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Science, Culture, and Identity: an interview with Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer.

3/21/2019

By Bernardo Traversari and Alexandra Gonzalez-Van Wart
Edited by Simon Bakke

Traducción al español aquí

I recently had the opportunity to interview Dr. Feliú-Mójer, Neurobiologist and Science Communicator. We talked about why owning your identity is key to making science inclusive, accessible, and fresh. To Dr. Feliú-Mójer, connecting science with community and culture opens all kinds of doors.

I wanted to start off hearing a little bit about your story. How did you decide to pursue a career in science?

I was born and raised in a rural part of Puerto Rico surrounded by a lot of animals and green spaces. My playground was nature.

Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer, Director of Communications & Science Outreach for Ciencia Puerto Rico. Photo courtesy of Ciencia Puerto Rico.

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A Sleep Scientist’s Journey: From Labs to TV to talking science on NPR

3/17/2019

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By Chelsie Boodoo (@SciWithChelsie)
Edited by Simon Bakke

Dr. Joe Palca, a sleep researcher who is now a science correspondent for National Public Radio

Science communication is not a field many scientists hold in high regard, since it is not within the common confines of the academic or career industry. Scientists are not encouraged to interact with people outside of their field unless it benefits them. When it comes to science communication, I want to understand what speaking to the public about science entails — even if it may not pertain to their area of expertise — and to develop these skills. I believe communities would be more focused on the development of science if we could show them that science is more fun than frightening.

Dr. Joe Palca was the perfect person to introduce me to science communication. Joe did not realize what science communication was until long into his career. In 1982, Joe was completing his dissertation at the University of California Santa Cruz on sleep psychology when he saw an advertisement for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellowship. This fellowship was focused on training scientists to strengthen their connection with journalists. Not enthralled with his research, he knew he did not want to stay in academia and wanted to try something new. Joe decided to give the fellowship a try; it was an opportunity to explore something new that valued his degree without constraining him to a laboratory.

“The part of grad school I really liked was teaching and working with students,” Joe said. “[The fellowship] was everything grad school was not — it was different every day.”

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The Science behind Science Communication: Q&A with Dr. Laura Lindenfeld

3/11/2019

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By Catherine Hudson
Edited by Simon Bakke

Dr. Laura Lindenfeld has not followed a conventional career path. Attending school both in the United States and abroad, Lindenfeld discovered a passion for food and culture. These passions led her to focus on food as it relates to the environment, which in turn led her to focus on the people and policies that affect the earth and environment. Together, these passions led Laura to pursue a career in research communication. As she explains it, “My career has been defined by opportunity, adaptiveness, and a TON of work!” Lindenfeld is now the Executive Director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science and the Interim Dean for the School of Journalism at Stony Brook University.

Laura Lindenfeld, Executive Director of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, sits with Alan Alda himself.

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Science, Culture, and Identity: an interview with Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer.

A Sleep Scientist’s Journey: From Labs to TV to talking science on NPR

The Science behind Science Communication: Q&A with Dr. Laura Lindenfeld

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Science, Culture, and Identity: an interview with Dr. Mónica Feliú-Mójer.

A Sleep Scientist’s Journey: From Labs to TV to talking science on NPR

The Science behind Science Communication: Q&A with Dr. Laura Lindenfeld

Categories

Pitch & Contribute

A Science BlogCo-editors

Archives

A Science Blog
Co-editors