Author Archives: Jesse Shore

About Jesse Shore

Jesse Shore is passionate about engaging the community with science and in looking for ways to weave together the arts and sciences. He has been developing science based exhibitions and events since 1984, and was President of the Australian Science Communicators from 2010-2012. His business, Prismatic Sciences, produced five travelling exhibitions for the Royal Australian Chemical Institute for the 2011 International Year of Chemistry and he manages the ongoing national tour. He previously worked at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney as an exhibition project leader and Senior Curator of sciences. While at the museum he was one of the founders of the Ultimo Science Festival, a major National Science Week activity. He is currently collaborating with an artist to create artworks which have a science slant.

Recommended TED talks

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Science related TED talks are often good examples how to engage an audience and communicate your message. The audience for TED talks has diverse interests so it’s great to see when they really appreciate a novel or solid presentation.

Here’s one example of each. The first is by virtual magician and Techno-illusionist Marco Tempest and is about Nicolas Tesla and is a must-see (and only 6 minutes long), http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/marco_tempest_the_electric_rise_and_fall_of_nikola_tesla.html. (If you have time check out Marco Tempest’s video of Making of “Nikola Tesla in Sound and Light”, http://vimeo.com/43684443.)

The second is a talk by a scientist about a new kind of battery (the missing link to renewable energy), http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy.html. He gives a good clear explanation although he likes using the occasional big word in his narrative.

Jesse Shore
National President

Renewal date approaching for many members – 1 September 2012

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Many ASC members have the renewal date of 1 September, which is fast approaching. Kali will send reminders to those who need to renew then but it’s timely for me to offer a few reasons to make sure you’re financial.

We have had a busy year to date with our very successful national conference in Sydney in February. Since then we have been participating in the National Audit of Science Engagement Activities. The audit report will come out by mid-November along with data visualisations to enable you to interactively compare key data fields.

We have also struck an agreement with Inspiring Australia to communicate updates of the IA Strategy to our members from mid-2012 to mid-2014. There is an opportunity for financial members to participate in this communication activity.

We are planning the next national conference to be held in February 2014 and will be inviting members to help develop the program. The conference will be bigger and even better than before with an enhanced science-as-art exhibition, more workshops and social events.

The ASC has grown to over 540 members. Our branches are busy with events and workshops which are either free to members or at generous member’s discounts.

We have closer relationships with the federal and state chief scientists, and federal and state science departments and communicators in various groups. Other organisations are seeking to work with us or benefit from our expertise. Over the year numerous job opportunities have appeared on our e-list. Members have been active in expressing their views on a range of issues both on the e-list and website.

My impression is that opportunities in science communication are increasing and your membership and activity contribute to this positive change.

Renewing your membership enables you to make use of benefits and powerful communication tools such as:

  • access to the national conference and local ASC events at members’ rates,
  • posting rights on our two e-mail lists reaching a database of more than 1100 readers,
  • author rights on our web site (see http://www.asc.asn.au/),
  • receipt of our online magazine SCOPE,
  • access to our professional networking social media groups such as LinkedIn and Facebook,
  • access to ASC-associated organisations’ events at discounted rates,
  • voting rights at General Meetings and much more.

The cost of membership is still:

  • Individual membership is $88 per annum (incl. GST)
  • Student membership (with appropriate ID) is $35.20 (incl. GST)
  • Associate membership (with explanation) is $35.20 (incl. GST)
  • Corporate membership is $528 (incl. GST).

Jesse Shore
ASC President

Inspiring Australia Updates – a new initiative

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The ASC has reached an agreement with Inspiring Australia to communicate their activities and outcomes to our members. The aim is to encourage discussion which will further raise awareness of and engagement with the Strategy. This marks our first posting of news about Inspiring Australia.

Inspiring Australia Update

The Unlocking Australia’s Potential grants from Inspiring Australia that were announced in June are beginning to take shape. In fact, there have already been a number of events held, including:

  • The first of the 2012 University of New South Wales Medicine Dean’s Lecture Series: ‘Stem Cells in Medicine: Opportunities and Challenges’.

The evening included presentations from Professor Alan Trounson, President of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in San Francisco and a pioneer of IVF, as well as Dr Bernadette Tobin, Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at Sydney’s St. Vincent’s Hospital. You can catch it all via vodcast.

  •  And in Launceston, the Australian Society for Parasitologists (ASP) held the first of their three major public science engagement events.’Parasite Encounters in the Wild’ delivered a series of talks and activities for all ages, addressing issues ranging from the facial tumours afflicting Tasmanian Devils to the significance of parasites in biodiversity. The ASP has posted the event to YouTube.

We will soon be including a dedicated Inspiring Australia section on this site to keep members advised on how the funded projects are developing and to keep you up-to-date on upcoming events.

With lots more science engagement activities lined up for the latter half of 2012, there should be more than a few things to pique your interest.

Science engagement survey extended to 29 July 2012

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The national on-line survey of science engagement activities been extended to 29 July. Project leader Jenni Metcalfe reports we have had more than 220 entries of Australian science engagement activities so far. However, a number of people have asked for more time to enter as many activities as they can.

In response we squeezed some time out of the project to give you until 29 July to record what you are doing. So if you haven’t yet had the chance to fill in your completed or planned science engagement activities for January 2011 until June 2013, don’t miss out! Go to: :https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/scienceengageaudit

If you are having any issues with completing this survey or want some help with filling it out please contact Jenni so the team can assist you to contribute to Australia’s biggest ever snapshot of science engagement activities.

Jenni Metcalfe
phone: 07 3846 7111; 0408 551 866
jenni@econnect.com.au
skype: jenni.metcalfe

Congratulations to Graeme Batten from Sea Spec who won a $150 book voucher in the survey’s random draw.  For those who are disappointed, we’ll have another draw after 29 July to select another winner for the book voucher or wine.

Jesse Shore
National president

‘God particle’ collides with art and society this Sunday

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8 July 2012
11:30 amto5:00 pm

For those of you in Melbourne on Sunday 8 July, come to RMIT for an art-science symposium, chaired by Jesse Shore:

This week’s announcement of the discovery of the Higgs boson, or ‘God particle’ will collide with art and society this Sunday.

Colliding Ideas: Art, Society and Physics, a free public symposium at RMIT University, City campus, Storey Hall, from noon to 5pm, will address the social and creative parameters of the physical sciences.

The symposium is taking inspiration from the 36th International Conference on High Energy Physics, also in Melbourne this week, where the discovery of the ‘god particle’ was announced.

The symposium will feature key speakers from the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) and the Australian Network for Arts & Technology, alongside contemporary media and fine arts practitioners and theorists.

Symposium organiser, Chris Henschke, Artist in Residence at the Australian Synchrotron and Lecturer, School of Media and Communication, said Colliding Ideas would explore the dimensions of physics and ask what is going on in there, how it relates to our social world, and how it affects us culturally and physically.

“And, in such contexts, how do the perspectives of physicists relate to and differ from those of artists and visual communicators who use physics-based technologies,” he said.

A series of talks and audio-visual presentations will be followed by a panel discussion and question and answer session.

Registration starts at 11.30am and a light lunch and refreshments will be provided.

For more information and to register your interest visit www.rmit.edu.au/collidingideas

What: Colliding ideas: Art, society & physics – public symposium
When: Sunday, 8 July, 12pm-5pm, registration starts at 11.30am
Where: RMIT University, City Campus, Storey Hall, Level 5, 342 Swanston Street
Cost: Free

For interviews or comment: Chris Henschke (03) 9925 9563, (03) 9943 4956 or chris.henschke@rmit.edu.au

For general media enquiries: RMIT University, Marketing and Communications, Kevin Slack, 0439 499 008 or kevin.slack@rmit.edu.au

Time is running out!

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For those of you who need a reminder, time is running out to add your science engagement activities to the national survey. We want to get a good snapshot of the diversity of activity in Australia and we need your input. Activities will be represented in an interactive on-line map and other data visualisation tools. So don’t be camera shy, fill in the survey and become part of the big picture.

Grab yourself a few moments and fill out the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/scienceengageaudit.  It closes 30 June 2012.

You can be in the draw to win a prize, and help make science communication and engagement more effective.

Send me an email if you have a long a list of activities and need some data entry help: president at asc.asn.au

Once again, here is the description of the project:

The biggest snapshot of science engagement in Australia

It’s a picture as big as Australia. A flash of light illuminating how people are getting science out there. And it’s the first time it’s been done.

The picture shows everyone who is engaging people with any science, from anywhere, any organisation, even into the future—that’s the goal.

Inspiring Australia wants to create a snapshot of all of the diverse science communication activities and programs going on between January 2011 and June 2013, and we need the help of anyone doing science engagement across the country.

People can help by filling out a survey about the science engagement that they’re a part of. We’ll put the results into a visual national online database that anyone can explore. The database is part of a national audit that will help us all understand:

  • who are Australia’s players in science engagement—internationally, nationally, regionally and locally
  • where and who is missing out on science engagement
  • if and how Australians respond to science engagement activities
  • how people can link their activities or ideas together
  • how people are evaluating their engagement activities, or not
  • how we can create better tools for evaluation
  • the bigger picture of science engagement in Australia—with lots of opportunity for research.

The survey and database are being created in response to the Inspiring Australia Expert Working Group report Developing an Evidence Base for Science Engagement. It’s the first of a suite of projects tackling the report’s recommendations.

As well as the survey, we will do personal interviews and a desktop review to make sure that we capture as many activities as possible.

The team comprises Jenni Metcalfe (Econnect Communication), Kristin Alford (Bridge8), and Jesse Shore and Kali Madden (Australian Science Communicators). Nancy Longnecker (UWA), Rod Lamberts (ANU) and Joan Leach (UQ) are advisors for the project. The data will help develop a national evaluation tool for science engagement activities—another initiative in response to the report’s recommendations.

The audit will help science communicators to be seen as part of the big picture of science engagement in Australia and their standing with respect to the world.

This Inspiring Australia initiative is supported by the Australian Government through the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research & Tertiary Education in partnership with Econnect, Bridge8, ASC and UWA.

Fill the survey out at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/scienceengageaudit   It closes 30 June 2012.

Jesse Shore
National president

Graham Durant, a Member of the Order of Australia

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I just read that Professor Graham Durant, Director of Questacon in Australia, has been awarded an AM (Member of the Order of Australia) in the 2012 Queen’s Birthday Honours List. His award is in recognition of his services to science education as the Director of Questacon: The National Science and Technology Centre, to the museums sector, and through scientific advisory roles.

Many in the ASC know Graham through his work in preparing the Inspiring Australia Report and his many other connections with science communication. Graham was a featured speaker at this year’s ASC conference where he gave us an overview of the first year of Inspiring Australia activities.

Graham has extensive experience in communicating science through the science centre-museum sector and other networks. Before taking on his position at Questacon in 2003, Graham was a Senior Curator and Deputy Director of the Hunterian Museum in Scotland and was closely involved in the opening of the Glasgow Science Centre in 2001. Graham has been an advocate for, and active contributor to the Asia Pacific Network of Science & Technology Centres (ASPAC) network, including a term on the Executive Council. He was a board member of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) from 2005 to 2011 and a member of ASTC’s International Committee, ensuring that the Asia Pacific region was well represented in this global network. I congratulate Graham on his well deserved honour.

Jesse Shore
National president

Unlocking Australia’s Potential grants announced – congratulations to the recipients

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This week Inspiring Australia announced the recipients of the Unlocking Australia’s Potential grants for science engagement activities. There has been a flurry of media releases from communicators and some of the 63 successful applicants about the winning proposals.

The $5 million in funding was distributed to all states and territories and I expect that many ASC members were involved in putting in submissions. I send my congratulations to those of you involved in the winning projects and offer my commiserations to the others who had less welcome news.

I look forward to ASC members posting news of their projects on the ASC email and media lists, the website, Facebook, etc. It will be good for the ASC to develop a regular section on our website about how these activities are going. As Kali Madden will soon start to implement out new web system I’ll ask the ASC Communications team to consider how best to add a page about this newly funded programs.

It will be good to follow the progress of these programs and to have a way to measure their effectiveness in engaging their communities. A first step will be for the National Audit team to invite the project leaders to fill in the survey of Australian science engagement activities at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/scienceengageaudit.

May I make this a reminder to the rest of you involved in science engagement activities that the survey closes 30 June 2012. We need the info on as many activities as possible so don’t be left out. Answering the deep and meaningful questions will not only put you and your activity on the map of science engagement in the nation, but will raise the profile of science communication.

Jesse Shore
National president

Request/offer from The Science Picture Company

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We just received an interesting request/offer which may appeal to those seeking to get established in their sci-comm careers. It comes from The Science Picture Company, a photolibrary operating in Ireland.

I know nothing about the company other than having had a look at their website. There are a few photolibraries specialising in science related images and they are an evolving part of the visual component of science communication.

The Science Picture Company’s message follows below. Contact Kathryn if you are interested.

Jesse Shore
National President

Hi ASC!
I work for The Science Picture Company. We are a cutting edge digital illustration and animation studio specializing in all things science. See http://www.facebook.com/l/zAQHU0HYBAQHTo4jpVfC1YDfrQAez6Y31AQ_-kX6WcJGnqw/www.sciencepicturecompany.com/.

We are developing our new blog at the moment and are inviting Science Communication Students to be part of the process (full writing credit given).

Although this isn’t a paid position at the moment the company is expanding quickly, so this may change. We’re very happy to provide recommendations and/or testimonials for successful pieces.

At the moment we are inviting submissions from graduates with a science background (life sciences in particular). Ideally the articles will be 250-700 words and referenced, but most importantly we want our blog to be interesting, visual and share friendly!

(More info: Ideally the articles will be 250-700 words and referenced, but most importantly we want our blog to be interesting, visual and share friendly! So content that is current, accessible to most people and can be illustrated by the images on our website ticks all of the boxes! Articles on how the human condition is influenced are of most interest to us, especially the more quirky and unusual ones! It’s important the articles be written in layman’s terms without excessive use of jargon. In terms of subject area we are open to suggestions and would love to have a wide variety of articles to share.

We do have quite a mix on our website! It isn’t obvious from the categories but the bulk of our work is anatomy based, sports/healthcare a secondary focus. At the moment our company is young and flexible enough to let our designers imaginations run of some sic-fi topics occasionally! )

If you think this may be of interest to any of your members we’d be delighted to hear their ideas / submissions.

Best Regards,
Kathryn Baker
kathryn@sciencepicturecompany.com
3D Medical Animations & Illustrations | Stock Science Images
www.sciencepicturecompany.com

It’s alive! Survey of science engagement activities is now online

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We’re now ready to take the snapshot of Australia’s science engagement activities so say cheese! The national survey is live online. If you are involved in science engagement activities fill out the survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/scienceengageaudit. It closes 30 June 2012.

The survey is designed to capture a lot of information and poses some challenging questions. Don’t postpone giving us your answers. Please start filling out the survey now. The survey allows you to enter multiple science engagement activities if you are especially active in the area.

Once you complete the survey you can be in the draw to win a prize, but the best prize will be if we can help make science communication and engagement more effective.

I posted the project information on 30 April. If you missed it go to http://www.asc.asn.au/blog/2012/04/30/the-biggest-snapshot-of-science-engagement-in-australia/. This project is a great opportunity for the ASC to contribute to improving how we engage the public with science in Australia.

This Inspiring Australia initiative is supported by the Australian Government through the Department of Industry, Innovation, Science, Research & Tertiary Education in partnership with Econnect, Bridge8, ASC and UWA.

Surveyingly yours,
Jesse Shore
National President