Is this SciComm? A book review about a non-science book

Posted on by CommNatural

I’ve been mulling over the boundaries of #SciComm, in the wake of a book review I published this week on The Volta Blog.

The book I reviewed, Spring Ulmer’s The Age of Virtual Reproduction (Essay Press 2009), is a riveting eloquent set of “meditations on torture, slaughter, and the severity of so many human relationships.”* It is also a book fixated on relentless technological development and scientific discovery (e.g. photography, nuclear weapons).

But, there isn’t any explicit science in the book.

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Continue reading Is this SciComm? A book review about a non-science book

What do science writing and sketching have to do with each other? Wyoming EPSCoR asked me…

Posted on by CommNatural

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I was recently interviewed for the Wyoming EPSCoR program’s blog.

In addition to a number of questions specific to the nature of sketching workshops I teach, Jess White from EPSCoR asked a thought-provoking question about how drawing contributes to my writing. It was a question I’d never consciously considered before, and I was delighted to be compelled to do so.

Little of that aspect of the interview made it into the final article, which is how interviews often go – there’s only room for so much, and no matter how interesting a tangent may be, it may not sync well with the dominant theme of the article.

So, here’s the “how sketching influences my writing” out-take.

Continue reading What do science writing and sketching have to do with each other? Wyoming EPSCoR asked me…

MT Outdoors published 2 of my water monitoring photographs!

Posted on by CommNatural

The photos Montana Outdoors published in their July-August issue are some of my favorites.

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My photographs are of children collecting water samples on the Rocky Mountain Front.

In fact, I sent (and reminded) the arts editor of the set of photographs which include these two…several times over the past year or so. Click here to view the photographs and read the article. Continue reading MT Outdoors published 2 of my water monitoring photographs!

An op-ed: Why scientists (even non-artists) should draw

Posted on by CommNatural

Lots of data indicate drawing skills are: a) good for scientists, b) good for science, and c) something anyone can learn.

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A few months ago, I discovered www.crastina.se, which describes itself as “A networking platform for the exchange of knowledge, skills, experience and opinion regarding both scientific peer-to-peer communication and science dissemination.”

I learned about Crastina when its founder Olle Bergman invited me to write an op-ed. He asked me to write about my deep conviction that drawing skills should be part of the modern scientist’s toolkit, not just a bygone ability for which we are faintly nostalgic. Continue reading An op-ed: Why scientists (even non-artists) should draw