Is science communication important? Does public engagement really matter? Should the scientific community do more or less to support these activities? Here’s your chance to be heard. Please help us better serve you by completing the 15-minute survey. All responses are anonymous and confidential. The American Society of Plant Biologists is one of thirty scientific … Read more
Your “elevator pitch” is how you present yourself and your science in an intriguing, attention-grabbing, and articulate way. When someone asks you about yourself or your work, being prepared with your “pitch” immediately catches their interest and opens the conversation so you can provide more detail. How to the contest works: All plant scientists are … Read more
One of the highlights of the 2016 Plant Biology Conference in Austin, TX was a panel discussion about the National Academies of Science review of genetically modified crops. ASPB had several members on this prestigious review committee, including Drs. Robin Buell, Neal Stewart, and Rick Dixon, who convened a special session to discuss the outcomes … Read more
On Tuesday, April 26th, at 1 PM EST one of our members, Ian Street, will be featured in the Member Spotlight on Trellis – AAAS’s new platform for general scientific communication and collaboration. This is an hour long series that highlights activities of members and gives them a chance to discuss their work. Ian is currently a Research … Read more
Many scientists are exploring the use of videos and video blogs (vlogs) for science communication. I asked Claire Hopkins, creator of the Brilliant Botany videos and website, how she got started making science videos and if she has any advice for getting started in science communication. Here are her replies. (I also invite you to … Read more
Many scientists are exploring the use of blogs to share their experiences of science and nature with a wider audience. I asked John Palka, retired neuroscientist (University of Wasthington) and author of the popular blog Nature’s Depths how he got started blogging and if he has any advice to those considering blogging. Here are his … Read more
The American Society of Plant Biologists (@ASPB) and Global Plant Council (@GlobalPlantGPC) have recently launched Plantae. It is designed to be the central hub of plant science…your plant science. Plantae may seem like just another social network, but it is designed to be a much more complex community. I’ve noticed some fatigue lately with Twitter … Read more
I am your ASPB representative on CAST. CAST is the Council for Agricultural Science and Technology and is a non-profit organization composed of scientific societies, many individuals, students, companies, nonprofits, and associate scientific and industry society members. The primary work of CAST is to organize scientists to write papers on different important topics. CAST assembles, … Read more
ASPB is a co-sponsor of this seminar: Process food labeling, the role of social media in communicating about genetic engineering and implications for agricultural producers and consumers will be addressed at National C-FAR’s research seminar on Monday, October 5, offered at 10 a.m. in 328A Russell Senate Office Building and again at noon in 1300 … Read more
By Dana D’Amico Part 1/2 Last year, the Center for Food Integrity (CFI), a non-profit working to facilitate public confidence in the US food system, conducted a consumer survey. The survey focused on a few key groups –mothers, foodies, and millennials –and aimed to examine ‘messenger trust’ related to issues like GM safety. Before any … Read more
By Dana D’Amico In my last post, I introduced a few ways that the plant science community might look to storytelling and literature for outreach. Here, I’ll present some practical tips for working with science writers, as corroborated by working journalists at the Plant Biology 2015 “Standing Up For Science” workshop in Minneapolis (and for … Read more
After four long days at a conference, all you want to do is board a flight home, crawl into bed, and try to forget how your boss saw you dancing at the open-bar party. But on July 30, 2015, a dedicated group of scientists and communicators rallied at the end of Plant Biology 2015 conference … Read more
Sex, maize and how to feed the world (despite herbicide tolerance) Balticon 49 – Established in 1967, Balticon is the annual convention sponsored by the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. This year’s version (May 22-25) offered everything surrounding science fiction including comic books, movies, kids’ programs, the presentation of the prestigious “Robert A. Heinlein” and the … Read more
How to get your audiences to care as much as you do. You can explain your research with publication-worthy panache. So why don’t people outside of your niche seem to get jazzed about your topic? Maybe your presentation is upside down. Successfully engaging the public or students is much more – and less – than … Read more
Communicating about your research to raise awareness and to get noticed is a critical skill. To be sure your abstract is a hot pick for talks, it’s important to use the right approach. Here are some tips and resources that can help your abstract get chosen. Consider Each Audience Reviewers will select your work for … Read more