Yearly Archives: 2011

SCREN: Science Communication Research and Education Network

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Special thanks to Sean Perera from ANU for this contribution.

SCREN is a network of science communication researchers and educators in Australia, and aims to enable members to take part in collaborative science communication research and share best practices in science communication training at tertiary institutions.

Inaugurated in June 2007 under the auspices of the Director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at The Australian National University in Canberra, SCREN’s current membership includes academics from thirteen Australian universities. The Network has been successful in attracting participation from The University of Auckland and the University of Otago in New Zealand.

In April 2011, a collective body of members met over two days at the SCREN Symposium in Canberra to deliberate future directions for science communication research and tertiary training, further to outcomes of the Inspiring Australia Conference (more about that later).

If you would like participate in SCREN or have any question please e-mail here.

Dr Sean Perera

Associate Researcher
Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science
The Australian National University

ASC WA Event – Behind the Scenes at WA Museum

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25 October 2011
4:30 pmto5:45 pm

Apologies for the short notice. Please register your attendance at http://ascwamuseum.eventbrite.com/

The Australian Science Communicators WA Branch and the Western Australian Museum would like to invite you to a tour of WA Museum Collection and Resource Centre at Welshpool.

When: Tuesday 25 October
Time: 4.30pm – 5.45pm
Where: WA Museum, Kew Street, Welshpool (corner of Orrong Road and Leach Hwy)

The event will include an overview of the WA Museum and its science program by Di Jones, Executive Director, Collections and Research.

Participants will then go on a tour of the Collection and Resource Centre (CRC) with Mark Harvey (Head of Terrestrial Zoology), Alex Bevan (Head of Earth & Planetary Sciences) and Jane Fromont (Head of Aquatic Zoology).

This will be followed by refreshments and networking.

Register by Friday 21 October. Please email asc.events.wa@gmail.com with any event enquiries.

Cost: Free for ASC members, $10 for non-members

The ASC 2012 Conference website is live!

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Australian Science Communicators National Conference
http://2012conf.asc.asn.au/
Getting Science Where It’s Needed
February 27 to 29, 2012
Sydney Masonic Centre, Sydney

RESEARCH PAPERS

If you would like to tell us about your sci-comm research, please submit an abstract BY FRIDAY 2 DECEMBER 2011 (EXTENDED!!!). If you wish to submit an abstract for review by the research committee, you must also intend to register for the Congress. On-line submission is the only method of receipt of abstracts.

Please visit the Conference website to submit your abstracts or click here to take you to the online abstract submission form directly. Note: First timers will have to create a new account and will be sent an email with their password for subsequent visits.

SESSION PRODUCERS

Interested in organising a session at the conference? Please go the Conference website for the details and send a single page (bullet points good) to ASC2012@wsm.com.au for review by the program committee.

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION COMING SOON!!!

Please visit the Conference website for further information and regular updates; www.2012conf.asc.asn.au

Should you have any further queries, please contact the Conference Secretariat;

ASC 2012 Conference Secretariat:
WALDRONSMITH Management
Suite 49, Level 3
89 – 97 Jones Street
Ultimo NSW 2007 Australia
T + 61 2 9518 7722
F  +61 2 9518 7222
Email: ASC2012@wsm.com.au
Website: www.2012conf.asc.asn.au

Australian astronomer shares in 2011 Nobel Prize for Physics

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I’m pleased to add science communication plaudits to Australia’s latest Nobel Prize winner.

Dr Brian Schmidt, Laureate Fellow in the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics of the Australian National University, shares in this year’s Nobel Prize for Physics. He is being recognised along with US scientists, Saul Perlmutter and Adam G. Riess, by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences “for the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae.”

I have listened to one of Brian’s public lectures and I can say that as well as being a superb scientist, he is a wonderful science communicator. He presents with clarity and energy, bringing light to dark matter and dark energy.

Brian was born in the USA and has been in Australia since 1995, starting work at Mount Stromlo and Siding Spring Observatories (MSSSO) and appointed 1999 as a fellow at the ANU. I suspect the two counties will be quick to count Brian among their list of Nobel winners.

The press release of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences is at http://www.kva.se/en/pressroom/Press-releases-2011/The-Nobel-Prize-in-Physics-2011/.

Jesse Shore
National President

Update: ASC conference 2012, 27-29 February, Sydney Masonic Centre

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There has been a lot of behind the scenes development work on the upcoming ASC conference. The call for session producers has just been issued and I’ve previously announced that Professor Ian Chubb, Australia’s Chief Scientist, has agreed to open the conference and be our keynote speaker.

We have received acceptances from several state Chief Scientists to join Professor Chubb in a plenary panel discussion about their takes on science communication and related matters. I anticipate the Chief Scientists will also be available to present separate discussion presentations with others from their state in parallel sessions.

Each day of the conference will have a different feel. The second day will likely feature a plenary with executives from major scientific research and funding agencies. They will be able to discuss how they adjust to changing science policies along with other matters that the session producer and program committee throw at them.

The conference team is thinking the third day will focus on edgier topics such as the rapidly changing world of communication media. It might cover the spread of computer gaming as a learning and communications media, and wherever and whatever the many threads of social media are at present.

The conference team is planning for an active exhibition area as a complement and contrast to the presentation sessions. They are aiming for a strong art-science presence and displays from the science communication industry.

The web site will go live very soon as we complete final details and testing. It will be easy to navigate and will continue to be improved as program updates and other information gets added.

The conference team is ably led by Rod Lamberts, as conference convenor, and Kali Madden, as conference director, with much involvement from several ASC members.

Being fun people the team is planning a busy social program to balance the other conference activities. So mark your diaries for the 27-29 February and keep the night before open too as the pre-opening evening should be thought provoking as well as entertaining.

Jesse Shore
National president

Visit to Adelaide for National Science Week 2011

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The ASC South Australia branch, had a busy National Science Week. I missed their contribution to the launch event, but arrived in Adelaide in time to see Science Alive, the huge local Science Week event. I met a number of ASC members who were involved in exhibit stands and talks at this enormous undertaking, which filled a large pavilion at the Adelaide showgrounds. The event attracted around 24,000 people over 3 days. I’ve heard Science Alive will be offered even more space for next year.

The day after Science Alive closed, ASC SA hosted the book launch of Dinosaurs in Australia, a CSIRO publication, and attracted a full house of 120 people to this fun evening.

They held this event in association with RiAus. I look forward to a continued close relationship between the branch and RiAus which is now being led by its new director, Paul Willis.

Jesse Shore

National President

Member Profile: Dr Maia Sauren

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Dr Maia Sauren

Victorian National Representative

As a stubborn six-year-old, Maia Sauren heard about the scariness of bees (‘your whole hand gets huge! and then they DIE!’), so she decided to find out for herself. She resolutely stalked a poor, helpless creature and poked it until it duly gave its life for science. As an adult, Maia is a little more gentle with her experimental subjects.

A few years ago, Maia heard about this amazing job description called ‘know cool things about science and find ways to tell people how incredible they are’, so she joined the ASC list and is the current Victorian National Representative.

Just last week, Maia became the rather awesome-sounding Dr. Sauren, Electrical Engineer. She’s not quite sure what to do with all her freedom now the Ph.D. is behind her, but she’s considering reverting to using the first person when referring to herself. Her thesis was on the radiation safety of mobile phones, and she thinks they’re quite safe to use now!

International Conference Energy & Meteorology (ICEM) 2011

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Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to send you an update on the provisional programme for the International Conference Energy & Meteorology (ICEM) http://www.icem2011.org) 2011. The programme can be downloaded at: http://www.icem2011.org/ICEM2011_Programme_latest.pdf

ICEM 2011 will be held from 8 – 11 November 2011 at the Surfers Paradise Marriott Resort & Spa, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia (Pre-Conference Seminar Energy & Meteorology: Fundamentals and Challenges on 7 November 2011).

New keynote speakers have been confirmed:

  • Prof. Roberto Schaeffer, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • Mr Peter Cowling, GE Ecoimagination, Australia
  • Dr Giovanni Pirovano, Ricerca sul Sistema Energetico, Italy

The updated programme also includes details of accepted abstracts for oral presentation. There will be 4/5 parallel sessions for 90 minutes each day, many interesting topics will be covered and a wide variety of exciting presentations to listen to.

In addition, ICEM 2011 will provide a premium forum to discuss key issues such as:

  • An international framework for the exchange of information between the weather & climate community and the energy industry
  • Training the next generation of experts: Plans for an Energy & Meteorology Degree

Networking is also an important part of this busy week, with social events including the Welcome Reception, Happy Hour and Conference Dinner, in addition to an exhibition.

For more details about the provisional programme, keynote speakers’ bios, social events and/or to register, please visit http://www.icem2011.org, where you can also register online (credit card payment required).

We look forward to welcoming you to ICEM 2011 in November.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the event manager:

Aurélie Favennec
ICEM 2011 Manager
Tel: +61 2 9431 8632
Email: info@icem2011.org

Best regards
Alberto Troccoli (ICEM 2011 Convenor)

——
Dr Alberto Troccoli
Ph:   +61 (0)2 6246 5759
Email: alberto.troccoli@csiro.au

Grants to realise big ideas from young rural innovators

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Information provided by Lara Cole, Events Coordinator ABARES
(Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences)

Grant applications are now open for the 2012 Science and Innovation Awards for Young People in Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. If you’re 18-35, this is your chance to apply for up to $22,000 to fund your project on an innovative or emerging scientific issue to benefit Australia’s primary industries.

The Awards aim to encourage science, innovation and technology in rural industries and help to advance the careers of young scientists through national recognition of their research ideas. Project recipients can undertake groundbreaking research and innovation with the objective of keeping Australia’s rural industries sustainable and profitable. The Awards have already helped more than 150 young Australians make their ideas a reality and showcase their talent to the world.

Visit the website for information on applying for the Awards, tips and advice from Award partners, the application form and details on the successful 2011 recipients and their projects. Applications close 5pm AEDT Friday 18 November 2011.

Social Media’s growing interest in Science: Aust. science followers top half a million

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We all know how important social media is for any communications today. But what about science communications? It seems that social media interest in science is an exciting and growing area which all science communicators can tap into.

Also don’t forget to follow ASC (@auscicomm) on TWITTER!

[Press Release from Science Alert]:

Aust. science followers top half a million

Science from Australia and New Zealand has attracted half a million followers on the global internet phenomenon Facebook.

Australasian science news reported on www.ScienceAlert.com.au this month topped 500,000 Facebook fans worldwide for the first time.

“We’re finding there is a wonderful appetite among young people worldwide to learn more about Australian and NZ science via Facebook,” says ScienceAlert managing director Chris Cassella. “From a short item on Facebook, they can click right through to the full story on ScienceAlert, or to the university or science institution where it originated.

“Science Minister Kim Carr has encouraged us all to ‘inspire Australia’. Well, thanks to Facebook we’re inspiring the world, as well Australia, with what our science is achieving, and with the science courses and jobs it offers.”

Mr Cassella said that Facebook itself now had 800 million users – and is growing rapidly worldwide, especially in Asia, Africa and Latin America. “It’s clearly the coming thing in communication, replacing traditional media and even websites as the place where people get their information and share new ideas.

“For half of the 18-34 year old users, Facebook is the first thing they check when they wake up in the morning. Half of them do it on their smartphones, before even getting out of bed.”

In another milestone, ScienceAlert’s following has overtaken the Australian Open Tennis Tournament in popularity among Australian Facebook sites. “That was pretty remarkable, considering the huge boost which Australian tennis gained from Sam Stosur’s win at the US Open,” Mr Cassella says.

“On Facebook at least, Australasian science now ranks ahead of the tennis, rugby league, Cricket Australia, our World Cup soccer bid and popular rock ‘n roll station Triple J.

“You can see the rankings on http://www.famecount.com/facebook/sciencealert”

“In our view, this underlines the remarkable power of social media to increase awareness of Australasian science and technology – and to expand the global reach of our university courses and research positions.”

He added “In another remarkable development Sciencealert is presently ranked 14th in the world among news sites, in terms of its Facebook following.

“This means Australasian science has more followers on Facebook than news icons like The Wall St Journal, TIME magazine, The UK Financial Times, The Washington Post, and the popular online newspaper the Huffington Post.” www.famecount.com/facebook-rank/Worldwide/News

“It’s not just about how many fans you have, though. Each of these fans has hundreds of friends, who in turn have hundreds of friends, and information disseminates exponentially among them. This is what makes social media different from all other kinds – the information tree keeps growing more branches and twigs.”

ScienceAlert founder Julian Cribb said it was very pleasing to find such a large and enthusiastic audience for Australian and NZ science via Facebook. “When I started ScienceAlert, the aim was to share the good news about our research achievements freely with a wider audience. That was achieved through the website, but social media have added an entirely new dimension.

“The fact that Australasian science now attracts a larger audience among this segment of young people internationally than any other science publication in the world holds considerable promise for the future, if we can keep it up. The next generation will grow up with a keener awareness of Australasian science and what it has to offer the world.”

More information:

Chris Cassella, Managing Director, ScienceAlert, 02 6100 4307
chris.cassella@sciencealert.com.au
Julian Cribb, founder, ScienceAlert, 0418 639 254.
Web: www.sciencealert.com.au
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/sciencealert

News and opinions: editor@sciencealert.com.au
Advertising inquiries: adsales@sciencealert.com.au