Allan Bishop, a speaker for the upcoming ASC 2016 conference, is a Software Engineer working in The Cube studio at QUT. The interactive display has presented many scientific themes such as chemistry, ecology, biology, and most recently palaeontology. We sat down with him to see what he finds challenging about using technology to communicate science.

ASC: As a software engineer, how did you find yourself to be a science communicator?

Allan: I have been fortunate enough to find myself working as a software engineer in the education sector and, as a result, have had the opportunity of working on projects that, at their core, have the goal of communicating science to a wide ranging audience. My role is to work with subject matter experts and designers to solve the problem of transforming this information into a unique interactive format.

ASC: Why is communicating science important to you?

Allan: I believe science is vital in shaping our future and improving our quality of life. Science underpins our knowledge so communicating science is an integral part of our ability to effectively share this information.

ASC: What challenges have you faced in talking about science in the medium you work with?

Allan: In the case of developing content for The Cube at QUT, the biggest challenge is finding the right compromise to ensure information is accessible and informative to a wide range of visitors whilst also being engaging and entertaining.

ASC: In the space of a tweet (140 characters) – how would you describe science communication?

Allan: Science communication is the process of effectively educating people about science.

Check out more information about the conference and register here.