Yearly Archives: 2012

Time to hand over the ASC Presidential reins

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I am coming to the end of my third one-year term as President. It has been a busy three years and I feel the time is right for someone else to take on the leadership position of the ASC.

The ASC is now busier than ever and the commitments on the President’s time have grown apace as tasks have become more varied and complex. The Executive has recognised this and is seeking to appoint a part-time General Manager to take on many time consuming aspects of the association. This will enable the President to focus on developing policy and to maintain an overview of operations.

I will be stepping into Tim Thwaites shoes as I take over the Past-president’s role. This position was created a few years ago to ensure the continuity of corporate knowledge in the national committees. In this role Tim has contributed, like Jenni Metcalfe before him, to strategic decision making and to helping guide the development of our national conference.

It has been my privilege to serve the ASC for three years as President. I look forward to continued involvement with the ASC in my new role and to helping the new President settle into his/her busy position.

Jesse Shore
ASC President

Lots happening at the ASC 2012 AGM – 27 November in Brisbane

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There will be plenty to discuss and decide at the upcoming AGM:

  • I’m stepping down after three busy one-year terms as president so we have to elect a new national president.
  • We will announce the winner of the Unsung Hero of Australian Science Communication for 2012
  • Corporate membership is proposed to be tweaked. There is a motion for a constitutional amendment to enable a single Corporate membership to cover more than 10 representatives at a proportionally higher rate. This won’t affect the one vote per Corporate membership. The motion will be issued for discussion very soon.

This year’s AGM will be hosted by ASC’s SE-Queensland branch. The AGM will be at the Ship Inn from 6.00-7.15pm. The Ship Inn is at the corner of Stanley & Sidon Streets, Southbank Parklands, Brisbane.

After the business is over David Ellyard will present his highly entertaining and always fiercely competitive science trivia quiz. There will be prizes.

The AGM is for financial members only and the quiz will be open to all.

We will be circulating the AGM minutes and other papers imminently.

Jesse Shore
ASC President

President’s busperson’s holiday in London, Oxford and Paris

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During a holiday to the UK and Paris, I couldn’t resist including some science communication experiences among the many leisure activities.

I visited Phil Dooley, former president of the ASC NSW branch and Executive member at his workplace near Oxford. Phil is the News and Education Officer at JET (Joint European Torus), which is the shared fusion experiment run by the European Fusion Development Agreement. Phil is part of the team which communicates to various audiences the research involved in creating fusion events in a plasma.

Among his many duties Phil selects the picture and story of the week for the EFDA website. Phil showed me through the facility and we were able to walk around the world’s largest tokamak as it was shut down for maintenance. My accompanying photo shows Phil dwarfed by the power array which heats the plasma. I contributed to the day by giving a talk to staff about two exhibitions I developed about nuclear science. This provoked a discussion about how to communicate this complex subject to a general public and the relative value of interactive displays.
In London I talked with the Roland Jackson, CEO of the British Science Association, about the science communication initiatives of the BSA. We spent much of our time talking about Sciencewise, the UK’s national centre for public dialogue in policy making involving science and technology issues.

I also had a general chat with Karen Bultitude, an Australian who is lecturer in Science Communication and Director of Research in the Department of Science and Technology Studies at the University College London. Karen is a mine of information about the active UK science communication area.

A couple of museum visits were noteworthy. The Wellcome Collection in Euston Road, London, stages artful and intriguing displays and is well worth a visit. Across the Channel in Paris, the Musee des Arts et Metiers features a great collection but displayed with a lack of context and engagement. The main exception is the automatons’ theatre. The charm of these venerable mechanised robotic objects transcends the simplicity of the interpretation. I didn’t stay for the demonstration but I’d expect it would be worth watching even though it’s only in French.

Jesse Shore
ASC President

National Science Week 2013 grant round open

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Please spread the news that the National Science Week 2013 grant round has just opened.

Inspiring Australia says that grants are available for between $2000 and $25 000. The round is for $500 000, though $50 000 of that has already been decided (because of the two three-year long grants awarded in 2012).

The  grant round will be open until 16:00 AEDT on Monday 26 November.

Find out more at
http://www.innovation.gov.au/Science/InspiringAustralia/NationalScienceWeekGrants/Pages/default.aspx

Jesse Shore
ASC president

AGM 2012 – Official Notification and Papers

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This is the official notice of the Australian Science Communicators’ Annual General Meeting, to be held in Brisbane, Queensland, on 27 November 2012.

The AGM is being hosted by the ASC Queensland Branch. The AGM will be followed by a Science Trivia Night,  hosted by compere extraordinaire and science all-rounder David Ellyard.

What: Science Trivia Night and National AGM

When: Tuesday 27 November, AGM will run from 6-7pm. Trivia will kick off at 7.30pm

Where: Ship Inn, Southbank

Bookings:  Please book your tickets at http://brisciquiz2012.eventbrite.com.au

 

ASC members: free (Only currently financial ASC members are eligible to attend the AGM)

Non-members: $10 (Quiz Night only)

Non-member students: $5 (Quiz Night only)

Registration: http://brisciquiz2012.eventbrite.com.au

The ASC AGM will run from 6.00-7:15pm and is open to ASC voting members only. The quiz night for all registered participants will begin at 7:30pm sharp in the upstairs function room. Seats are limited so registration is essential.

The seating is 8 people per table. To confirm the members of your table, please email seqasc@gmail.com.

The AGM is an opportunity for members to hear about the year’s events at the national level, and also to have their say about what should happen in the year to come. It also includes reports from the President and Treasurer.

Members also have the chance to elect a new National President. Proposed agenda items, notices of motion and presidential nominations must be received by Tuesday 20 November 2012 and can be sent to Sarah Lau, National Secretary (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au).

Note that notices of motion require a proposer and a seconder, and nominations for President need to be agreed by the nominee.

Members unable to attend the AGM in person are able to give proxies to other members attending the meeting, or alternatively, send them to Sarah Lau, National Secretary (slau@chemcentre.wa.gov.au) before 5.00pm AEDST on Tuesday 27 November 2012. Please indicate in your email any voting instructions you wish to convey.

Proxies must be:

  • Given in writing (email is sufficient),
  • Notified to the Secretary (even if the proxy is given to someone else), and
  • Given with the agreement of the proxy holder.

 The following items are current as of 5 November 2012:

2012 AGM agenda, 6-11-12

2012 Prime Minister’s Science prizes

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The stars are out and shining tonight

Professor and Astronomer Ken Freeman will be dusting off the old suit for a meeting with Government officials, including the PM, in the Great Hall of Parliament House tonight when he receives a token appreciation for his work in the field of planets and stars and the discovery of dark matter.

Ken Freeman Professor and Astronomer

Professor Freeman is one of the winners of the 2012 Prime Minister’s Science prizes being announced at an award ceremony in Canberra tonight.

“Well deserved,” says Kate Brooks, President, Astronomical Society of Australia.

“……Head and shoulders above others in his discipline.”  says Professor Warwick Couch, Distinguished Professor and Centre Director, Centre for Astrophysics and Computing, Swinburne University.

“He deserved to win because [he’s built upon]…..a series of ground-breaking scientific achievements and discoveries made over the last 40 years.”

Dr Marc Duldig, President, Australian Institute of Physics commented about Eric May from the University of Western Australia who will receive the $50,000 Malcolm McIntosh Prize for Physical Scientist of the Year.

Eric May

“Australia’s minerals and energy sectors are transforming our economy. We often forget that they don’t just ‘dig it up’ and ship it”, says Dr Duldig.

“….I’m delighted to hear that a physicist has received one of the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science for his work in improving the efficiency and sustainability of liquid natural gas.”

Mark Shackleton from Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre will receive the $50,000 Science Minister’s Prize for Life Scientist of the Year. Mark’s work on breast cancer and melanoma is transforming our understanding of how cancers grow and resist treatment.

Prof Doug Hilton, Director of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research has known Mark Shackleton for about 10 years.

Mark Shackleton

“He is a stunningly creative guy. He is that wonderful mix of a trained clinician—an oncologist—who has an absolute verve for research.

“He made some stellar discoveries on breast cancer at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute as a PhD student, and then again with melanomas as a post-doc in the US and in his current position at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre.

“These are two of the most significant cancers for Australians. I couldn’t think of a better recipient.”

Michael van der Ploeg, assistant principal and specialist science teacher at Table Cape Primary School in Wynyard has opened the world of science to students on Tasmania’s northwest coast.

He will receive the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Primary Schools.

Anita Trenwith, science teacher at Salisbury High School, north of Adelaide, will receive the $50,000 Prime Minister’s Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching in Secondary Schools. She has created a unique program that makes science accessible to special‐education students.

Well done all.

Contact Niall Byrne on 0417 131 977, or 0432 974 400 for more information about the PM’s Science Prizes. 

National AGM and Trivia Night

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27 November 2012
6:00 pmto10:00 pm
6:00 pmto10:00 pm

Think you could out-fact Dr Karl? Then show off your skills at our Science Trivia Night.

Organise a table of friends or team up with others on the night. Hosted by science all-rounder David Ellyard the night will be a great way to meet like minded people and exercise the brain.

ASC members are also encouraged to attend the National AGM which will be held before the Trivia, to share their ideas on organising the next ASC conference to be held in Brisbane in 2014 and to elect a new president.

What: Science Trivia Night and National AGM
When: Tuesday 27th November, AGM will run from 6-7pm. Trivia will kick off at 7:30pm
Where: Ship Inn, Southbank
Cost: ASC members free, Non-members $10, Non-member students $5
Bookings:  Please book your tickets at brisciquiz2012.eventbrite.com.au

Canberra unlocks the secrets to “real” forensic science

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By Ian McDonald (Secretary, ASC ACT branch committee)

On a brisk Wednesday evening in early August, Canberrans came to hear real forensic scientists discuss their careers and how they differ from Hollywood’s portrayal. The ASC Canberra event entitled CSI vs Real Forensic Science, was facilitated by Ben Lamont, the Vice President of the ACT Chapter of the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society (ANZFSS) and Forensics Capability Development and Training Officer for the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

This one and a half hour seminar-style event was both interactive and entertaining. Ben set the scene, describing a mock crime and asking five of his AFP colleagues, who specialised in the areas of either: fingerprints, documents, chemical criminalistics, biology and firearms to run through how they would approach the scene and some of the issues they might be face with collecting evidence, particularly for outdoor crime scenes or attending multiple sites.

The audience of over 100 attendees, including ASC members, high school and university students and members of the science community and general public, packed the CSIRO Discovery Lecture Theatre and asked lots of thought-provoking questions.

So, can a crime really be solved within the time frame of an hour TV show? Definitely not according to our expert forensic scientists who talked about it taking up to weeks or months for certain types of evidentiary samples to be processed, analysed and then used as evidence in court. One question of particular interest to our audience was whether Australia is allowed access to the USA fingerprint database used to collect fingerprints from all travellers entering the USA. According to Melanie our fingerprint expert, Australia definitely does not have access to any of the USA databases. The question was asked a few times… it did make me wonder what our audience members were trying to hide!

So how was science communication linked in with this event? Well, forensic scientists probably have one of the most difficult and high pressure communication jobs in the world sometimes being summoned to court and having to give on-the-spot expert evidence in front of lawyers, jurors and judges. I personally couldn’t think of anything more nerve-racking. Also, like many science jobs out their, the speakers did talk about the difficulty of getting into this very popular industry, where in some cases, only 1 of every 30 forensic science graduates are able to get a job in Australia.

So we were very lucky to spend time with these scientists, considered the ‘rock stars’ of the science world, learning about the industry and how it differs from those exciting TV shows we can watch on a nightly basis.

The audience was thoroughly impressed with the professionalism and organisation of the event. The ACT branch committee was very happy with the support we drummed up for both science in general and for the Australian Science Communicators. For those of you who listen to Triple J’s “The Hack” program which airs nationally every afternoon at 5:30pm, this event will be featured on the program in the coming weeks.

The event would have not been possible without our co-organisers and sponsors, Inspiring Australia, CSIRO Discovery and of course, the ANZFSS. We look forward to continued collaboration in future events.

The Forensic Experts answering audience questions at the end of seminar. Speakers left to right: Melanie Fraser (Fingerprints), Alex Borg Caruana (Firearms), Rochelle Epple (Documents), Felicity Pagan (Biology), Ben Lamont (Facilitator) and Timothy Simpson (Chemical Criminalistics).

ASC Member profile – Claire Harris

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It’s an anecdote my mum loves telling: “When Claire was a child, she told everyone she wanted to be a bush ranger!”. We all knew I meant park ranger, inspired from lots of time spent exploring the outdoors and trips away camping with Scouts. As a young thing I always knew I wanted to do science (environmental/outdoor preferably) so choosing my high school subjects and university degree was quite easy.

After completing a B Env Sci (and some serious time off enjoying beach volleyball and beer) I got work experience with Queensland Department of Primary Industries, Fisheries and then they offered me a job. It was fabulous: time outdoors, dragging nets through cane field drains in Maroochy, mixed with a bit of lab work sorting samples, mixed with office work and writing. I wrote the stakeholder newsletters and helped write the guidelines to explain what our science meant for policymakers and landholders.

Within various State government jobs, the Cooperative Research Centre for Coastal Zone, Estuary and Waterway Management, I more naturally leaned towards project management and communicating about the research, talking with people about what it meant for them and what they wanted from the research projects. That’s when I started to do science communication study on the side, studying a PGDip at UQ (and ANU a few years later) part-time, around my fulltime work. This was also when I first came across the Australian Science Communicators. I joined the Brisbane committee, met with Jenni and others at Econnect and volunteered at Riversymposium assisting with media as part of a uni subject.

Learning about science’s role in society and how it can be valued, ignored, politicised or sidelined (cue shocking visuals of the John Gummer MP in the UK feeding a hamburger to his daughter during the early days of the mad cow disease discovery) was particularly fascinating.

Funnily enough, after travelling in Europe and the Middle East for 6 months in 2006, I happened to end up working for the UK government in the mad cow disease section as a science communicator. I rewrote technical stuff for non-technical audiences putting it on the web and in policy briefs.

Over the last 5 years I have worked in Canberra, communicating science in the natural resource management and agriculture areas picking up elements of knowledge management and social research at Land & Water Australia and CSIRO. I just finished a six-month secondment at the AG Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry working on comms strategy in the climate and carbon farming areas. It was extremely challenging but very fulfilling.

I’ve worked for many different agencies, learning new skills and exploring new perspectives all the time and I think this has really benefited my career. From what I see, the science communicators of today need to be able to explore new ways of doing things while also getting better at articulating why our roles are so important and the value we bring. I guess one of my purposes in life came from asking the question: if no-one considers, understands or can contribute to what science is then is there any point in doing the science in the first place?

Although I do sometimes get a little sad when I realise I’ve forgotten some science basics, I feel that I am helping in the best (and most fun, creative) way I can to have science contribute to better lives. And I am also passionate about raising the profile of science communicators. I feel great satisfaction when I am told that I have changed someone’s outlook forever – they will now always think about who they need to talk with and how best to do it rather than just being sure they only need a factsheet to achieve their outcomes!

 

Claire Harris

ASC ACT President, Vice President ASC National Executive

http://au.linkedin.com/in/claireharrisoz

At the moment I have a little project collecting links for communication conferences: http://delicious.com/claireharrisoz/tag_bundle/comms-conferences

sciencerewired – members’ 30% discount extended and freebies for students

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ASC is a supporter of sciencerewired. It has a packed all day program with a focus on digital media, http://sciencerewired.org/adelaideprogramme/. With the members’ discount and student scholarships it becomes even more accessible to gain professional development in this rapidly evolving area.

The discount for ASC members to attend the sciencerewired event has been extended. You can register to attend for only $200, more than a 30% discount. Email office@asc.asn.au to get the promotion code. sciencerewired is on 11 October 2012 at the RiAus in Adelaide.

Free student scholarships
There are a couple of free tickets remaining for ASC student members. Email office@asc.asn.au to get the promotion code. Once these are freebies are the cost to students will be $147.50 incl GST, 50% off the full rate.

The discount and student scholarships are for financial ASC members only. A great incentive to renew now if you need to.

Jesse Shore
National President