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Last updated: Sat 11 Feb, 21:41
Wednesday Morning
Wednesday 15 February
9:00 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
The Australian Government has announced plans to refresh Australia’s Science and Research Priorities and our National Science Statement.
Australia’s Science and Research Priorities were last updated in 2015, while the National Science Statement was published in 2017.
Revitalising Australia’s science priorities and statement will help develop a national policy framework that embeds science into government decision making. It will better align efforts and investment in science to deliver social, economic and environmental benefits for all Australians.
Australia’s Chief Scientist will lead a national conversation to develop the refreshed priorities and statement. The work will include extensive consultation with science, research and industry stakeholders.
Join this informal discussion between Dr Cathy Foley and Prof Joan Leach as they discuss the work on this vital project, and how science communication is a part of it.
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Dr Cathy Foley AO FAA PSM
Dr Foley became Australia’s ninth Chief Scientist in January 2021 after a lengthy career at Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, where she was appointed as the agency’s Chief Scientist in August 2018.
Dr Foley’s previous roles include membership of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, President of the Australian Institute of Physics, President of Science and Technology Australia, Editor-in-Chief of Superconductor Science and Technology journal, and a council member for Questacon.
Dr Foley is committed to helping Australia realise the transformative potential of critical technologies and meet the climate challenge. She is an inspiration to women in STEM across the globe and focused strongly on equality and diversity in the science sector.
Prof Joan Leach
Joan Leach is Professor and Director of the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS). She is a past President of Australian Science Communicators (2012-2016) and immediate past Chair of the National Committee for History and Philosophy of Science at the Australian Academy of Science.
Joan has a recent book with Dr Fabien Medvecky, An Ethics of Science Communication and has published on quantum science and the public good, and more recently, on agricultural synthetic biology and how the public interprets future possibilities in that field.
She currently is a chief investigator on the Future Plants industrial transformation Centre and holds an NHMRC grant to develop a commons framework for Stem Cell research in Australia. She is fascinated by the continued developments in science and technology and wants to make sure that they are accessible to all. This commitment is echoed by her colleagues in CPAS who have built it into a globally leading Centre for research and teaching in science communication and public engagement.
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Wednesday 15 February
9:45 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
What are the main subjects of science about which we (the scicomm industry) facilitate discussion? And why may people be intimidated by these topics?
What are the main topics of science communication about which we (again, the scicomm industry) are publishing in journals? And what topics are scicomm researchers publishing compared with what scicomm practitioners are working on: do academic/theory and practice connect?
How have these topics changed over time? And what is science communication all about as a discipline anyway?
Come along to participate in a facilitated discussion to find out.
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Ms Sonia Bluhm
Ms Sonia Bluhm is a science communicator and knowledge broker with a love of distilling, interpreting and communicating complex scientific information to a range of audiences. She enjoys working closely with scientists and decision-makers to ensure research findings are communicated in a manner that can inform action, policies and management decisions.
Sonia is a senior science communicator for Scientell. Before starting with Scientell in August 2021, Sonia worked for the CSIRO Climate Science Centre as a knowledge broker and science communicator, primarily for the National Environmental Science Program’s Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub. In this role, she interpreted complex scientific information on climate change science and communicated it to a range of audiences through webinars, factsheets, brochures, web content and reports.
Sonia also has a decade of experience working on climate change science, adaptation and mitigation issues and policies for the Federal Government. She has experience in facilitating workshops and webinars, building strong and lasting relationships, and managing large research programs.
Sonia has a double degree in Science and Arts from the Australian National University, majoring in molecular biology and gender studies.
Dr Heather Bray
Dr Heather Bray has over 20 years of experience in Science Communication as a practitioner, scholar, teacher, and researcher. She currently coordinates the Master of Science Communication and the undergraduate major and minor in Science Communication.
Heather’s research explores community understandings of, and attitudes to, the role of science and technology in food production, in particular genetically-modified crops and food, and farm animal welfare. Her work aims to improve communication and build trust between different stakeholders in the agri-food system.
Heather’s background is in agricultural science and she has worked as an animal scientist in both Australia and the Netherlands. Before returning to academia, she worked in science centres and agricultural research centres, developing community engagement programs about complex and controversial technologies.
Dr Graham Walker
Dr Graham Walker is a science communication teacher, researcher and practitioner based at the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at the Australian National University, where he convenes Postgraduate Coursework. He works at the interface of science communication and informal STEM learning, capacity building and co-development, emotion and motivation, and communication of social and environmental issues, particularly in informal learning contexts like science centres, science shows and hands-on workshops. Graham has been involved in science communication capacity building throughout the Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East since 2003. He founded Science Circus Africa which, through dynamic partnerships with African organisations, has trained more than 500 staff and reached 73,000 people in 10 African countries, and more recently the DFAT-supported Science Circus Pacific. He is an avid aficionado of science shows and has performed shows and delivered training globally.
Mr Toss Gascoigne
Toss Gascoigne is a former President of both PCST and ASC. He has published on the history of science communication, on whether the field could be considered a discipline, on communication training workshops, and science advocacy.
His book ‘Communicating Science. A Global Perspective’ (ANU Press, 2020) documents the way science communication has developed. With 107 authors and chapters on 39 different countries, the book has had an international impact (and 50,000 downloads).
He developed ‘Science meets Parliament’ and has described an initiative which allows scientists to meet national politicians, to make the case for science and research.
He has run hundreds of training workshops in science communication in Australia, the Pacific and a dozen other countries ranging from Colombia to Uganda.
Toss headed national organisations in Australia for 15 years: as Executive Director of both the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS – now STA and the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Dr Simon Torok
Dr Simon Torok is CEO and Director of Scientell (www.scientell.com.au), a science communication business. He distils technical information for non-scientific audiences to communicate the importance of science in our lives and its role in understanding the environment.
He has published more than 200 newspaper, magazine and scientific journal articles, and co-authored 20 popular science and climate change books, several of which have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Korean and Hungarian. He is an experienced public speaker, having given hundreds of presentations to a variety of audiences, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio, including on live TV news broadcasts, chat shows and children’s TV programs.
Simon has a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from the Australian National University, and completed a PhD in climate change science at the University of Melbourne. He has managed communication for CSIRO in Australia and for the Tyndall Centre in England.
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Contact: simon@scientell.com.au
Wednesday Midday
Wednesday 15 February
11:15 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
Humanity’s capacity to inflict mass harm on itself has been accelerating since the mid-21st Century.
Ten interconnected megathreats to human existence are bearing down on us – and no government has an answer to them all. These threats cannot be solved one by one; they must all be solved together.
The talk outlines the threats and what must be done globally and by individuals to fix them. It outlines a plan of action for human survival.
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Mr Julian Cribb AM FRSA FTSE
Julian Cribb AM is an Australian author and science communicator. He is a Fellow of the UK Royal Society for the Arts, the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (ATSE) and the Australian National University Emeritus Faculty. He was scientific editor for The Australian newspaper, director of national awareness for CSIRO, editor of several newspapers, member of numerous scientific boards and advisory panels, president of the national professional body for agricultural journalism and foundation president of the Australian Science Communicators.
His published work includes over 9000 articles, 3000 science media releases and 12 books. He has received 32 awards for journalism. He was nominated for ACT Senior Australian of the Year in 2019. He is a co-founder of the Council for the Human Future. He was appointed a Member of the General Division of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2021. He is principal of Julian Cribb & Associates who for twenty years have provided international consultancy in the communication of science, agriculture, food, mining, energy and the environment for over a hundred scientific, government and private organisations.
Since 2010 his main literary focus has been the existential emergency facing humanity. This is dealt with in six books: The Coming Famine (UCP 2010); Poisoned Planet (A&U 2014). Surviving the 21st Century (Springer 2017); Food or War (Cambridge University Press 2019) and Earth Detox (Cambridge 2021) describes the threat posed by human chemical emissions, their impact on us and how we can overcome it. His latest book ‘How to Fix a Broken Planet’ (Cambridge 2023) offers a plan to rescue humanity from the self-created disaster that besets us. and its role in understanding the environment.
Link: https://www.juliancribb.net/
Contact: julian.cribb@outlook.com
@JulianCrib
Wednesday 15 February
12:05 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
When Australians needed credible information to help mitigate their risks of contracting and transmitting COVID-19, they were exposed to harmful misinformation about the disease, often shared by their compatriots. Research across the social sciences has identified several individual-level factors that predict this misinformation-sharing behaviour. However, researchers have conflicting views on which of these predictors are the most important. Much of this debate has occurred outside the Australian national context, is confined to understanding the sharing of misinformation only within digital communication channels, or focuses on topics other than infectious diseases, where understanding and mitigating misinformation-sharing behaviour is becoming increasingly important. This presentation will address these gaps, giving Australia’s professional science communicators an empirical basis for discouraging the sharing of misinformation about infectious diseases and potentially other topics.
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Matthew Nurse is a science communication PhD researcher investigating the reasons why people share misinformation about COVID-19. Before starting a PhD, he had 20 years experience as a professional science communicator in state and federal governments, with seven years at director level. In these roles he gained experience in science communication, political communication and emergency management. He is interested in using social psychology to inform science communication strategy. Matthew has a masters degree in science communication and a masters degree in communication.
Link: https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13421-021-01219-5
Contact: matthew.nurse@anu.edu.au
@CPAS_ANU
Wednesday 15 February
12:05 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Cubesats are 10cm-wide spacecraft, designed to hitch a ride to space alongside other missions. Often used as platforms for education and outreach, they are built to survive extreme temperatures, radiation, and vacuum. But how does a cubesat cope with the even harsher environment of the Australian education system?
The Binar Space Program is run from the Space Science and Technology Centre at Curtin University in Western Australia. We launched our first spacecraft, Binar-1, in 2021, with six more launches scheduled for 2023 and beyond. On board those launches will be instruments and experiments designed, built and operated by Australian high school students, as part of the two-year pilot of the BinarX school program.
In this session, we’ll explore what we’ve learned in our first year of deploying an authentic space systems engineering process in Australian schools, share the tools and resources we use, and take a look at what’s next for the program and how you can get involved.
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Hi! My name’s Rockwell – but yes, Rocky is fine for short.
In past lives, I’ve authored articles, produced podcasts, scripted science shows, and published papers. I’ve also picked up a masters in science communication, and spent many, many daytimes pretending it was nighttime in planetariums along the way.
Right now, I hang out behind the scenes at my friendly neighbourhood space program, at the Space Science and Technology Centre at Curtin University in Western Australia. I help share our spacecraft-building antics and know-how with our community – and with 60-odd local high school students who are building space projects of their own to fly on our cubesats.
Link: binarspace.com
Contact: rockwell.mcgellin@curtin.edu.au
@binarspacewa
Wednesday 15 February
12:20 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
The Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre has recently established the most powerful, energy-efficient supercomputing facility in the southern hemisphere, Setonix supercomputer, supporting high-impact science.
Pawsey undertook a major rebrand to reinforce our connection with science and research and allow us to engage with new audiences.
Named after an iconic Australian animal, the Quokka, and cloaked in meaningful artwork, Setonix is our hero infrastructure and central piece for our engagement and communications strategy.
Setonix is an extension of the ‘personality’, open to engagement, positive, inclusive and distinctively Australian.
Our engagement strategy, technology refresh, rebranding and the launch of Setonix, provide a novel case study in research infrastructure outreach and communications.
Early measures of success are evident in increased engagement, heightened awareness, and the development of new opportunities to partner, educate, innovate and support impactful research.
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Mark Stickells is Pawsey’s chief evangelist, supported by a super team that aims to make a difference in our world, powered by supercomputing #PeoplePoweredSupercomputing.
As Executive Director of the Pawsey Supercomputing Research Centre, Mark leads a team of HPC, data and visualisation experts supporting Australian researchers using advanced computation and data systems. In 2023 Pawsey will complete a multi-year, $70m technology refresh and launch Australia’s most powerful research supercomputer – Setonix – named after WA’s beloved Quokka, and will continue to support Australia’s participation in the world-class Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio astronomy research project. Mark has multi-sector research leadership experience and is very committed to supporting diversity and inclusion initiatives in his professional and personal life.
Contact: pr@pawsey.org.au
@PawseyCentre
Wednesday 15 February
12:25 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Throughout the pandemic, health science communication proliferated. This work explores the experiences of health science communicators in Australia throughout the pandemic.
A two-phase, mixed methods study was used to address the aims. First, a survey was used to explore demographics of health science communicators & their experiences of communication during the covid-19 pandemic.
Secondly, survey participants were invited to participate in semi-structured interviews to explore their experiences in depth. Descriptive statistics were used for analysis of the quantitative data & Braun & Clarke thematic analysis was used for interview data. 36 respondents completed the survey & four participated in interviews.
Overall, science communicators had a positive experience, however, experienced several negative responses to communication. More educational aids, resources & training are needed to support health science communicators.
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Jessica Stokes-Parish is a Registered Nurse and academic, with a research focus on health professions workforce development. She researches the impacts of workforce policy, health practitioner preparedness and development, and science communication. Jessica holds a PhD in Medical Education and leads research teams in the areas of health professions education and teaching portfolio on digital health and science communication at Bond University.
Link: www.jessicastokesparish.com
Contact: jstokesp@bond.edu.au
Wednesday 15 February
12:40 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
The largest age group of gaming players in Australia is, unsurprisingly, 15-24 year olds, who mostly play games to “have fun” and “relieve boredom/pass time” (Digital Australia, 2022). We sought to engage this cohort with existential risks using interactive storytelling and gamification.
In the POINT OF IMPACT online interactive, the visitor plays as the lead programmer at a green tech start-up called GreenMind. Visitors are asked to make trade-offs between risks and rewards as they develop an artificial superintelligence (ASI) to help humankind mitigate the world’s climate crisis. Large and abstract existential risks like ASI and climate change are difficult for many people to comprehend.
By embedding storytelling in a digital experience, these risks are communicated in a way that helps the player to understand their complexity, and to figure out the best course of action to avoid catastrophe.
This talk explores design methods, major lessons, and suggestions for future projects.
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Dr Dylan DeLosAngeles
Dylan has deep research experience with a background in neuroscience. His practical knowledge of public performing and science communication is contributing to the delivery of interactive physical exhibits and live research as part of MOD. exhibitions and programming.
Dr Lisa Bailey
I am a science communicator and Program Manager with experience in cultural institutions both in South Australia and the UK.
Currently I am Exhibition Manager at MOD. at UniSA- Australia’s leading future-focused museum, provoking new ideas at the intersection of science, art and innovation.
Wednesday 15 February
12:45 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Three years ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This has been a challenging time for event organisers. We went from the total cancellation of events to online and hybrid events and now we are back to organising face to face events. During this time, the world has learnt a lot about how this virus works, however it is puzzling that effective measures to minimise the risk of COVID infections have not been implemented as a protocol to organise events.
This talk will provide an example of a protocol used in two events held at ANU during 2022 based on the advice of an aerosol expert from the University of Melbourne. It will also provide some useful resources and information to help event organisers to minimise COVID-19 infections and create inclusive, safer events in the future.
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Natalia has more than 15 years of experience in science communication. She was part of the Shell Questacon Science Circus in 2005 and since then she has worked in several scientific organisations in the ACT, including CSIRO and ANU. Natalia is deeply interested in the role of science communication during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Link: https://www.access-nri.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/COVID-Safe-page-December-2022.pdf
Contact: natalia.bateman@protonmail.com
Wednesday Afternoon
Wednesday 15 February
1:50 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Thinking of going into business? Or perhaps you’ve started one and want to hear some stories and new perspectives.
In this session, you’ll experience a brief and frank discussion between a panel of diverse business owners.
Why did they go into business? What’s been brilliant and what’s caused battle scars?
Then it’s a chance to ask your questions and get some tips for your entrepreneurial pursuits.
This session is produced by Claire Harris.
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Tina Chawner
Tina Chawner is an award-winning communications professional, who specialises in change management, codesign and strategic communication. After 15 years’ working in Government and in consulting, two years ago Tina founded Yellow Hat Consulting, offering a unique approach to change. Yellow Hat supports Executive leaders who are wanting to change or transform organisations, cultures, strategies, operating models and more. This year, just 18 months after establishing her first business she was a finalist in the Canberra Women in Business awards. Tina is passionate about making an impact for her clients and helping them make enduring change, at pace. Tina is also Board Member and Deputy Chair of Baringa Early Learning centre, and enjoys spending time with her husband and two young children.
Zoe Piper
Zoe Piper has spent the past 20 years crafting a portfolio career at the intersection of industry, research and government. Her entrepreneurial experience includes non-toxic paint manufacturing and building a blockchain-based provenance platform. She currently serves as Chair of the Board at Young Change Agents, a Non-Executive Director at The Mill House Ventures, and is a member of the ACT Government’s Brand Strategic Advisory Board. She is also Dean of the College of Adjuncts at the University of Canberra.
In 2022, Zoe founded CareerVitae to empower individuals to aggregate, verify, manage and share their professional information to unlock career opportunities. She also consults individuals and organisations looking to thrive in the future of work through her consulting business Allaran.
Zoe holds a BA Comms/Econ, an MBA, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is currently undertaking a PhD at ANU exploring the career development of individuals concurrently working in industry, research and government.
Ms Claire Harris CPM
Entrepreneur and Founder of Innovate Communicate and Cowork Coplay, Claire Harris is a marketing-communication and science professional with a passion for innovation, inclusion and positive change. She has worked in the innovation ecosystem for over 20+ years; 7+ of those years dedicated to business.
Innovate Communicate bridges the gap between STEM/innovation and society by providing stakeholder engagement, project management and diversity services and programs.
Innovate Communicate has recently worked with clients in environment, agriculture, health, social science, technology and defence.
Cowork Coplay provides coworking programs with a focus on career and community. Childminding is also offered as a standard benefit for parents of little kids.
Claire has a Bachelor Environmental Science and a Grad Dip Communication, is a Certified Practising Marketer and is currently undertaking a Diploma in Digital Technologies.
Dr Phil Dooley
Dr Phil Dooley is the communications manager for ANU Physics, and also a freelance science communicator under the banner Phil Up On Science. He is a science writer, trainer and entertainer. Credits include Cosmos Magazine, New Scientist and Australian Geographic and he was selected for the Anthology of Best Australian Science Writing in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
He has a PhD in laser physics and has performed his own brand of science, music and comedy in science shows and festivals around the world including London, Glasgow and Adelaide Fringe; solo and as part of a science theatre collaboration Dramatis Scientificae. He has a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment.
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Link: https://sleekbio.com/innovatecommunicate
Contact: claire@innovatecommunicate.com
@claireharrisoz
Wednesday 15 February
2:50 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Artificial intelligence is a hot topic. So how might it impact us as science communicators?
This is a case study from CSIRO’s children’s science magazine, Double Helix. It will explore the creation of December’s AI-themed issue. Get an insight into the various AIs used by the magazine’s writers and illustrators. You’ll also find out how the humans teamed up with these AIs, building on each others’ ideas to create excellent content.
This talk will also include information about how Double Helix encourages school-aged students to engage in play using AI, and how to do this safely.
Use this opportunity to reflect on your own writing and image creation, and what it means to work with AIs.
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I am Business Development Manager at Double Helix, CSIRO’s magazine for young readers. I lead the team that creates Double Helix products.
Before my current role, I was Editor at Double Helix magazines for 15 years. I was also an Editor on Double Helix children’s books, ‘More Hands-On Science’ and ‘Puzzles and Projects’. I have guided the development of online content for Double Helix Extra.
In my time at CSIRO I’ve run editorial training workshops for intranet authors. I have also worked with the Education team delivering hands-on science programs.
I have a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts with honours in history and philosophy of science. I also have postgraduate certificates in writing and marketing communications.
Link: www.doublehelix.csiro.au
Contact: jasmine.fellows@csiro.au
@CSIROhelix | @CSIROPublishing
Wednesday 15 February
2:50 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Faced with climate change and biodiversity loss the global community is racing towards nature positive, a key component of net zero targets committed to by organisations and governments. Whilst this is driving investor interest in greater scientific knowledge, a key challenge remains: how to go beyond science-speak, articulate a clear value proposition in the language of business and communicate a return on investment. The challenge for science communicators is to understand what investors are really looking for, to be able to speak their language and get the pitch right to attract investment. Drawing on a 25-year career in engagement, communications, consulting and business, this presentation shares insights and practical tips to bridge the communication gap between the language of science and business. It presents examples to help organisations develop a business case for science investment and build successful, long-term partnerships across science, government and industry.
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Preeti Castle is a stakeholder engagement and communications specialist with experience across financial services, consulting, science and environment. With more than 25 years’ experience, Preeti specialises in providing strategic advice for establishing sustainable partnerships between science, government, industry and community. Preeti is currently the Strategic Engagement Director and a member of the Executive Team at The Western Australian Biodiversity Science Institute.
Preeti holds a B.A. in Communications, an M.B.A. from The University of Western Australia and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Preeti has served as a Board Member of the Munda Biddi Trail Foundation and is currently a General Board Member at the Society for Ecological Restoration Australasia. Preeti is a member of Australian Science Communicators.
Link: https://wabsi.org.au
Contact: preeti.castle@wabsi.org.au
@_WABSI
Wednesday 15 February
3:10 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Graphics are a powerful tool for communicating science, allowing for complex ideas to be shared in a deceptively simple format. Illustration is particularly useful for representing concepts and processes that play out over hundreds to thousands of years.
In this talk, I will present examples of my work developing graphics within the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage to communicate research, including infographics, cartoons, and animated videos.
I will discuss some of the challenges, as well as some of the opportunities, of visualising interdisciplinary research that spans deep time and vast space.
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Dr Emma Rehn is an archaeologist, palaeoenvironmental scientist, and science illustrator. Her research focuses on interactions between people and their environments in the tropics in the past, with a specialty in reconstructing ancient bushfires (palaeofire) from lake sediments.
As a science communicator and illustrator, Emma creates cartoon-style graphics to make science accessible and engaging. She was the Pint of Science Australia Artist in Residence for 2022 and was selected for the 2022 ABC TOP 5 Science media residency program.
Emma is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, based at James Cook University.
Link: https://bluerehn.wordpress.com/
Contact: emma.rehn@my.jcu.edu.au
Wednesday 15 February
3:10 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Often communication (marketing, media, engagement) managers are stretched too thin. They’re navigating competing needs from different science areas or business units. The demands for plans, stories, content, events, projects — all by last week — can become too much!Working with trusted external providers could be an answer, to help lighten the load and deliver other benefits to your organisation.This talk will offer practical tips for working well with independent consultants or freelancers.Claire will talk about:
- Some of the benefits to individuals and organisations from outsourcing work
- Tips to building great partnerships
- How to maximise outcomes (and avoid pitfalls)
- A few of the projects her business has delivered.
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Entrepreneur and Founder of Innovate Communicate and Cowork Coplay, Claire Harris is a marketing-communication and science professional with a passion for innovation, inclusion and positive change. She has worked in the innovation ecosystem for over 20+ years; 7+ of those years dedicated to business.
Innovate Communicate bridges the gap between STEM/innovation and society by providing stakeholder engagement, project management and diversity services and programs.
Innovate Communicate has recently worked with clients in environment, agriculture, health, social science, technology and defence.
Cowork Coplay provides coworking programs with a focus on career and community. Childminding is also offered as a standard benefit for parents of little kids.
Claire has a Bachelor Environmental Science and a Grad Dip Communication, is a Certified Practising Marketer and is currently undertaking a Diploma in Digital Technologies.
Link: https://sleekbio.com/innovatecommunicate
Contact: claire@innovatecommunicate.com
@claireharrisoz
Wednesday 15 February
3:30 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
How do we understanding climate change misinformation?
In this talk, we’ll uncover what can be done with machine learning research into climate misinformation, including how we trained a machine to detect different claims and types of misinformation, how we used the machine to construct a two decade history of climate misinformation, and how we deconstructed those claims in our taxonomy to build an overarching picture of climate misinformation fallacies.
We’ll then have a cheeky look at how we’re applying that research to current problems: has Elon Musk has made a discernible difference at Twitter? Let’s have a look.
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John is a researcher focussing on understanding and countering misinformation about climate change, with an emphasis on using critical thinking to build resilience.
He obtained his PhD at the University of Western Australia, studying the cognitive psychology of climate science denial. In 2007, he founded Skeptical Science, a website which won the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge and 2016 Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education. John co-authored the college textbooks Climate Change: Examining the Facts and Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis and the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand. In 2013, he published a paper finding 97% scientific consensus on human-caused global warming, a finding that has been highlighted by President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Along with the U.S. creative agency Autonomy, John developed a smartphone game, Cranky Uncle, to build players’ resilience against misinformation by combining climate science and cartoons. He has coauthored a number of handbooks summarising communication best-practices such as The Debunking Handbook and Conspiracy Theory Handbook.
Link: http://skepticalscience.com/ | http://crankyuncle.com/
Contact: john@skepticalscience.com
Wednesday 15 February
4:00 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Professor Jagadish’s professional journey to becoming one of Australia’s leading science figures started studying in India without electricity, studying by the light of a kerosene lamp. He has a unique perspective on the value of communication, and the barriers it can pose.
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Prof C Jagadish AC PresAA FTSE
Jagadish completed his PhD at the University of Delhi in 1986, and worked as a post-doctoral fellow at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, before joining the school of physics at ANU in 1990. He is passionate about education and has supervised 65 PhD students and mentored 50 post-doctoral and other fellows over his career as a leading nanotechnology pioneer.
He is highly awarded and was named a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2016, and received the UNESCO medal in 2018, and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award in 2023. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering, the American Physical Society, and the National Academy of Engineering.
Dr Tom Carruthers
Dr Tom J Carruthers is a science communicator, thinker and creative based in Canberra, Australia. He passionately advocates for diversity and equity, the need for science engagement that goes beyond scientific literacy, and to increase the community’s value of specialist expertise across all sectors. He is a thought leader, calling for better recognition of science communication research learnings within the practice, and an appreciation of science communication expertise in government and the broader community.
Tom is the former Digital Strategist and Operations Manager in the communications team at the Australian Academy of Science, where led campaigns and messaging on critical topics such as COVID-19, climate change, and gender equity. He is the former co-CEO of Pint of Science, where he established a national peer-mentoring and training model that has been supporting the STEM engagement sector in Australia for the past 6 years. Currently he works with Ogilvy PR, a consulting agency working with businesses to communicate and strengthen their ESG policies, initiatives and communications.
Tom holds a PhD in biological chemistry (ANU), a Master’s in science communication outreach (ANU), and has experience working in the Australian university, government, not-for-profit and private sectors. He is the current co-president of the Australian Science Communicators and a member of the committee for the World Organisation for Science Literacy.
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Link: science.org.au
Contact:
@nanojagadish | @scitjc
Wednesday 15 February
4:30 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Networking, networking, networking … but after two years of not leaving our comfy home offices, there may be a few walls to overcome.
Hosted by none other than the real Dr Phil, this workshop will make sure that we are all getting back into the swing of talking to people IRL.
Phil will take us through a range of high-paced networking exercises to make sure that we all get to meet someone new that we haven’t met before.
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Dr Phil Dooley
Dr Phil Dooley is the communications manager for ANU Physics, and also a freelance science communicator under the banner Phil Up On Science. He is a science writer, trainer and entertainer. Credits include Cosmos Magazine, New Scientist and Australian Geographic and he was selected for the Anthology of Best Australian Science Writing in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
He has a PhD in laser physics and has performed his own brand of science, music and comedy in science shows and festivals around the world including London, Glasgow and Adelaide Fringe; solo and as part of a science theatre collaboration Dramatis Scientificae. He has a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment.
Link: https://philuponscience.com.au/
Contact: philuponscience@gmail.com
Thursday Morning
Thursday 16 February
9:00 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
The Inspiring Australia strategy was launched in 2010 at the ASC Conference in Melbourne by the then Industry and Science Minister, Prof the Hon Kim Carr. For over a decade, Inspiring Australia has been the home for National Science Week, the Prime Minister’s Prizes for Science, numerous grant rounds, and the national network of hubs.
In this invited keynote, Prof Carr will talk to the original motivation and rationale behind the policy, and give us a peek at some of the background work needed to transform the idea into reality.
He will also talk to what successes the program has had, and offer his opinion on what could be the next priority for the Inspiring Australia model.
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Prof the Hon Kim Carr FTSE
Professor the Honourable Kim Carr was a Victorian Senator for 29 years. A former tech-school teacher, he was drawn to politics by the transformational possibilities of science and education.
Kim was appointed Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research in 2007, a cabinet post he held for most of Labor’s previous six-year term in government. He also served as Minister for Manufacturing, Defence Materiel, Human Services, and Higher Education. He is currently a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University. He resigned from Parliament in 2022, and for his service to the sector has since been awarded the Academy Medal by the Australian Academy of Science, and Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.
Thursday 16 February
9:20 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
The government, through the Chief Scientist, is currently underway with a review and revitalisation of the science research priorities and the national science statement. Should there be a review of the national STEM engagement strategy?
With representatives who can speak to national policy, state implementation and local implementation, this panel hopes to encourage a discussion on the success of, and possible future for the Inspiring Australia program.
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Prof the Hon Kim Carr FTSE
Professor the Honourable Kim Carr was a Victorian Senator for 29 years. A former tech-school teacher, he was drawn to politics by the transformational possibilities of science and education.
Kim was appointed Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research in 2007, a cabinet post he held for most of Labor’s previous six-year term in government. He also served as Minister for Manufacturing, Defence Materiel, Human Services, and Higher Education. He is currently a Vice Chancellor’s Professorial Fellow at Monash University. He resigned from Parliament in 2022, and for his service to the sector has since been awarded the Academy Medal by the Australian Academy of Science, and Fellowship of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering.
Prof Graham Durant AM
Graham Durant retired as Director of Questacon in 2022 after a 45-year career in the UK and Australia. As Questacon Director from 2003 Graham was a member of the Australian Government’s Senior Executive Service and a Divisional Head in the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation and Science or variations thereof. From 2009 he led the development of the Inspiring Australia initiative.
Graham is an Honorary Professor at the Centre for the Public Awareness of Science at the Australian National University and has served as a board member of Australian Science Festival Ltd (2004-2009) and the Australian Science Media Centre (2012-22).
As Questacon Director, Graham played an important role meeting international delegations and supporting Australia cultural diplomacy efforts. He was one of the lead authors for the Toronto Declaration issued at the 5 th Science Centres World Congress in 2007 and the Cape Town Declaration issued at the 2010 6 th Science Centres World Congress. He served as Vice-President of ASPAC the Asia-Pacific science centre network organisation and represented ASPAC on the International Planning Committee for the Science Centres World Summit held in Tokyo in 2017.
He served as a Director on the Board of Association of Science Technology Centres (ASTC) (2005-2011) and was a member of ASTC International and Global Committees. He was one of the principal advocates for the global cooperative work of the science centre sector examining ways that science educational activities can contribute to the fostering of understanding across geographical, economic, religious and political boundaries.
Originally trained as a geologist at the University of Wales, Graham spent 25 years at the University of Glasgow in a post at the University’s Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery prior to arriving in Australia. Graham undertook various science communication activities at the University of Glasgow and was awarded a personal chair in Science Interpretation and Communication in 2002. He served as a member of the Scottish Science Advisory Committee (1999-2001) advising the Scottish Executive on Science in Society and Science Education matters and provided advice on science communication grant panels at various times for the Royal Society (COPUS), the Wellcome Trust and the Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council. He was closely involved in the establishment of the Glasgow Science Centre, a $200m UK Millennium project and precursor projects.
Graham has shown demonstrable commitment to informal learning in science over many years and was honoured with an AM in 2012.
Ms Alison Kershaw MApp Cyber
Throughout Alison’s 20+ year career, her greatest passions have been education and community engagement. Alison’s studies and career have taken her around the world, with work including roles in government, the disability sector, and the arts. She has sought jobs, education, and volunteering positions that further the creation of social, cultural, and economic capital in our communities.
Alison delights in bringing ideas to life and is an experienced project manager and impact leader, having worked on numerous green fields innovation initiatives and events in South Australia, including Hybrid World Adelaide, Maker Faire Adelaide, and Adelaide Film Festival.
In 2019, Alison was a member of the first cohort of students at the Australian National University’s 3A Institute, now School of Cybernetics, Masters of Applied Cybernetics. The world’s first graduate program focusing on the challenges of ensuring Ai-enabled cyber-physical systems are safe, sustainable, and responsible, led by Distinguished Professor Genevieve Bell. Alison is an affiliate at the School of Cybernetics, delivering a series of workshops as part of the Masters Program.
Alison is now back in South Australia continuing to follow her passion for education and community engagement as the Inspiring South Australia Program Manager.
Ms Tilly Boleyn
Tilly Boleyn is the Head of Curatorial, Science Gallery Melbourne, University of Melbourne. Basically, she’s a massive nerd, curious about the world and everything in it. She is a collaborative creature at heart and heads the team with a mixture of organisation, chaos, humour and sassy backtalk. She loves connecting people, making space for thought, and challenging people to back up their opinions in an imagined recreation of Mad Max Thunderdome. Her background is in museums, galleries, education, events, festivals, broadcasting and research.
Originally a microbiologist, Tilly ran from the lab to the ABC, where she discovered a talent for science gossip – talking about other people’s science rather than doing her own. She then morphed into a curator and has created exhibitions on health, medicine, experimentation, the voice, engineering, sustainability, mental health, identity and genders. Tilly is delighted by blurring the boundaries between science, art, design, technology, maths, engineering, large-scale-batteries-powered-by-human-urine and doing things she’s told aren’t allowed.
Ms Niall Byrne
Niall is Creative Director and co-founder of Science in Public. He and his team simplify and amplify the work of their clients to help them engage with their public, media, government and industry stakeholders.
Their clients in science and research include National Science Week, NHMRC, CSL, Nature, many universities, and state government science agencies.
Recent stories include Dishbrain (playing Pong), the oldest heart (380 million years), and why Australia needs access to the Extremely Large Telescope (which will be bigger than the Very Large Telescope).
Thursday Midday
Thursday 16 February
10:50 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
Postgraduates in Australia typically have a maximum of four years to complete their PhDs. As such, the time to develop soft skills (networking, communication, and professional development) is limited. Students who are partnered with centres such as Australian Research Council Centres of Excellence, are fortunate to have access to training programs opportunities for outreach and SciComm, which are viewed as necessary, rather than optional.
A key KPI for ARC centre Future Low Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET) is participation in outreach – raising public awareness of science, specifically the energy cost of electronic technologies. The centre has worked towards bettering public dialogue surrounding increased digital energy consumption and critical thinking toward the issues. Another impact milestone is the centre’s work towards improving scientific literacy in schools, especially those with limited access to visiting scientists or hands on workshops.
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Abigail is a Masters of Chemical Engineering student at RMIT and a member of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Future Low-Energy Electronics Technologies (FLEET). Her research is in the synthesis of 2D materials, and her passion is science communication. As part of FLEET she has volunteered many hours to outreach, teaching, and science communication. She also works as a presenter for PrimeSCI at Swinburne, where she presents hands-on science incursions in primary schools around Melbourne.
Contact: abigail.goff@asc.asn.au
Thursday 16 February
10:50 AM: Dorothy Hill Room
Australian guidelines to reduce health risks from drinking alcohol Niall Byrne will outline and discuss the design and implementation of two alcohol communication campaigns for the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC). In December 2019, we launched the draft guidelines for consultation. In December 2020, we launched the final guidelines which are now guiding national policy. Both campaigns were developed in consultation with:
- The expert group of researchers responsible for developing the guidelines (NHMRC Alcohol Working Group)
- NHMRC leadership
The presentation will cover
- Planning
- Infographics
- Media strategy
- Media launch
- Social media
- Issues management
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Niall is Creative Director and co-founder of Science in Public. He and his team simplify and amplify the work of their clients to help them engage with their public, media, government and industry stakeholders.
Their clients in science and research include National Science Week, NHMRC, CSL, Nature, many universities, and state government science agencies.
Recent stories include Dishbrain (playing Pong), the oldest heart (380 million years), and why Australia needs access to the Extremely Large Telescope (which will be bigger than the Very Large Telescope.
Link: scienceinpublic.com.au
Contact: niall@scienceinpublic.com.au
Thursday 16 February
11:05 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
In universities, science communicators traditionally sit in an overarching media and communications team and jump in and out when researchers have a paper coming out. But what happens when a science communicator is hired specifically for a team of researchers – on the inside?
A $72M Centre of Excellence and a small army of science communication literate researchers later, this presentation will explore the results and reflections of having a science communicator embedded within a small research university Centre.
For the past three years, Rachael Vorwerk has been working at the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre at RMIT University – a team of around 30 researchers spanning Masters students through to Professors. From the outset, her role was positioned as an experiment, to see if embedding a science communicator could help to raise the profile of the Centre and its Director, Arnan Mitchell. This presentation will explore how it went and Rachael’s learnings along the way
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Rachael is a science communicator and freelance consultant that has been published in Cosmos, Eingana and CSIRO’s Double Helix magazine. She has helped scientists to share their research in BBC World News, The Independent, ABC and The Age, to name a few.
Currently Rachael works at RMIT University at the Integrated Photonics and Applications Centre (InPAC) – a team of around 30 researchers spanning Masters students through to Distinguished Professors – and helps the team to make their research more accessible to broader audiences.
Rachael is also Co-Founder of ClimateThrive, a company that helps communities prepare for climate change-related disasters through interactive, research-based behavioural interventions.
Link: www.linkedin.com/in/rachael-vorwerk/
Contact: rachael.vorwerk@rmit.edu.au
@InPAC_RMIT
Thursday 16 February
11:10 AM: Dorothy Hill Room
What happens when you connect and involve young people in the creation of a gallery? This session explores the approach to engaging people at Science Gallery (SGM), a place that blurs the boundaries between science, art, design, technology, maths and engineering. We embed our target audience, young people 15-25yo, into many aspect of our approach: idea generation, exhibition planning, work selection, promotion and in-gallery engagement.
SGM breaks the rules of traditional museums and galleries, and is a place of bold experimentation and an inclusive space that gives audiences the agency to be change makers. This session illustrates the transformations that take place when you share power with young people. Spoiler alert: it transforms visitors, the young people involved, the process and the olde-timey-staff (anyone aged 30+).
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Tilly Boleyn is the Head of Curatorial, Science Gallery Melbourne, University of Melbourne. Basically, she’s a massive nerd, curious about the world and everything in it. She is a collaborative creature at heart and heads the team with a mixture of organisation, chaos, humour and sassy backtalk. She loves connecting people, making space for thought, and challenging people to back up their opinions in an imagined recreation of Mad Max Thunderdome. Her background is in museums, galleries, education, events, festivals, broadcasting and research. Originally a microbiologist, Tilly ran from the lab to the ABC, where she discovered a talent for science gossip – talking about other people’s science rather than doing her own. She then morphed into a curator and has created exhibitions on health, medicine, experimentation, the voice, engineering, sustainability, mental health, identity and genders. Tilly is delighted by blurring the boundaries between science, art, design, technology, maths, engineering, large-scale-batteries-powered-by-human-urine and doing things she’s told aren’t allowed.
Link: https://melbourne.sciencegallery.com/
Contact: tilly.boleyn@unimelb.edu.au
Thursday 16 February
11:20 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
What do you need to do to be taken seriously as a young science professional? How can you build connections and create meaningful impact in an increasingly online world of information overload?
Hear a young climate scientist share their experiences of navigating the climate communication space as an early career professional.
Kate’s case study will explore ways to connect with local and wider communities by looking at experiences in the research and media space. It also examines how to make meaningful impact such as expanding scientific knowledge through research papers and engaging in fundraising campaigns in the not-for-profit sector.
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Kate is an enthusiastic science communicator and climate science researcher, with a range of experience across the education, media and not-for-profit sectors.
Recent projects include investigating how volcanoes impact our climate as a Research Assistant at the University of Melbourne, writing local news articles on climate at the Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub and promoting science communication as Co-Secretary of the ASC.
Kate holds a Master of Science, Bachelor of Science and a Diploma of Applied Maths from the University of Melbourne. She enjoys exploring different science opportunities and is always keen to share exciting science stories.
Link: https://katebongiovanni.webnode.com/
Contact: kate.bongiovanni@asc.asn.au
Thursday Afternoon
Thursday 16 February
1:10 PM: Fenner Room
Hosted by the Science, Economics and Impacts Division of the NSW Department of Planning and Environment, you’ll walk away from this practical 60-minute workshop with a draft video brief for your science story, script-writing ideas and hands-on experience interviewing, speaking to camera and capturing footage. The way we engage with science has shifted significantly over the last few years. This event will provide space for reflection, through the experience of professionals sharing the evolution of storytelling culture at DPE over the last decade. Our creative team will share some of our tried and true tools to plan and shoot video. The team will share our process, template, and key insights for creating video content and maximising impact in a complex landscape spanning media, web, community engagement and social platforms.
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Mx Daniela Benavides Reiss
Daniela Benavides Reiss, is a science communicator at the NSW Department of Planning and Environment. An ecologist and filmmaker, Daniela has a background in environmental education and running NFPs. She is a journalism fellow of the Women Divers Hall of Fame, and Duke University Marine Conservation fellow. Daniela solidified her skills as a filmmaker as an Australia Award recipient, going on to co-create Stories For Impact, the storytelling education program at Digital Storytellers working with under-represented communities throughout Australia to and beyond, at Climate COPs and IUCN conferences. She is co-director of IUCN’s #NatureForAll and regional VC for the IUCN Commission of Education and Communication.
Georgia McKeon
Bio coming soon
Ms Sarah Klistorner
Sarah Klistorner, DPE Team Leader for Science Communications, responsible for carving out the storytelling culture at the Science, Economics and Insights Division, and growing the team from a single role to team of 5 full-time communicators in 5 years by demonstrating impact. Formerly communications manager at CSIRO, Sarah brings a wealth of experience translating complex topics into engaging, vibrant content for target audiences.
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Contact: science.communicator@environment.nsw.gov.au
@nswenviromedia |@nswenviromedia | environment.nsw.gov.au/newsroom
Thursday 16 February
1:10 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Are Photons Mysterious? Come along and explore this question with Professor Hans Bachor AM (Optical physicist) and Patrick Helean (Theatre director and science communicator) from Questacon. They would like your participation and input, workshopping a demonstration idea being developed as the basis of a new presentation for the general public about the nature of these particles of light, photons. From their size to their interactions.
Photons are not just for physicists, we all use them everyday!
This presentation/workshop/discussion is for any one in the Science Communication community who has ideas on how to, or wants to know more about communicating complex science to the public.
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E/Prof Hans Bachor AM
Bio coming soon
Patrick Helean
Bio coming soon
Thursday 16 February
1:10 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
The challenge of gender equity in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) persists despite focused efforts to attract more women and girls into STEM education and professions. Systemic cultural and policy factors are impacting individuals’ careers and wellbeing; and the outcomes from research and innovation.
Science communication can offer valuable opportunities to address gender equity imbalances in STEM professions. Join Claire Harris and Dr Susan McGinty in this interactive discussion and mini-workshop. Contribute your examples and ideas for taking tangible science communication actions to positively impact gender equity.
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Claire Harris CPM
Entrepreneur and Founder of Innovate Communicate and Cowork Coplay, Claire Harris is a marketing-communication and science professional with a passion for innovation, inclusion and positive change. She has worked in the innovation ecosystem for over 20+ years; 7+ of those years dedicated to business.
Innovate Communicate (www.innovatecommunicate.com) bridges the gap between STEM/innovation and society by providing stakeholder engagement, project management and diversity services and programs.
Innovate Communicate has recently worked with clients in environment, agriculture, health, social science, technology and defence.
Cowork Coplay (www.coworkcoplay.com.au) provides coworking programs with a focus on career and community. Childminding is also offered as a standard benefit for parents of little kids.
Claire has a Bachelor Environmental Science and a Grad Dip Communication, is a Certified Practising Marketer and is currently undertaking a Diploma in Digital Technologies.
Dr Susan McGinty
Dr Susan McGinty is an award-winning scientist and highly regarded leader and leadership coach, with 25 years’ experience in STEM, Defence and National Security, who is inspired to transform the profile of leadership for women in STEM- and security-related organisations.
Susan has a PhD in Medicinal & Organic Chemistry and a Master of Leadership. Following over ten years in research, Susan spent 14 years (12 of those in leadership positions) in Defence and National Security leading a range of specialised scientific and technical teams, managing key international Defence and national security partnerships and advising on key Defence domestic and international strategic, operational and scientific policies.
Inspired by the challenges of her own leadership journey, Susan is passionate about increasing gender diversity in STEM and security leadership. As the Founder and Director of Aya Leadership, she works with women in these professions to master their leadership purpose, skills and experience through education, resources and coaching. She also works with organisations to develop strategies and deliver training to ensure they have the leaders they need now and into the future. Susan understands the challenges women in STEM and security-related professions can experience on their leadership journey, and delivers practical, actionable strategies that makes a real difference.
Susan has fifteen years’ experience in adult education, coaching and mentoring in the university, research, corporate, government and community sectors. She is an author, speaker, certified coach, certified NLP Practitioner and is accredited in the MSCEIT Emotional Intelligence Test and Strengths Profile assessment.
Susan was identified by The Australian Business Journal as one of the 20 Australian leadership experts to watch in 2021. She is a strategic partner of the Australian Women in Security Network and an Executive Member of Women in STEM Leadership.
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Link: https://sleekbio.com/innovatecommunicate | https://ayaleadership.com/
Thursday 16 February
1:10 PM: Becker Room
The Australian Science Communicators has been the place for the sector to meet, network, discuss and learn from each other. For new to science communication, the ASC has also offered great opportunities and professional development across a range of skills and networks.
But what about those of us who no longer need a crash course in media or presenting to camera. What professional development would be of most use?
In this collaborative round-table workshop, we hope to flesh out some ideas on the kinds of professional development the ASC can invest in providing for its members that are useful.
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Janine believes in making a difference today so that tomorrow is the best it can be for everyone. Janine’s experience working in the health, social services, and environment sectors gives her unique insight into some of the most pressing issues facing Australians.
Janine is direct and capable, with a strong eye for critical improvement. With over five years’ experience as a strategic designer, and ten years of science and research experience, Janine’s interdisciplinary skills allow her to analyse, contextualise and empathise with her clients and their customers. She is a concrete thinker with an open mind to see possibility. Janine can help you interpret and translate situations in a way that cuts through complexity and clarifies the broader context. She draws from a diverse work background and her experiences enable her to consider the bigger picture and range of interconnections within any challenge.
Janine is passionate about working collectively to enable change that positively impacts people’s lives. She is an effervescent and enthusiastic person, who can quickly build trusting relationships and energise workshop participants to enable teams to successfully achieve their goals. But she is deceptively extroverted and highly skilled at reading people. Janine is considerate, open minded and self-aware so she can positively disarm people when exploring the heart of an experience or problem, and always keep the people we are designing change for at the centre of the work.
Janine has worked previously as a medical research scientist, and was granted the Dean’s award for her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Genetics and Biochemistry. She also has a Masters of Urban Horticulture. She recently worked on the USAID funded Breakthrough ACTION consortium applying Human Centered Design methodologies to shift health behaviours and social norms in a range of developing nation contexts.
Contact: janine.kuehlich@thinkplace.com.au
Thursday 16 February
2:10 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Pint of Science is a global festival that brings scientists to local pubs to share their research with the public. Founded in the UK in 2012, the festival has now expanded to over 20 countries. In Australia, we have been at the forefront of the festival’s expansion, and we are now looking to take it to the next level.
We seek recommendations on ways to attract the best speakers, expand the diversity of our audience, and enhance any other aspect of the festival that may be improved. It is our objective to ensure that Pint of Science in Australia remains a valuable and unique opportunity for the general public to engage with and learn about the latest scientific research and discoveries, as well as for scientists to connect with the community.
We invite you to participate in this unique opportunity to assist us in evolving and enhancing the festival for the benefit of attendees and the scientific community.
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Jin-oh Choi is the Co-Chief Executive Officer of Pint of Science Australia, an innovative and dynamic branch of the global science festival that brings scientists to the public in local bars and pubs to discuss their research and findings in a relaxed and informal setting. He is a passionate advocate for science communication and education in Australia, and works to make scientific knowledge and research accessible to the Australian audience.
Jin-oh is also a lover of craft beer and enjoys combining his passion for science and beer through his work at Pint of Science Australia. He believes that by connecting science with something as relatable and approachable as a pint of beer, it allows people to engage with science in a new and exciting way. He is committed to making science accessible to all and his work at Pint of Science Australia is a testament to that. He is constantly looking for new ways to bring science to the public, and is always open to new ideas and collaborations.
Link: https://pintofscience.com.au
Contact: Jinoh.Choi@pintofscience.com.au
@pintofscienceAU
Thursday 16 February
2:10 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Societies are faced with complex, wicked problems where science communicators have a role — climate change, environmental injustices, inequitable healthcare. These issues involve a diverse array of stakeholders in communities, industry, and government. For such settings, Irwin (2021) argues for ‘third-order’ communication, but what is it, and how does one do it successfully?
Through discussions between the authors and others, we have identified three characteristics that seem common across our experiences:
- Messiness – how do we come up with ready explanations for what we do and what we are attempting to do, which is not just ‘explaining science’?
- Transdisciplinary approaches – what knowledge counts?
- Sorting through this messiness of the above through co-creation with stakeholders
In this short workshop, we will flesh out Irwin’s definition and stimulate broader, critical discussion of the three-fold conceptualisation of science communication.
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Dr Lisa Bailey
I am a science communicator and Program Manager with experience in cultural institutions both in South Australia and the UK.
Currently I am Exhibition Manager at MOD. at UniSA- Australia’s leading future-focused museum, provoking new ideas at the intersection of science, art and innovation.
Dr Heather Bray
Dr Heather Bray has over 20 years of experience in Science Communication as a practitioner, scholar, teacher, and researcher. She currently coordinates the Master of Science Communication and the undergraduate major and minor in Science Communication.
Heather’s research explores community understandings of, and attitudes to, the role of science and technology in food production, in particular genetically-modified crops and food, and farm animal welfare. Her work aims to improve communication and build trust between different stakeholders in the agri-food system.
Heather’s background is in agricultural science and she has worked as an animal scientist in both Australia and the Netherlands. Before returning to academia, she worked in science centres and agricultural research centres, developing community engagement programs about complex and controversial technologies.
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Contact: lisa.bailey@unisa.edu.au
@mod_museum
Thursday 16 February
2:10 PM: Becker Room
What can science communication researchers offer those who develop policy and science advice? What about practitioners – what can they offer researchers to make data capture or analysis more efficient or reliable?
Other than the national conference, the ASC has a real interest in how we can we get people under the BROAD umbrella of science communication to talk more. We want to know what the ASC can do to better bridge the divide.
Join this roundtable to discuss and brainstorm opportunities to better engage between areas of the membership. We hope to identify a range of events or activities that can facilitate cross-discipline collaboration.
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Janine believes in making a difference today so that tomorrow is the best it can be for everyone. Janine’s experience working in the health, social services, and environment sectors gives her unique insight into some of the most pressing issues facing Australians.
Janine is direct and capable, with a strong eye for critical improvement. With over five years’ experience as a strategic designer, and ten years of science and research experience, Janine’s interdisciplinary skills allow her to analyse, contextualise and empathise with her clients and their customers. She is a concrete thinker with an open mind to see possibility. Janine can help you interpret and translate situations in a way that cuts through complexity and clarifies the broader context. She draws from a diverse work background and her experiences enable her to consider the bigger picture and range of interconnections within any challenge.
Janine is passionate about working collectively to enable change that positively impacts people’s lives. She is an effervescent and enthusiastic person, who can quickly build trusting relationships and energise workshop participants to enable teams to successfully achieve their goals. But she is deceptively extroverted and highly skilled at reading people. Janine is considerate, open minded and self-aware so she can positively disarm people when exploring the heart of an experience or problem, and always keep the people we are designing change for at the centre of the work.
Janine has worked previously as a medical research scientist, and was granted the Dean’s award for her Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Genetics and Biochemistry. She also has a Masters of Urban Horticulture. She recently worked on the USAID funded Breakthrough ACTION consortium applying Human Centered Design methodologies to shift health behaviours and social norms in a range of developing nation contexts.
Contact: janine.kuehlich@thinkplace.com.au
Thursday 16 February
3:05 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
The COVID pandemic has highlighted the extent to which scientists and science communicators are increasingly facing harassment and personal threats designed to intimidate and silence.
These threats, which are often delivered via social media or online, can shut down important conversations, remove key voices from a debate, and can ultimately pose a threat to public debate and the health of democracy.
If scientists stop speaking to the media and journalists can no longer utilise their expertise, all of us will be worse off.
Around 1 in 5 Australian scientists surveyed by the Australian Science Media Centre (AusSMC) said they experienced death threats and/or threats of physical or sexual violence after speaking to the media about COVID-19. A follow-up international survey found similar if slightly higher levels of abuse in other countries.
How can scientists be better supported to deal with this harassment in a more resilient way?
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Lyndal Byford is the Director of News and Partnerships at the Australian Science Media Centre. She spends her days managing a team that helps mainstream news journalists cover some of the biggest stories in the news – from climate, energy and natural disasters to diet, health, technology and space. Lyndal has an Honours Degree in biotechnology from Flinders University and a Graduate Diploma in Science Communication from the Australian National University. She has experience communicating science in a range of settings including at museums, within the pharmaceutical industry and in media relations both here and in the UK.
Lyndal is a frequent commentator on science media relations and regularly appears on the ABC. She has written for publications including COSMOS, Crikey, ABC, and News Corp Australia. Lyndal was also a member of Inspiring Australia’s Science and the Media Expert Working Group for the Federal Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.
Link: sciemex.org
Contact: lyndal@smc.org.au
@aussmc | @AusSMC@aus.social
Thursday 16 February
3:05 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
The Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC) is Australia’s peak body for research data. The ARDC co-invests in projects that develop digital research infrastructure for Australian researchers from all disciplines, from linguistics to geophysics.
In FY2022-23, ~100 ARDC co-investment projects will launch. With so many projects launching at the same time, and most having little embedded communication support, our small communication team asked: how can we provide communication support for these projects with limited resources?
In this talk, Jo Savill, Senior Science Communicator at the ARDC, will share the communication strategy and plan toolkit she developed with colleagues to support research infrastructure projects. She’ll share:
- How it was created
- Its key features
- How to run workshops on the toolkit
- Feedback received about the toolkit
- Where you can download it (it’s CC-BY).
She also wants to hear about your experiences with communication strategies and plans.
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Jo Savill is the Senior Science Communicator at the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). With 20 years experience in science communication and digital marketing in Australia, Israel and the UK, Jo now develops and implements strategy communication strategies for ARDC initiatives that build digital research infrastructure for Australia researchers.
Link: https://ardc.edu.au
Contact: jo.savill@ardc.edu.au
@ARDC_AU
Thursday 16 February
3:30 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Human brain cells in a dish learn to play Pong: live biological neurons show more about how a brain works than AI ever will In October 2022, Melbourne company Cortical Labs announced their latest research in a paper in Neuron.
Science in Public helped them promote the research to a global audience achieving an Altmetric of 3800 with over 320 media stories tracked online and a Twitter reach of nearly 8 million.
In this session we’ll outline our approach to the campaign, and how we see the interaction of media, social media and custom publishing.
If you think old media is old come along and we’ll have a lively discussion.
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Niall is Creative Director and co-founder of Science in Public. He and his team simplify and amplify the work of their clients to help them engage with their public, media, government and industry stakeholders.
Their clients in science and research include National Science Week, NHMRC, CSL, Nature, many universities, and state government science agencies.
Recent stories include Dishbrain (playing Pong), the oldest heart (380 million years), and why Australia needs access to the Extremely Large Telescope (which will be bigger than the Very Large Telescope.
Link: scienceinpublic.com.au
Contact: lauren.sullivan@science.org.au | hayley.teasdale@science.org.au
@scienceinpublic
Thursday 16 February
3:30 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Science is important to understand our world and shape our future. In our contentious world misinformation and doubt can lead to confusion and delayed action. It is critical that policy makers have evidence to inform decision making on issues that affect our lives.
The Australian Academy of Science plays a role by drawing on leading experts to provide independent, authoritative and influential scientific advice.
Rapid scientific input is required for decision makers to respond to complex challenges. However, science is evolving, complex and involves uncertainty. How can we deliver science advice that is independent, accurate, relevant and timely?
We will present innovative methods used by the Academy to generate science policy advice – rapid reports prepared via the Rapid Research Information Forum that present the latest evidence to respond to questions from Australian Government Ministers, and expert roundtables to discuss research priorities and emerging science and policy issues.
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Lauren Sullivan
Lauren is a Policy Analyst at the Australian Academy of Science, where she leads policy projects to provide science advice on a range of issues covering a variety of scientific fields.
Her experience spans roles across the science sector, including in industry, higher education, research organisations and science communication – from podcasting to science shows to delivering science communication professional learning workshops. She has a science background in biotechnology and molecular and cell biology.
Dr Hayley Teasdale
Dr Hayley Teasdale is currently the Manager Science Policy Projects at the Australian Academy of Science, delivering science policy projects and developing innovative methods for producing science policy advice. She has a PhD in Health from the University of Canberra where studied the effects of non-invasive brain stimulation on the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and she is the former Lead Scientist of Halo Neuroscience. She is also a past national runner up of FameLab and one of the winners of Falling Walls Lab Australia in 2018.
Link: science.org.au
Contact: lauren.sullivan@science.org.au | hayley.teasdale@science.org.au
@Science_Academy
Friday Morning
Friday 17 February
9:00 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
Tom Calma is a well-known advocate for Indigenous health and has dedicated his career to improving the lives of Indigenous communities. In his presentation, Tom will speak about the communication challenges he faced while working across different Indigenous communities with the Tackling Indigenous Smoking program, and now with the Voice to Parliament.
The Tackling Indigenous Smoking program aims to reduce the smoking rate among Indigenous communities, which is on a downward trend over the past 15 years. Tom will highlight the successes and challenges of this program, including the need for culturally appropriate communication strategies that can be adapted to different communities.
Tom will also discuss the importance of effective communication in working with Indigenous communities. He will emphasise the need to understand the cultural context of different communities and the importance of engaging with Indigenous leaders and communities in a respectful and meaningful way.
Tom Calma is one of the co-chairs of the co-designed report that outlines an Indigenous Voice made up of two parts that work together: Local & Regional Voices and a National Voice. The Voice to Parliament aims to give Indigenous Australians a formal voice in the decisions that affect their communities and to provide a platform for Indigenous perspectives to be heard in the national Parliament. The proposal has been endorsed by many Indigenous leaders and organisations, yet is not universally supported.
The co-design report held over 115 community consultation sessions, held over 120 stakeholder meetings and collected over 4000 submissions and survey responses. Tom will speak to some of the challenges now faced in the discussion around this issue.
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Prof Tom Calma AO FAA FASSM
Prof. Tom Calma is an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2012 and named ACT Australian of the Year in 2013 for his work as a human rights and social justice advocate.
Tom has long been a champion for the improvement and advancement of Indigenous peoples’ health, justice, education, and employment status. His research interests include pharmacological application for scabies control, genomics, Indigenous cancers, tobacco control, and micro-biome, as well as health, mental health, and suicide prevention. For many decades, Tom has been a fierce advocate for progress and change, and his work continues to have an enduring impact on public discourse in Australia and beyond. In the weeks preceding the conference, Tom has been recognised as Senior Australian of the Year.
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Link: https://voice.niaa.gov.au/final-report
Friday 17 February
9:25 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
Science communication can help drive innovation, promote sustainable development, and support the growth of support for science-based decision-making. In this discussion, our panellists will explore a future vision for science in Australia and the role that science communication can and should play in not only realising that vision, but being a part of it.
Through discussion, the panelists aim to inspire attendees to be involved in building a future in which not only science is widely valued and understood, but in which science communication is valued and appreciated for the central role it has in supporting the public discourse.
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Prof Tom Calma AO FAA FASSM
Prof. Tom Calma is an Aboriginal elder from the Kungarakan tribal group and a member of the Iwaidja tribal group. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2012 and named ACT Australian of the Year in 2013 for his work as a human rights and social justice advocate.
Tom has long been a champion for the improvement and advancement of Indigenous peoples’ health, justice, education, and employment status. His research interests include pharmacological application for scabies control, genomics, Indigenous cancers, tobacco control, and micro-biome, as well as health, mental health, and suicide prevention. For many decades, Tom has been a fierce advocate for progress and change, and his work continues to have an enduring impact on public discourse in Australia and beyond. In the weeks preceding the conference, Tom has been recognised as Senior Australian of the Year.
Dr Chris Hatherly
Chris Hatherly is CEO of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia; one of Australia’s five Learned Academies, with over 700 distinguished academics, public intellectuals and senior officials across disciplines ranging from sociology, anthropology and law through to economics, psychology, marketing and statistics. Chris has a PhD in psychology from the ANU, and prior to taking up his current position in 2019, worked in senior roles in peak bodies focused on health and aged care and STEM.
Dr Sarah Tynan
Dr Sarah Tynan is a highly respected scientist and science communicator. As the Director of Policy and Engagement at Science Technology Australia, Dr Tynan plays an influential role in the Australian STEM sector. With a PhD in Geological and Earth Sciences and extensive experience in science policy and advocacy, Dr Tynan is recognised as a leading voice in the promotion of science and technology and their impact on society. She is passionate about engaging the public with science and promote scientific literacy and public understanding of science and technology.
Dr Melanie Bagg GAICD
Dr Melanie Bagg GAICD, is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). The NYSF is a not-for-profit charity that has been connecting young people across Australia with their science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) futures for over 39 years. Melanie has an extensive background in scientific research, with a BSc, a BHSc (Hons) and a PhD in Medicine from the University of Adelaide. A graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors Course, Melanie also has more than 15 years of experience in STEM management, business development and fundraising, communication, outreach, international relations, publishing and media across not-for-profit, higher education, mainstream media, government, and industry sectors.
In 2016 while working at the Australian Science Media Centre, Melanie was awarded the Unsung Hero of SA Science Communication for her voluntary contributions to translating complex science into something we can all understand as ABC Adelaide’s regular Medical Science Myth Buster. As Director of Communications at the Australian Academy of Science, Melanie established a STEM video production unit, led her team to unprecedented publishing success globally and was awarded two Public Relations Institute of Australia’s (PRIA) Golden Target Awards for Not-for-Profit In-House Team of the Year in 2018. Melanie is passionate about helping young people understand what sorts of STEM jobs they can pursue and loves to connect the wider community with the latest research stories on social media and as a regular STEM commentator on ABC Radio National.
Kylie Walker
Kylie Walker is CEO of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) and Chair of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO.
She specialises in connecting technologists, engineers and scientists with governments, business, media and society – skills built over many years in senior federal communication and advocacy roles in the science, technology and health sectors.
As the immediate past CEO of Science & Technology Australia, Kylie led campaigns to increase investment in Australian research and development, and created the acclaimed Superstars of STEM program, championing Australian women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
She’s also been a Press Gallery journalist for Australian Associated Press and the ABC, and is a visiting Fellow at the Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science (CPAS). She was Chair of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO and in 2019, was named in the 100 Women of Influence list by the Australian Financial Review, for her work on improving equity, diversity and inclusion in STEM.
Friday Midday
Friday 17 February
10:45 AM: Ian Wark Theatre
Three years ago, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, SARS-CoV-2 has affected every person and country on this planet and killed more than 16 thousand Australians.
During this time, we have learnt a lot about how COVID works and the best ways to prevent it, but there is a concerning lack of public awareness and understanding of the risks they are exposed to and how to avoid them.
This panel will be presented by experts and communicators of the COVID pandemic.
The discussion will focus on the power of information and misinformation during the ongoing pandemic and discuss the critical role science communicators can play to help the public navigate the pandemic and recognise the misconceptions that have spread as fast as the virus in our communities.
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Prof Brendan Crabb AC FAA FAHMS FASM
Professor Brendan Crabb AC is an infectious disease researcher with a special interest in malaria. His research group develops and exploits genetic approaches to better understand malaria parasite biology, principally to help prioritise vaccine and drug targets. Since 2008 he has been the Director and CEO of the Burnet Institute, a research institute that has a focus on infectious diseases and maternal and child health, especially for populations most in need.
He is President of both the Australian Global Health Alliance and the Pacific Friends of Global Health, bodies that advocate for better health equity. He is the past-President of the Association of Australian Medical Research Institutes (AAMRI), the peak body for independent medical research Institutes in Australia.
He is currently a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA), a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS) and of the Australian Society for Microbiology (FASM).
In 2015, he was awarded a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia’s highest civilian honour. In 2019 he received the GSK Award for Research Excellence and in 2020 he was awarded the Global Citizen Prize: Australia’s Hero Award.
Burnet has played a major role in the COVID-19 pandemic, including advising governments and advocating strongly for public health action. Professor Crabb has been regularly sought by media for comment throughout the pandemic.
Colin Kinner
Colin is a science and technology communicator with deep experience in the research sector. He is an advocate for evidence-based public health and a vocal critic of the poor science communication that has been a feature of Australia’s pandemic response.
In 2022 Colin founded COVID Facts Australia, a volunteer-led initiative to provide Australians with factual information about COVID. Its first major project is a report highlighting pandemic misinformation from politicians, public health officials, medical professionals, scientists and the media.
The report will uncover how misinformation has impacted people’s attitudes and behaviours regarding COVID, and show how it has led many Australians to not take basic precautions that would protect them and others from COVID.
Colin is also founder of the Clean Air Accelerator, a not-for-profit startup accelerator focused on clean air technologies to prevent spread of airborne diseases.
Prof Deborah Lupton FASSA FRSN DSocSci (honis causa)
Deborah Lupton is SHARP Professor in the Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture, University of New South Wales (UNSW) Sydney, Australia. Her research is interdisciplinary, spanning sociology, media and cultural studies. She is located in the Centre for Social Research in Health and the Social Policy Research Centre, leading both the Vitalities Lab and the UNSW Node of the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society. She is also a member of the UNSW AI Institute (UNSWai).
Natalia Bateman
Natalia has more than 15 years of experience in science communication. She was part of the Shell Questacon Science Circus in 2005 and since then she has worked in several scientific organisations in the ACT, including CSIRO and ANU. Natalia is deeply interested in the role of science communication during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Link:
Contact: natalia.bateman@protonmail.com
@CovidFactsAus | UNSWADA @ADMS |
Friday 17 February
11:45 AM: Dorothy Hill Room
What is the distinction between ‘participatory science communication’ and ‘citizen science’? Are they different points along a continuum stretching from ‘simple’ to ‘more involved’?
A key consideration is the level of involvement by ‘citizens’, and that raises questions of power. Who instigates the research? Who designs the experiments? Full participatory science communication has publics playing at least an equal role.
This session will consider Sherry Arnstein’s “Ladder of Participation” paper of 1969. She looked at the role of citizens in urban renewal projects, ranking degrees of involvement on an eight-point ladder.
Too often it was fake participation. Only participation on the higher rungs was genuine because of its power-sharing potential. Can the same be said of ‘participatory science communication’, which may involve simple counting exercises (eg birds) but not more meaningful involvement such as experimental design, analysis and publicising of results.
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Toss Gascoigne is a former President of both PCST and ASC. He has published on the history of science communication, on whether the field could be considered a discipline, on communication training workshops, and science advocacy.
His book ‘Communicating Science. A Global Perspective’ (ANU Press, 2020) documents the way science communication has developed. With 107 authors and chapters on 39 different countries, the book has had an international impact (and 50,000 downloads).
He developed ‘Science meets Parliament’ and has described an initiative which allows scientists to meet national politicians, to make the case for science and research.
He has run hundreds of training workshops in science communication in Australia, the Pacific and a dozen other countries ranging from Colombia to Uganda.
Toss headed national organisations in Australia for 15 years: as Executive Director of both the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS – now STA and the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Link: https://rlec.pt/index.php/rlec/issue/view/279/279
Contact: director@tossgascoigne.com.au
Friday 17 February
11:45 AM: Dorothy Hill Room
How do you summarise 20 years of research in one documentary?
A case study on Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Program film: Recovering Paradise.
The Lord Howe Island Rodent Eradication Project was one of the world’s most complex eradications. We’ll chat to filmmaker Stuart Cohen about what it takes to make a science documentary and strategies to support scientists to capture footage in the field.
Department of Planning, Industry, and Environment – Science, Economics and Impacts Division Science Communicator Team Leader, Sarah Klistorner, shares her experience of creating a culture of video creation in the government agency in the past decade. She shares how to support scientists to capture content with mobile video kits, used by field scientists to gather footage featured in the film and why it’s key to capture content through the different stages of a project.
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Sarah Klistorner, DPE Team Leader for Science Communications, responsible for carving out the storytelling culture at the Science, Economics and Insights Division, and growing the team from a single role to team of 5 full-time communicators in 5 years by demonstrating impact. Formerly communications manager at CSIRO, Sarah brings a wealth of experience translating complex topics into engaging, vibrant content for target audiences.
Link: vimeo.com/scienceeconomicsinsights/recoveringparadise
Contact: science.communicator@environment.nsw.gov.au
@nswenviromedia |@nswenviromedia | environment.nsw.gov.au/newsroom
Friday 17 February
12:10 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
How do you get the word out about citizen science in Australia?
You make a postage stamp!
Or a series of them.
But how do you make a postage stamp? What is the process? How long does it take?
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In May 2014 Michelle was invited by Earthwatch to attend the Australian Citizen Science Associations Inaugural Workshop in Brisbane due to her interest as the ASC2014 conference. She found herself co-chair of the Communications Working Group where she and Jessie Oliver co-developed ACSA social media (Twitter, Facebook, & LinkedIn). Since then Michelle, has been an active science communicator by posting on volunteering as ASCA’s social media moderator, poster and tweeter for the all social media platforms as well as an occasional poster and tweeter for ASC. Having worked in analytical chemistry for over a decade Michelle finds herself in an interesting place – a scientist as well as a citizen scientist, with a passion for science communication.
Link: https://citizenscience.org.au/who-we-are/
Contact: michelle_neil@hotmail.com
@CitSciOz | @citsci_oz
Friday 17 February
12:00 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
The modernising of the Academy can be seen in the constant evolution of our video production. Our graphic design, video style and even formats all reflect a changing social landscape that is—lately—throwing up more curveballs than ever.
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Luke Buckle is a social media specialist with a background in interviewing bands, broadcast television and tech startups. With a degree in Applied Science (Information Studies), Luke ditched the Dewey decimal system for anything digital as soon as IRC took hold. He was soon writing for music magazines before managing online forums and social communities at Foxtel, Channel 7 and Fox Sports with their one-million-plus Facebook audiences. Luke joined The Australian Academy of Science in 2022 and with three kids and a wife, works from home in Sydney.
Link: https://science.org.au
@Science_Academy
Friday 17 February
12:15 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
In July 2022, a piece of space junk was believed to have been found by two farmers outside Jindabyne in New South Wales. Their find would turn out to be one of the most well-documented, studied, and impactful incidents of space junk. However, it was almost for not as various scientists, government bodies, and other sources ignored them.
Had it not been for the role of media and social media, and opportunity may have been missed.
Moreover, this incident goes a long way in both highlighting and understanding the way the space community interacts with the public, showing there is a long way to go.
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Brad Tucker is an Astrophysicist/Cosmologist at the Research School of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Mt. Stromlo Observatory and the National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, at the Australian National University.
Brad received Bachelor’s degrees in Physics, Philosophy, and Theology from the University of Notre Dame and a PhD in Astrophysics and Cosmology from Mt. Stromlo Observatory at the ANU. He’s leading programs using the NASA’s Kepler Space Telescope and TESS to understand why and how stars blow up. He’s also building a network of ultraviolet telescopes in the upper atmosphere, a search to find Planet 9, as well as issues surrounding the mining of asteroids.
Brad frequently gives talks to school groups and the public about Astronomy and has regular segments on various radio and TV stations. He has also developed a series of Astronomy coins with the Royal Australian Mint, consulted on science fiction movies, and has been featured in TV specials. He is currently in the process of writing his first popular book and an online Astronomy course.
Contact: brad@mso.anu.edu.au
Friday Afternoon
Friday 17 February
1:25 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
Australia is a global leader in world-class research. The Australian Government helps maintain this reputation by ensuring researchers have access to cutting edge national research infrastructure supported through the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) program ncrisportal.org.au.
There are 27 NCRIS-funded projects that provide research infrastructure across astronomy, biodiversity, geoscience, supercomputing, climate science, nuclear science, health, data and more. The projects support researchers by providing access to tools, data, software, technology, facilities and technical expertise.
This session will be presented by communications and engagement representatives from NCRIS facilities.
They will discuss:
- What are the unique communication challenges and opportunities for research infrastructure?
- What has made for successful and not so successful communication about research infrastructure?
- What communication opportunities do they see in the future?
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Ms Jo Savill
Jo Savill is the Senior Science Communicator at the Australian Research Data Commons (ARDC). With 20 years experience in science communication and digital marketing in Australia, Israel and the UK, Jo now develops and implements strategy communication strategies for ARDC initiatives that build digital research infrastructure for Australia researchers.
Dr Marina Trigueros
Dr Marina Trigueros joined Phenomics Australia in 2020 as a Communications and Outreach Coordinator bringing an in-depth knowledge of science communication and biotechnology.
Before joining Phenomics Australia, she founded and led Cariboo Design, a science communication studio devoted to explaining Scientific topics to broad audiences through illustrations and 3D animations.
She has worked in various research roles for the CSIRO and the Spanish National Centre for Biotechnology, with a focus on projects using gene editing technologies.
Marina holds a PhD in Plant Molecular Biology from the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cell Biology, a Polytechnic University of Valencia, and the Spanish Research Council research centre in Valencia, Spain.
She has been a Board member of the Association of Spanish Researchers in Australia-Pacific (SRAP) and a member of the ACT’s National Science Week Coordination Committee.
In 2021, she received the SRAP Laureate Award at the SRAP’s Forum organised in collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Australia, the Australia-Spain Council Foundation, and the Ramón Areces Foundation to commemorate her outstanding work as part of SRAP’s Board.
Natalia Bateman
Natalia is the Outreach and Engagement Manager of the Australian Earth System Simulator (ACCESS-NRI) and has more than 15 years of experience in science communication and engagement. She joined the Shell Questacon Science Circus in 2005 and since then, she has worked in several scientific organisations including the ARC Centre of Excellence for Translational Photosynthesis, CSIRO and Questacon. Natalia studied biology in Colombia and holds a Masters in History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Sydney.
Natalia is deeply interested in the crucial role of science communication and miscommunication during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr Christina Hall
Christina is the Australian BioCommons A/Director – Training and Communications. She is a science communicator with a passion for making the world better with science, and making science better with communication. As a reformed research scientist and grown-up science showgirl, she has worked across the private, university, government and museum sectors. Christina supports scientists to do their best work by ensuring they have the right skills, connections and opportunities to share their research.
Belinda Cay
Belinda Cay, Director of AgCommunictors and Communications Manager for Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) has 23 years’ experience in managing science communication & engagement strategies. She will share how we engage the community in plant phenomics infrastructure.
Emma Joughin
Emma Joughin is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator for Australian Urban Research Infrastructure Network (AURIN). With 15 years experience in communications and urban analytics, Emma supports researchers and promotes the impact of their work on urban habitats and what makes our communities thrive. With a background in human geography and sustainability, she is firmly rooted in spatial data and geographic information systems (GIS). In 2015 Emma co-founded the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) Communications Network, a group of Australian communications experts, working to promote research impacts and secure ongoing investment in the eInfrastructure needed to solve Australia’s greatest challenges.
Dr Phil Dooley
Dr Phil Dooley is the communications manager for ANU Physics, and also a freelance science communicator under the banner Phil Up On Science. He is a science writer, trainer and entertainer. Credits include Cosmos Magazine, New Scientist and Australian Geographic and he was selected for the Anthology of Best Australian Science Writing in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
He has a PhD in laser physics and has performed his own brand of science, music and comedy in science shows and festivals around the world including London, Glasgow and Adelaide Fringe; solo and as part of a science theatre collaboration Dramatis Scientificae. He has a Certificate IV in Workplace Training and Assessment.
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Link: https://ardc.edu.au; https://cariboodesign.com/
Contact: jo.savill@ardc.edu.au; marina.trigueros@anu.edu.au
@ARDC_AU | @phenomics
Friday 17 February
2:30 PM: IAN WARK THEATRE
For over 40 years, Questacon has been inspiring young people, educators and communities. In 2019, Questacon embarked on an ambitious project – to build a new National Presence strategy to guide our work. The strategy built upon an international model of STEM learning ecosystems to establish a new framework for designing and implementing activities and improving our understanding of both program need and impact in Australia, and potential for building greater STEM capacity nationally.
The strategy represents a significant shift in our thinking and evolution in our approach, from delivering primarily one-off experiences known to spark engagement, to a model equally focused on building a sustained, collaborative, place based approach, responsive to the ongoing strengths and goals of communities. Questacon is not only measuring success by the uptake or outcomes of individual programs but also the ways we connect to other providers, experiences and resources in the ecosystem.
In this session we will show how we have developed and tested the model, identifying 5 dimensions to help better understand Australian STEM ecosystems, and sharing data from 3 key Build regions (the Northern Territory, Central Queensland and Tasmania). We’ll discuss what the data tells us about these regions in 2019 (arguably the last ‘normal’ year pre-COVID) and how it helps set a benchmark for future evaluation. We’ll share how our framework works and can be used by local providers and stakeholders across regions, including other STEM learning providers who are seeking new tools to engage audiences in a collaborative and sustainable manner.
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Mr Sam Needham
Sam Needham is an experienced science communicator with a background in academic research and science – centered performance art, with an honours degree in theoretical physics and a bachelors degree in fine arts. Sam has worked in several teams across Questacon with experience in exhibition design, stakeholder engagement and enhancing visitor experiences.
Currently his work is focused on analysing the impact of science outreach programs in the context of a STEM learning ecosystem.
Jenny Booth
Bio coming shortly
Contact: Jenny.Booth@questacon.edu.au
Friday 17 February
2:30 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Drought and prolonged wet periods present significant challenges for communities and disaster management response, particularly in Pacific Island countries (PICs). “Too little” or “too much” rain over several months can affect livelihoods, water security, food security and health. Early warning – accessible and understandable to all – is fundamental to effective preparation and response.
In this presentation, we outline the development of communication products for the ‘Early Action Rainfall Watch’ (EAR Watch) service. This project involves 15 PICs, with an established service in at least 10 National Meteorological Services (NMS).
Key stakeholders include disaster management agencies – they can access information via a monthly detailed bulletin on a website or sent by email; also, via local briefings. Recent work has focussed on working with national and subnational stakeholders to develop products to reach the last mile e.g. an alert system at a local water tank.
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Clare spent 35 years at the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) – first as a forecaster, later specialising in communications. She completed a Masters of Communications in 2003 with a thesis titled “Bringing up El Niño” – just before her second son was born.
Clare spent 20+ years talking with customers about long-term forecasts in various formats – at numerous field days and trade displays; then more recently as videos, webinars, and emails.
Since 2022, Clare has specialised in training stakeholders in Pacific Island countries in long-term forecasts and helping design communication products – to provide early warning of extremely dry or extremely wet periods through the Early Action Rainfall service.
Great science is wasted if it’s not communicated well – so that customers get the information they need in a timely appropriate manner to make their decisions.
Contact: clare.mullen@bom.gov.au
@BOM_au | @bureau-of-meteorology
Friday 17 February
2:45 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
This will be a distilled chat with a member of the National Computational Infrastructure Comms Team who ventured into the unknown galaxy of podcasts and will share five lessons upon his return.
Starting with the technical setup insights, to then exploring which are the main online platforms to showcase your podcast to win SEO benefits, to finally learning how to leverage audiences that are currently within your reach.
This will be a fun chat with a novice but fearless communicator who is passionate about testing and measuring new things.
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I am an industry practitioner of Marketing Communications and Digital Media, having worked with brands in America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania in the food industry and government before moving into tertiary education in Australia. My academic and professional interests are at the boundary between communication and public policy with a socio-cultural focus on how policies are shaped by institutions and power.
My professional experience has been in consulting and in-house positions mainly focused on Market Research and brand communications (reputation) for organizations in the seafood, hospitality, and public sector. I have been fortunate to have worked closely with some amazing entrepreneurs and international organizations in efforts to amplify their brand and organizational missions (sustainable, excellence, inclusion, meaningful change, and research-informed learning).
Professional specialties:
* Business intelligence, Strategic Brand, Social Media Marketing, Public Relations, Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
* Digital Marketing and Communications Strategy
* Email Marketing, Visual Storytelling, Marketing Automation
Link: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chgomez/
Contact: Christian.GomezCarrasco@anu.edu.au
@NCInews
Friday 17 February
3:00 PM: Ian Wark Theatre
There are a number of business theories along the lines of ‘you can’t improve what you can’t measure’ or ‘what gets measured gets managed’. With this style of thinking in mind, the need to ‘measure’, that is to say, find and categorise the science engagement and communication events, programs and projects happening in South Australia was identified.
Large amounts of science communication and engagement work happens at community events and in small scale programs. Sadly, and it doesn’t attract the attention it deserves. It is hoped that mapping the science engagement and communication ecosystem will help demonstrate, to decision makers and the wider community, the amount, variety and impact of what is happening.
Mapping the South Australian science communication and engagement ecosystem will allow Inspiring SA and others to know who is doing what, help us all plan, encourage collaboration, identify gaps and opportunities and to advocate for the value and importance of the work.
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Throughout Alison’s 20+ year career, her greatest passions have been education and community engagement. Alison’s studies and career have taken her around the world, with work including roles in government, the disability sector, and the arts. She has sought jobs, education, and volunteering positions that further the creation of social, cultural, and economic capital in our communities. Alison delights in bringing ideas to life and is an experienced project manager and impact leader, having worked on numerous green fields innovation initiatives and events in South Australia, including Hybrid World Adelaide, Maker Faire Adelaide, and Adelaide Film Festival.
In 2019, Alison was a member of the first cohort of students at the Australian National University’s 3A Institute, now School of Cybernetics, Masters of Applied Cybernetics. The world’s first graduate program focusing on the challenges of ensuring Ai-enabled cyber-physical systems are safe, sustainable, and responsible, led by Distinguished Professor Genevieve Bell. Alison is an affiliate at the School of Cybernetics, delivering a series of workshops as part of the Masters Program. Alison is now back in South Australia continuing to follow her passion for education and community engagement as the Inspiring South Australia Program Manager.
Link: https://inspiringsa.org.au/
Contact: alison.kershaw@samuseum.sa.gov.au
@inspiringSthAus | @InspiringSA
Friday 17 February
3:05 PM: Dorothy Hill Room
Lots of other fields and industries have their reference magazine. We noticed that there was no magazine about the practice of science communication, so we created one! Come to this talk to learn about the new kid on the block – SWIPE SciComm. This magazine is free to read and unique because it is designed on a new mobile-first platform.
The first issue launched in November 2022 and was a roaring success with readers from 72 countries.
The editorial outline includes: interviews with leading personalities, tutorials, science of SciComm summaries, guest articles and more.
In this talk, the editor of the magazine will share SWIPE SciComm’s vision, scope and explain how you can get your work featured in it. As somebody commented on LinkedIn, this is “one small step for man, one giant leap for SciComm”.
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Dr Tullio Rossi is an award-winning science communicator, marine biologist and graphic designer.
As founder of the science communication agency “Animate Your Science”, he helps researchers tell their story to the world.
His engaging video animations and eye-catching graphics make science understandable for everyone, reaching millions of people around the world, thereby creating a real-life impact.
Link: www.animateyour.science | www.swipescicomm.com
Contact: contact@animateyour.science
@Animate_Science | @animate_your_science
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