The Twenty-fifth Hour of the Day: Finding Time for Outreach: Part 2 #reachingoutsci

The Twenty-fifth Hour of the Day: Finding Time for Outreach: Part 2 #reachingoutsci

Academic scientists used to live by the mantra “publish or perish” but a sort of unwelcome relief is in sight: our fears about publishing enough and in prominent places are increasingly surpassed by the demands placed on us as hunters and gatherers of university overhead. With a growing number of soft-money research positions and tenure decisions decided by the number, and size, of NSF or NIH grants, there’s more pressure than ever to lock yourself in your office.  Read more

Science Communication at a Tipping Point

Science Communication at a Tipping Point

On April 30, COMPASS published a paper at PLOS Biology that shared our experiences in science communication over the past decade. We organized a blog carnival to broaden the conversation about motivations, challenges, and lessons learned. This post is a reflection on public and private responses to the ideas we presented, and an attempt to answer, “Where do we go from here?”  … Read more

What Can Be Done About Glass Ceilings in Science?

What Can Be Done About Glass Ceilings in Science?

Ben Thomas writes articles about a variety of topics for the Riley Guide, an online repository for career and education resources. As a freelancer, Ben also covers scientific research and technological breakthroughs as well as social issues involving the sciences. A regular contributor to several leading science news websites, Ben helps scientists and academics connect with the general public by explaining their latest discoveries and controversies in clear, down-to-earth terms.  Read more

Can we raise woolly mammoths from their Pleistocene graves?

Can we raise woolly mammoths from their Pleistocene graves?

Sharon Levy is a freelance science writer who specializes in making natural resource and conservation issues accessible for a broad audience. She is the author of Once and Future Giants, a book that introduces the idea that Ice Age megafauna extinctions hold important lessons for modern conservation. She lives in Humboldt County, California.  Read more

How multidisciplinary work was made meaningful for me

How multidisciplinary work was made meaningful for me

 Dr Gianni Lo Iacono is a mathematical modeller at the University of Cambridge working with the Dynamic Drivers of Disease in Africa Consortium, an ESPA1- funded research programme designed to deliver much-needed, cutting-edge science on the relationships between ecosystems, zoonoses, health and wellbeing with the objective of moving people out of poverty and promoting social justice.   … Read more

What’s Your Science Maturity Level?

What’s Your Science Maturity Level?

Marc Kuchner is the author of Marketing for Scientists, an astrophysicist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and a country songwriter. He is the co-inventor of the band-limited coronagraph, a tool for finding planets around other stars that will be part of the James Webb Space Telescope. He is also known for his work on planets with exotic chemistries: ocean planets, helium planets, and carbon planets. Kuchner received his bachelor’s degree in physics from Harvard and his Ph.D. in astronomy from Caltech. He was awarded the 2009 SPIE early career achievement award for his work on planet hunting. He has contributed to more than 100 research papers and published articles in journals including the Astrophysical Journal, Nature, and Astrobiology.  Read more