Scicomm secrets

The NSW Chapter of Australian Science Communicators invites all those wishing to develop their scicomm skills to an express Q&A session at the Powerhouse Museum on Wednesday 15 August. Presented as part of Sydney Science Festival, Science Express: The Art of STEAM Storytelling brings together nine leading researchers and science communicators who have agreed to reveal their valuable communication secrets.

If you are a science enthusiast, researcher, PhD student, science communicator or anyone who would like to get hot tips on how to communicate complex scientific and technical information to a general audience, this is the event for you!

In the fabulous venue ‘The Lab’ at the Powerhouse Museum, take the opportunity to clear your doubts and connect with the speakers during the Q&A session. Their wide skill-sets range from effective public speaking and embedding humour in your presentations to positive body language while delivering talks.

They will be describing ways to communicate complex research simply and in an engaging manner. Guests will take away valuable lessons through the experiences of these winning communicators.

Meet the researchers

Hear how these researchers from diverse disciplines have developed their expertise in connecting research with the public:

  1. Alfonso Ballestas-Barrientos(USYD)- From Maracaibo, Venezuela, Alfonso Ballestas is a PhD student in chemistry at The University of Sydney. His research is focused on the creation of light active materials for clean energy generation.
  2. Angela Crean (USYD)- An evolutionary ecologist based in the Sydney School of Veterinary Science at The University of Sydney. She works with animals ranging from sea squirts and flies to mice, testing how a male’s environment affects his sperm quality.
  3. Isabelle Kingsley(UNSW)- Isabelle Kingsley is a professional science communicator, educator and researcher completing a PhD at the University of New South Wales, researching the impacts of science communication on public scientific literacy.
  4. Jonathan Plett(UWS)- Dr Jonathan Plett is a Canadian scientist from Western Sydney University’s Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment.
  5. Muthu Vellayappan(Monash)- An Indian by heritage, Muthu is currently a PhD student at Monash University and works on heart patches.
  6. Nural Cokcetin(UTS)- Dr Nural Cokcetin is a postdoctoral researcher at the ithree institute, University of Technology Sydney, specialising in the medicinal properties of honey.
  7. Richard Charlesworth(UNE)- Dr Richard Charlesworth is Lecturer in Biomedical Science at University of New England, Armidale. Richard’s focus is to improve the diagnosis of coeliac disease (CD).
  8. Toby Hendy(ANU)- Toby, PhD student at Australian National University, Canberra is currently using nanoindentation to examine the mechanical response of plant cells to applied pressure. This work has applications in how plants protect themselves from disease.
  9. Vanessa Pirotta(Macquarie)- An Italian and Maltese by origin, Vanessa Pirotta, is a PhD candidate at Macquarie University. Vanessa has been working on Whale conservation and her research involves drone technology to collect whale snot as an indicator of whale health.

After the Q&A, you’ll have the chance to network with speakers and audience members and  have some fun with a science-themed photo-booth.

Event details

When: 6-8.30 pm, Wednesday 15 August
Where: Powerhouse Museum
Cost: $8 ASC members, $15 non-members

Register to attend

Science Express: The Art of STEAM Storytelling is produced by the NSW Branch of Australian Science Communicators in partnership with MAAS.