Thank you to Simon Chester for providing us with this president’s article.

With 2014 marking the 20th anniversary of the Australian Science Communicators (ASC), it’s a worthwhile time to talk to some of its past presidents, and find out some of their fondest memories, what drew them to science communication, what the big issues where back when they were steering the ship, and what issues remain now and into the future.

Joan Leach is the current President of ASC, and Convenes the Science Communication Program at the University of Queensland. She is also Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Deputy Head of the School of English, Media Studies, and Art History at UQ.

Joan believes that there are 2 sets of issues for Science Communication as a field of research and professional practice.

“First, there are the communication issues that arise because of the directions that science is taking. So, climate adaptation research, neuroscience, particle physics, and the wide diversity of research challenges science communicators to come up with strategies for dissemination, for engagement.

“But also, there are a range of issues that emerge about science communication itself. Should it be a field of advocacy or/and criticism about the role of science? When is communication most effective? How do we evaluate our effectiveness? To be a successful science communicator, you need to engage both these issues and that’s a big ask—basically, you need to be a reflexive practitioner.

Likewise, the issues facing science communication in the future will also fall into the two camps of research and communication.

“On the issues that research brings to the table, climate adaptation and our post- or trans-human future that I think are the biggies. And, they are related issues. With climate change a reality, alongside the real changes technology can bring to our brains and the rest of our bodies, there are some serious questions about what the future of humanity looks like. This also covers questions of our relation to each other and the planet. Framing these questions is a huge task.  And these ‘big’ questions relate to how we see smaller research results and communicate those. And, if we want to upstream some of these questions and engage larger audiences before crises loom even larger, we have a huge task in front of us.

“On the communication front, I think questions of interdisciplinarity are increasingly important. By that, I mean synthesising insights from across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. A lot of lipservice is given to interdisciplinarity, but to really achieve it is a huge challenge that includes synthesis, but also knowing when approaches from one discipline are compatible (or not) with those from another.”

Joan is optimistic about her time ahead as ASC president.

“I’d love to look back at this time and see the growth of the ASC and an increase in the organisations relevance to the big questions of science in Australia and the region.”

Science communication has always been an interest of Joan’s, and her broad training complements it well.

“I’ve always been drawn to science communication because of the mix of intellectual and practical challenge directed at things that matter. Also, this field means that I don’t have to ‘turn off’ bits of my brain; science communication is creative, critical, analytic, and practically challenging. In my education, I’ve formally studied biology, biophysics, philosophy, rhetoric, classics, and history and philosophy of science. And they all matter to science communication (if you buy me a drink, I can tell you how!).

Thank you to Simon Chester for providing us with this president’s article.

With 2014 marking the 20th anniversary of the Australian Science Communicators (ASC), it’s a worthwhile time to talk to some of its past presidents, and find out some of their fondest memories, what drew them to science communication, what the big issues where back when they were steering the ship, and what issues remain now and into the future.

Dr Jesse Shore is the Principal of Prismatic Sciences, and was ASC president from December 2009 to November 2012. He noted that science was becoming increasingly politicised during his tenure.

“In 2010 the ASC welcomed the increased emphasis by the federal government to engage all Australians with science. In stating their intentions they recognised that effective science communication would play a central role to achieve their goals.

“Science and technology became increasingly politicised as diverse commentators and various experts took opposing sides on issues such as climate change, stem cell research, nanotechnology, medical practices and other usual suspects. Many science communicators found that their usual approach often couldn’t compete with the emotional rhetoric of high profile, but misinformed, voices.

“Other influences during 2010-2012 were the rapidly evolving forms of data visualisation, apps and games and their increasing use as a tool to communicate science. Social media continued to grow in importance, and the NBN offered future hope – but not short term use.

“I’m pleased that [during my time as president] the ASC developed increasingly closer working ties with the Inspiring Australia Strategy of the federal government. The ASC partnered with various groups to carry out projects funded by Inspiring Australia.”

Dr Shore believes that technology will shape science communication in the future.

“Science communication will have to adopt and adapt to new technology such as 3D printing and people’s increasing interconnectedness though mobile media. We’ll need ways to reach audiences who are becoming increasing fragmented into smaller and more diverse niches (many of which overlap in some way).”

Jesse’s interest in Science communication grew out of a practical need early in his life as a scientist.

“I wanted to be a scientist ever since I was 12 years old and I succeeded, becoming a geologist. As a post-grad in California, I enjoyed my research but found that talking about its arcane details caused instant ennui in the listener.

“So, I gradually learned that whenever a pretty gal at a party asked me if I studied earthquakes I would lie and answer ‘yes,’ which would generally develop into an enthusiastic conversation. After many dates I am still improving how to lie about what I do.”

Jesse will be speaking at the BrisScience Storytelling of science event on Sunday 2 February. http://2014conf.asc.asn.au/the-storytelling-of-science/

“I’ll talk about my circuitous path to becoming a science communicator (theatre was involved), my approach to creating a story, and go through one or two science stories from my museum exhibition work. I think a tennis racquet may be involved.”

Thank you to Simon Chester for providing us with this president’s article.

With 2014 marking the 20th anniversary of the Australian Science Communicators (ASC), it’s a worthwhile time to talk to some of its past presidents, and find out some of their fondest memories, what drew them to science communication, what the big issues where back when they were steering the ship, and what issues remain now and into the future.

Alison Leigh, now Editorial Director at the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers, was the third president of ASC. Back during her presidency, the issues plaguing science communication were quite similar as those seen today.

“We worried that science and science journalism were not taken seriously by politicians or by news editors – plus ça change!

“A main focus of our organisation was to encourage high journalistic standards throughout the science communication profession. Scientists were reluctant communicators. We felt our mission was to encourage them to understand the importance of communicating their work, to talk in language that the lay person can understand, and to understand the pressures that journalists are under to meet their deadlines (and this was long before 24/7 news!).

“Science was not “sexy” – the ‘two cultures’ were alive and well. We used to discuss how we might try to deal with the stereotype images of science and scientists.”

Alison believes that many of the issues faced during her presidency will remain over the coming decade, too.

“Climate science is the most obvious example… but it’s not just that science and science journalists (not many left!) are not taken seriously: they are up against dark forces. It does not suit governments of the day – and their corporate supporters who also have controlling shares in what gets printed in the media – to take action on human induced climate change, so they prefer to deliberately obscure or challenge the message. Opinion and commentary passing as journalism also adds to the problem of misinformation.

However, there has been one positive change over the last TIME:

“GEEK IS CHIC! Here at least there is hope – nerdy science has become mainstream in popular culture. Physics professor Brian Cox is a super star in the UK. ‘Science’ finds its way into life style TV shows about the science of the food we eat (Jimmys Food Factory, Food Unwrapped), and the internet is full of all sorts of creative, and often very funny, podcasts about the kind of hard science that mainstream TV shies away from .”

Alison was a successful reporter for the BBC before migrating to Australia and – almost serendipitously – ending up in science communication.

“I emigrated to Sydney from the UK in 1988 – bicentennial year – fully expecting my on-screen career as a BBC TV and radio reporter /presenter to continue to flourish here. Wrong. I was ‘too old’ and ‘too English.’ Yikes! What to do? Try my hand at producing? My current affairs credentials landed me the job of Producer, Media Watch, with the task of getting series one to air.

“Next thing I know, after that baptism of fire, I’m being courted by the Executive Producer of Quantum – to be the Series Producer – i.e. day to day manager of that show. Saying yes to that job changed my life – and my focus.”

At the ASC conference, Alison will be presenting a selection of clips that represent some of the major trends internationally in science programming taken from mainstream, and internet, TV. Plus a look at the new on-line science game from ABC with Bernie Hobbs.

Thank you to Simon Chester for providing us with this president’s article.

With 2014 marking the 20th anniversary of the Australian Science Communicators (ASC), it’s a worthwhile time to talk to some of its past presidents, and find out some of their fondest memories, what drew them to science communication, what the big issues where back when they were steering the ship, and what issues remain now and into the future.

Toss Gascoigne, now a consultant in science communication, has been involved with ASC since its formation.

“I was involved in ASC from the beginning, helping convene the initial planning meeting at the National Press Club in Canberra, and working on the Executive for the first 10 years.

“When ASC started, it unleashed this huge wave of support, because so many people worked in professional isolation, and they wanted colleagues to talk to and share experiences. 375 people signed up as Founder Members, as a sign of support for ASC – and that was even before we wrote the constitution and had the first meeting!

“ASC started just before the first courses in science communication began at Australian universities, so … people came in from backgrounds in journalism or teaching, or science, or editing and writing or PR.

Toss began his science communication journey as a teacher.

“I was a high school teacher in Tasmania, in English and social sciences. Teaching was great (and so is Tasmania) but one can have too much. So I moved back to Canberra and took up an editing position (succeeding Will Stefan) with CSIRO’s Centre for Environmental Mechanics on Black Mountain.

“What I found was I loved working with scientists – their work is so interesting, their logic so compelling, and the problems they approach so relevant.

“I’m interested in how science communication has emerged in Australia (and other countries over the world) over the last 35 years, and what were the steps and what preceded it. So, when were the first university courses in science communication? When did research in these areas start? What is our history of writing papers and organising conferences? What organisations have we formed, and how does Australian experience with the rest of the world.”

Toss will be talking about the history of science communication in Australia and New Zealand at the SCANZ breakfast event (http://2014conf.asc.asn.au/schedule/special-events/scanz-asc-breakfast-event/), and during a panel (http://2014conf.asc.asn.au/schedule/the-emergence-of-modern-science-communication-in-australia-and-new-zealand-toss-gascoigne/) as part of the ASC conference.