About George Aranda

Dr George Aranda is a former psychology researcher who has moved from the world of neuroscience to pursue a career in science education research and science communication. Now researching and teaching at Deakin University, he has broad interests in writing, social networking modes of communication, podcasting, science communication videos and understanding how scientists and their work are perceived in the world.

ASC Victoria: Notice of AGM

The ASC-Vic is announcing their end of year dinner and AGM.
Where: Lincoln Hotel, 91 Cardigan St Carlton
When: November 23rd, 2016 at 6pm for the AGM and 6:30pm for the dinner
What: ASC will buy you a free beer/wine for coming out to the AGM
We have tables reserved for ASC members to dine together and have a good old-fashioned catch up. Please come down, volunteer to join the committee if you want, and be part of our planning for 2017.
RSVP to George Aranda (george.aranda@deakin.edu.au) if you are joining us.
See below for more information about committee membership and proxies:

Victorian Branch AGM – Further Information

Only paid up ASC members can participate in the formal business parts of the evening, including electing Branch Committee. If you can’t make it on the night do send along a proxy so your voice is heard.

Meeting Agenda

  • Confirm minutes from 2015 AGM
  • President’s report (George Aranda)
  • Treasurer’s report (Anneliese Gillard)
  • Nominations for 2016 committee
  • Other business

Branch Committee Positions

  • President
  • Representative on ASC National Executive
  • Secretary
  • Treasurer
  • Ordinary Committee Members

Nominating for committee positions

Nominations for committee positions are open. Self-nominations are acceptable.

The current Committee encourages new applications from ASC members who would like to get involved in shaping and leading activities and events.

Nominations for Branch Committee positions are encouraged in advance of the AGM (please send these to george.aranda@deakin.edu.au). Nominations will also be accepted at the AGM.

Any ASC member based in Victoria can stand for a branch committee position.

Voting by proxy at the AGM

If you cannot attend the AGM you may wish to nominate a proxy, prior to the AGM.

Note proxy nominations cannot be accepted at the AGM. We require them to be emailed to George by 12pm on Wednesday 16th of November 2016.

You can nominate any ASC member based in Victoria as your proxy, but you both need to be financial members of the ASC.

To nominate a proxy all you have to do george.aranda@deakin.edu.au saying who you are, and which member you are giving your vote to, e.g.

Dear George,

I’d like to assign my proxy vote for the ASC Victorian AGM to Joe Bloggs.

Best wishes,

Jane Doe

ASC Reflection: Case Study: Nicholas J Johnson

nicholas-j-johnson

As part of ASC Victoria’s ‘Case Study’ series, we organised a night on October 7th with ASC member Nicholas J Johnson. Nicholas is someone who combines science communication with magic, literally. His show, Deceptology, was part of the Melbourne Magic Festival earlier this year and he uses magic as a way to explore the psychology of magic shows and how magicians often use our underlying biases and limitations to fool ourselves into believing what we see. He gave several demonstrations of the sorts of tricks he uses in his show, how sleight-of-hands can easily be done on stage and what he talks to the public and school students around critical thinking and skepticism. Nicholas was very honest about his craft (although he says magicians always lie) and from a science communicators perspective it was an interesting exploration of how many ideas in scicom can be effectively explored. It also offered a fascinating dip into the wider world of the magician and how tricks both old and new are put into modern magic shows.

Oh, he also pushed a nail into his head.

Make sure you check out his website: http://www.conman.com.au

ASC Reflection – SCINEMA 2016

Julia Cleghorn, ASC Victoria committee member and movie lover reflected on attending SCINEMA this year:

On a chilly Saturday afternoon in Melbourne, ASC-Vic members joined a relaxed bunch of science-movie buffs at the RMIT Cinema for the premier of the 2016 SCINEMA International Science Film Festival.

It was a long-ish event – over three hours in total, but the selection of home grown and imported films did not disappoint. Act 1 saw a wide variety of shorter-style productions, including the stop motion ‘The Amazing Life Cycle of the European Eel’ by researchers from the UK, the interpretive dance style ‘Metamorphosis of Plants’ made in Poland, and charmingly hilarious ’Parasitism’ staring ASC-Vic’s own Claire Farrugia as a chatty emerald wasp trying to innocently find the right guy (cockroach) to start a family.

After filling up on some hearty intermission food, the group settled in for the Act 2 Double Bill of Best Film – Maratus, about the accidental discovery of a new species of spider, and Best Documentary – Hilleman: A Perilous Quest to Save the World’s Children. Both completely deserving of their titles.

As the lights came up at the end the event, many in the audience felt overwhelmed with the quality of the films, and compelled to talk through each one and tease out the most important and insightful points. As such, the crowd stayed outside the venue long after it finished, and eventually meandered over the road to continue discussions over a few drinks.

By far the most talked about film was the heart-warming and brilliantly told story of Maratus, not just about a new species of spider, but also the human story of it’s unlikely discovers, and the humble journey of scientific discovery.

Science Book a Day Celebrates 1000 Books

SBAD-1000 books

On the 26th of February, my blog, Science Book a Day (http://sciencebookaday.com) celebrated featuring 1000 books since it started on June 1, 2013. SBAD was a project I started with the objective of engaging more people in popular science books. I thought that I would feature a book each day, linking to reviews, videos and the author/illustrator/editor of the book.

On the 11th of March, I celebrated this achievement with an ASC Victoria event at Embiggen Books in Melbourne’s CBD. A small group turned up and we feasted on sushi and champagne and I got the opportunity to share some of the adventures I’ve been on with my little blog and the realities of attracting attention to a science blog and maintaining an audience.

Moments:

  • Getting re-tweeted by Oliver Sacks
  • Interviewing Neil DeGrasse Tyson and Carl Zimmer
  • Doing interviews and media, and writing about my little blog
  • Getting sponsored by Bloomsbury Sigma (who provide free science books for our monthly giveaways)
  • Featuring a review by science writer, Dorion Sagan (Carl Sagan’s son)

SBAD-1000 books-2

Vic Event – Sublime – Songs of Science, Metaphysics and Ecology

Charlie Marshall and Victorian ASC Member is having a great music/science event in June.

He has kindly offered 4 FREE TICKETS to ASC Members. Please email Vic President at vic_president[at]asc.asn.au. First 4 members in get the tickets!!

Saturday 6th June
The Spotted Mallard
314 Sydney Road, Brunswick Dinner/Doors 6pm
Presale tickets $15 + bf at http://www.spottedmallard.com/events

For more information go to : http://www.charliemarshall.com.au/ http://www.facebook.com/charliemarshallmusic

Melbourne singer, songwriter, science teacher and enthusiast Charlie Marshall presents a unique personal vision, ‘Sublime – Songs of Science, Metaphysics and Ecology’ on Saturday 6th June at The Spotted Mallard.

A musical, visual and spoken word exploration of the extraordinary world of Science and The Sublime. From the breadth of the universe and the eternity of deep time to the infinitesimal world of the atom. From the superorganism of the Gaia Hypothesis to the symbiosis within our cells. From Chaos theory to the challenge of climate change and a new understanding of science and society.

Charlie has always been one of Australia’s most inventive songwriters – first with much loved cult band Harem Scarem alongside brother Chris, Melbourne musical god Chris Wilson and Barry Palmer (Hunters and Collectors), followed by Charlie Marshall & The Body Electric which featured members of such legendary outfits as The Dirty Three, Beasts Of Bourbon and The Avalanches.

Now with his new works which integrate science, philosophy and politics he may have created a new musical genre – poetic, scientific, political rock. For this special event Charlie takes on the role of science communicator in the tradition of his heroes Brian Cox, Carl Sagan and David Attenborough. As well as performing songs with his band The Curious Minds (Clare Moore – Drums, Bryan Colechin – Bass, Tim Deane – Keyboards and Troy Rogan – Cello) he will elucidate the concepts behind the songs and inspire the audience with his passion for science.

Digital artists Thomas Ingram and Maize Wallin will connect the live performance to interactive music visualisers to produce graphics based on the themes of the songs. Each instrument, playing a larger part in the organic machine that is science will control parts of iconic scientific concepts. The guitarist creates rain in a biome, while the bass player carves mountains. Particles are thrown into the Hadron Collider at each drum beat. The band as a whole will bestow life and movement to the programmed visuals.

Accompanying Charlie and crew on this sublime journey will be acclaimed Melbourne poet Sean M. Whelan reading some of his mesmerising, science themed pieces, physicist and 3CR science presenter Chris Lassig providing expert input and physical demonstrations and a special guest appearance by brother Chris Mar- shall. A full colour 20 page Progam booklet with song lyrics, poetic science concepts and images will be on sale on the night. Entry includes a free download of the new single ‘Curious Minds’

Be sure to catch Charlie Marshall as he performs this very rare and intimate performance of ‘Sublime – songs of Science, Metaphysics and Ecology’ on Saturday 6th June at The Spotted Mallard.

Event Review: Vic Event: Movie Night – The Theory of Everything

The first event the Victorian branch has put on this year, was a delightful screening of the Theory of Everything. While there have been a number of great science movies out over summer, the story of Stephen Hawking’s life, his relationships with his wife and his love of physics was the clear frontrunner. Eddie Redmayne is certainly deserving of his Oscar.

As this event was more social than career-oriented, it was a nice entre into the world of science communicators. As a newbie to ASC, I was encouraged by how welcoming everyone was. Who knew you were all such an open and enchanting bunch?

No ASC event is complete without a little scientific learning, so Chris Lassig was on hand to deliver a rundown about the significance of Hawking’s discoveries – both in his earlier years at Cambridge, and those outlined in  Brief History of Time]. Theoretical physics is not something I’m well-versed in, so this came in handy to untangle the theories Hawking was talking about later in the movie. Chris did an excellent job, and if that wasn’t enough, he made ice cream to share as well!chris-lassig-400

The film surpassed my expectations. I’m not one who usually gets emotional about movies, but I was not alone in feeling a little fragile when we finally emerged from the theatre. After the movie, several of us discussed the intense, heartbreaking saga over pizza.

What I liked most about the movie, was the way that science pervaded Hawking’s entire life. Not only are Hawking’s phenomenal theories at the forefront, but so are the medical and technological feats which have made Hawking’s life so long and so manageable. Watching Stephen get the opportunity to ‘speak’ again and understanding the research and medical leaps that this must have taken, is as awe-inspiring as his theories. Along with his doting wife Jane, these technological leaps have allowed Hawking to be the voice of physics he is today.

I hope you’ll join us for our next event on Tuesday the 31st of March. Our very own Tom Lang is performing scientific comedy as part of the Melbourne International Comedy festival. ASC members and friends receive a discounted price but seats are limited.

http://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2015/season/shows/meatbags-dr-pam-rana-tom-lang

Tessa Evans – ASC Vic branch committee member

Event: ASC Victoria end of year party and AGM

Show off your science at the ASC Victoria end of year party and AGM. Put the party appropriate night of Monday 24 November in your calendars for an evening of networking, pizza eating, drinking and general celebrations!

‘Science Show-off’ is your chance to show the Victorian science communication community something, weird, funny, quirky, musical or cunning… show us your own science, or your skills at communicating the science of others.

The theme for the show-off will be ‘The Science of 2014’ and your show-off must be less than 5min. Numbers are limited so send your ideas through to sallylowenstein@gmail.com to ensure a place in the line-up.

And if you’d like to contribute to our local science communication community in a less frivolous way… we’ll also be holding our AGM during the night.

Please arrive by 6:30pm to have your say on our activities and direction over the next year, and consider nominating for one of the committee positions (more below).

If you can’t make it on the night do send along a proxy so your voice is heard.

Your ASC committee will provide delicious food platters and you can purchase drinks at the bar.

The event is FREE for ASC Members ($10 for others) but we can help you sign-up on the night.

Event details
Date: Monday 24 November
Time: 6.30-9.30pm
Place: Loop Bar 23 Meyers Pl, Melbourne (between Bourke and Little Collins)

Victorian Branch AGM – Further Information

Only paid up ASC members can participate in the formal business parts of the evening, including electing Branch Committee.

Meeting Agenda
– Confirm minutes from 2013 AGM
– President’s report (George Aranda)
– Treasurer’s report (Toni Stevens on behalf of  Linden Ashcroft)
– Nominations for 2015 committee
– Other business

Branch Committee Positions
– President
– Representative on ASC National Executive
– Secretary
– Treasurer
– Ordinary Committee Members

Nominating for committee positions
– Nominations for committee positions are open. Self-nominations are acceptable.
– The current Committee encourages new applications from ASC members who would like to get involved in shaping and leading activities and events.
– Nominations for Branch Committee positions are encouraged in advance of the AGM (please send these to george.aranda@deakin.edu.au). Nominations will also be accepted at the AGM.
– Any ASC member based in Victoria can stand for a branch committee position.

Voting by proxy at the AGM
– If you cannot attend the AGM you may wish to nominate a proxy, prior to the AGM.
– In advance of the AGM, you should email the current Branch President (george.aranda@deakin.edu.au) with details of your nominated proxy.
– You can nominate any ASC member based in Victoria as your proxy.
– Note proxy nominations cannot be accepted at the AGM.

Vic Event: Workshop: Crowdsourcing information for humanitarian disaster responses

ASC Victoria are pleased to present a FREE workshop on Crowdsourcing information for humanitarian disaster responses. The workshop will be run by Cobi Smith who has been intimately involved with the project.

When: Monday, October 6, 6pm, for a 6:15 start – 7:30pm
Where: The Meeting Room at the East Melbourne Library and Community Centre | 122 George Street East Melbourne 3002
NOTE: You will need to bring your own laptop/tablet device for the workshop. The library has wifi available.
Afterwards: Coffee and chatting can continue at Hilton on the Park, a short walk from the library.

Register at Eventbrite:  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/crowdsourcing-information-for-humanitarian-disaster-responses-tickets-13275384031

What is it all about?
During disasters this century, people share photos and experiences on social media, sometimes before emergency services are involved. The GeoTag-X pilot project is a collaborative open-source experiment to integrate information from social media into official humanitarian disaster response efforts.

The project is led by the United Nations Institute for Training and Research’s Operational Satellite Applications Programme (UNITAR/UNOSAT). It is part of Citizen Cyberlab, a broader European collaboration for citizen science projects – which also happens to involve some Australians.

We’re looking for volunteers to help test our beta version and share your experience. For this workshop you will need to bring your own laptop with which to experiment. We will be using GitHub to share bugs and feedback, so preferably you will have a GitHub username already, or you can learn to use GitHub Issues during the workshop.

What will we cover?
This workshop will share an overview of why this project is possible, from the perspective of humanitarian organisations like the United Nations as well as from an open-source technology perspective. Then we will have half an hour in which participants can explore the technology on their laptops, then we will have a half-hour discussion sharing feedback about the project. We will wrap up by discussing how people can get more involved if they’re interested.

Who will be teaching it?
Cobi Smith is presenting this workshop on behalf of the Australian Science Communicators. She is a human rights advocate, open activist, sometimes comedian and former ABC journalist. Her PhD research at the Australian National University’s Centre for the Public Awareness of Science is about participatory governance of science and technology. Cobi keeps taking leave from her PhD to work on cool projects like GeoTag-X.

Vic Event: Pre National Science Week Mixer: Open Mic Night

24 July 2014
6:30 pmto9:30 pm

National Science Week (http://www.scienceweek.net.au) will be here soon (August 16-24) and we’d like to celebrate it with an Open Mic Night. Come on down to our Pre National Science Week Mixer and mingle with people who have events as part of National Science Week.

When: Thursday 14th August, 2014, 6:30-9:30pm
Where: Markov, Carlton (350-352 Drummond Street, Carlton, http://www.markov.com.au)
$$: This event is FREE.
Who: Come on down and please bring any interested people you know

We will be inviting science-minded people from all over Victoria, including Melbourne Skeptics, Inspiring Australia, Young Scientists of Australia, National Science Writers, the Royal Society of Victoria, Nerd Nite Melbourne, Laborastory Melbourne, University Science Societies and more.

Event-holders will be given the opportunity to briefly talk about their shows and we will be giving away door prizes (including free tickets to The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared, out on 21 August) and National Science Week ‘goodie-bags’ to create a fun networking experience.

Please RSVP via Eventbrite

Vic Event: The Art of communicating science: from cartoons to photography

15 July 2014
6:00 pmto8:30 pm

Communicating science relies on the effective communication of scientific information and its relevance. The art of communicating through the visual medium cannot be underestimated in its ability to cut through nuances of language and get to the heart of the ideas being conveyed. Photography, animation, illustration, art, video and film can allow us to  – see things that can only be imagined; to combine ideas that are at face value, unrelated; strip back the irrelevant to expose the heart of the issue; communicate what might normally take pages in a single image or via seconds of footage.

This event will consist of two parts.

1) At Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI) (5:45-7:30pm), this part will consist of a series of presentations by each of our panelists, James Hutson, Phred Peterson, Alicia Sometimes and Maja Divjak, followed by a panel discussion and a Q&A with the audience. Short pre-recorded interviews with Linnea Rundgren and Tony De Saulles will also be played. This is a public event, so please invite people you think might be interested, but seats ARE LIMITED.

2) For ASC members, dinner with the panelists will follow part 1, at Naughton’s Parkville Hotel (http://www.parkvillehotel.com.au), a short walk from WEHI. Your first drink is FREE.

Please see our Eventbrite event for more information and to register.