

You can watch a documentary about Wing Threads here: https://iview.abc.net.au/show/wing-threads

And you can purchase Milly’s book A Shorebird Flying Adventure here: https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/8006/

This week we had the great pleasure of speaking with Brian Lin in Washington DC. Brian oversees EurekAlert!, a non-profit news release distribution platform operated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He has more than two decades of experience as a science communicator, having interned at a national daily technology TV show in Canada before serving as a press officer for 13 years at the University of British Columbia, where he helped communicate scientific and medical research while developing and delivering media training for faculty and students. Since joining AAAS in 2014, he has more than tripled web traffic at EurekAlert! and led the development of a new platform that launched in 2021. His current focus is expanding access to EurekAlert! in low- and middle-income countries and fostering diversity, equity and inclusion in and through science communication.
You can follow Brian and learn more about his work here: 
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianlinworks/
https://www.twitter.com/brianlinworks
https://blog.eurekalert.org/ - The EurekAlert! Science Communication blog
https://www.eurekalert.org/resources - The Eurekalert! Resources center for journalists and Press officers
http://www.wired.com/2016/05/internet-hub-science-news-shaping-world-20-years/ - A Wired.com story about EurekAlert! at their 20th anniversary

Welcome back to Season 10 of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re thrilled to be back with you for another season of fantastic conversations exploring how we can all communicate about science in more effective and engaging ways.

To get the season off to an amazing start, we’re thrilled to have caught up with science tourism and dark skies guru, Marnie Ogg. With over 17 years of experience as a Managing Director at Dark Sky Traveller, Marnie has seamlessly combined a passion for astronomy, tourism, and conservation to curate unique and unforgettable experiences for travellers and communities alike. As a dedicated Dark Sky Defender, Marnie holds a Diploma of Psychology and a Diplome de Francaise, leveraging these qualifications to champion the protection and promotion of the night environment, while educating and inspiring diverse audiences.

Among her notable achievements are securing the designation of Australia's first Dark Sky Place, founding and spearheading the Australasian Dark Sky Alliance, orchestrating a Guinness World Record attempt, and managing a pivotal report for the Commonwealth Government on light pollution. Through these endeavors, Marnie has developed skills in facilitation, public speaking, project management, and conservation, all while striving to leave a positive and enduring impact on our world.

You can follow Marnie and learn more about her work here: 

https://www.darkskytraveller.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/DarkSkyTraveller/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/marnie-ogg-0b36877b/

https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/dark-sky-conversations/id1464617065 (Marnie’s podcast) 

Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/9ot8

To finish Season 9 of Let’s Talk SciComm, we had a truly wonderful conversation with Dr Samantha Grover, who leads the Soil-Atmosphere-Anthroposphere Lab at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Sam’s team explores the interconnections between food, climate change and people. They collaborate with farmers, NGOs, industry, government and other researchers around the world to more sustainably manage landscapes. They focus on high carbon systems such as peatlands, regenerative agriculture and composting. As a soil scientist, Sam applies techniques from soil physics, soil chemistry and soil microbiology with micrometeorology to explore the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. She collaborates with economists, social scientists, policy analysist as well as other biological and physical scientists to generate whole-of-system knowledge. Through her teaching of Bachelors and Masters of Environmental Science, as well as her public engagement as a Superstar of STEM, President of Soil Science Australia, VIC, various Board and Committee roles and growing media profile, she communicates her research to create impact.

We talked with Sam about the many different types of science communication she’s involved with, including giving a TED talk and writing a children’s book. Sam has a wealth of scicomm experience and knowledge to share and we’re sure you’ll enjoy the conversation!

You can follow Sam and learn more about her work here:

https://www.rmit.edu.au/contact/staff-contacts/academic-staff/g/grover-dr-samantha

https://www.linkedin.com/in/samantha-grover-169017186/

https://twitter.com/drsoilsam

https://scienceandtechnologyaustralia.org.au/profile/dr-samantha-grover/

https://theleadershipfilm.org/samantha-grover/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wKA6JQQBSE (Sam’s TED talk)

https://www.publish.csiro.au/book/7464/ (Sam’s book Exploring Soils).

https://www.twma.com.au/channel/sharing-transdisciplinary-soil-stories-by-dr-samantha-grover/

This week Jen and Michael had a wonderful conversation with Professor John Besley about strategic science communication. John studies public opinion about science and scientists’ opinions about the public. His goal is to help science communicators be more effective by helping them consider evidence-based and strategic communication choices. He also does research aimed at understanding how peoples’ views about decision-makers and decision processes (i.e., trustworthiness and fairness beliefs) affect their overall perceptions of science and technology (S&T).

John has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters. This work has appeared in high-ranking journals including Risk Analysis, Science Communication, Public Understanding of Science, and the Journal of Risk Research as well as a range of edited volumes. He has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the United States Department of Agriculture, and a range of foundations. He is the associate editor for risk communication for Risk Analysis.

In addition to his regular research, John was the lead author for the 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2020 National Science Board chapters on public attitudes and knowledge about science and technology. Michigan State University awarded John its William J. Beal Outstanding Faculty Award in 2021 and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) honored him as a fellow in 2018. In 2013, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication awarded him the Hillier-Krieghbaum Under 40 Award.

You can follow John and learn more about his work here:

https://comartsci.msu.edu/our-people/john-c-besley

https://www.instagram.com/johnbesley/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-c-besley-880a468/

http://strategicsciencecommunication.com/ (John and Anthony’s book)

https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/12411/strategic-science-communication