The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) continues its eight year effort to look to train its scientists to be more effective communicators with the public and with each other. They will continue to host Los Angeles-based actor and Improv coach Brian Palermo their annual meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii in February to get the Hollywood perspective on storytelling – because that’s really what research is.  

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) held a public discussion yesterday of a new report, "Communicating Science Effectively: A Research Agenda." The discussion and report examine science communication from social science and education perspectives, with emphasis on communication around contentious issues.

Jaga Richter, a scientist at the National Center for Atmopspheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, recently shared a story in The Plainspoken Scientist, a science communication blog from the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

Three AGI Member Organizations shared material aimed at helping scientists better communicate their research, or activities. The American Geophysical Union blog the "Plainspoken Scientist" had scientist Skylar Bayer share her experiences learning how to write her own press releases. The ability to share your science through the written word is, valuable, but as many professionals working at the science-press interface know images and video can really amplify your message. Susan Fisk, the Director of Public and Science Communications for the members of the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America shared in their member magazine "CSA News" penned the article "Why Photos are Important in Explaining Your Research." One of Fisk's key points is the value of humanizing your research as one of the key ways to earn trust with the public. This is something AGI has been trying to encourage with our "Life as a Geoscientist" photo contest. In addition to sharing your images, or writing stories with them, scientists must be aware of copyright law.