Let's Talk SciComm

This week, we couldn’t be more thrilled to chat with James McCaw, Professor of Mathematical Biology in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of Melbourne. James studied physics before embarking on a research career in infectious diseases epidemiological modelling. One of his primary research interests over the past 15 years has been pandemic preparedness and response. Since Ja...

If you haven’t yet taken part in a speaking competition like the Three-minute thesis (3MT) or Famelab , what are you waiting for? You’ll gain so much by working out how to explain your research in a really short amount of time. This week Michael and Jen are joined by our wonderful colleague Catriona Nguyen-Robertson , who has had great success in a number of speaking competitions. Together, we giv...

Welcome back to Season Three of Let’s Talk SciComm – we couldn’t be more excited to be back talking about science communication with you. To launch our new season, we’re joined by the fabulous (and funny) Dr Jessamyn A. Fairfield, a lecturer in the School of Physics at the National University of Ireland Galway. She leads research in neuromorphic nanomaterials, physics education, and public engagem...

#MyScienceMay Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/my8e

Procrastination is of the biggest challenges many of us come up against in our day-to-day work. And it can certainly be a major barrier to effective science communication. Whether you’re trying to write a thesis, an assignment or a blog post, chances are you’ve found yourself delaying getting started. This week Jen and Michael share their experiences of procrastination and evidence-based advice on...

This week we’re so excited to introduce you to one of our former science communication students, Amy LeBlanc. Amy started off studying bird communication at the University of Melbourne but ended up graduating into full-time science communication instead! These days, Amy lives in Ghent, Belgium, where she is the Chief Editor of BioVox , an online news platform covering life sciences innovations. Sh...

We all know videos are one of the most popular and effective mediums to share science and that it’s possible to make great videos on your phone. Gone are the days of needing specialist, expensive equipment! But we can still all benefit from learning about how professionals approach making exciting, engaging videos. This week Michael and Jen are joined by our wonderful UniMelbSciComm colleague Dr G...

We’re thrilled to introduce you to photographer extraordinaire Doug Gimesy in this week’s episode. Doug is a professional conservation and wildlife photojournalist who focuses on Australian issues. A Senior Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers (iLCP), his clients include National Geographic, BBC Wildlife, bioGraphic, Australian Geographic, Audubon, as well various masth...

In this episode, Michael and Jen are joined by our wonderful UniMelbSciComm colleague Dr Linden Ashcroft to discuss why editing is such an important skill. We all agree that allowing sufficient time to edit our writing is essential if we want to produce clear, concise and easy-to-read writing. Together we explore how we all learned to edit our writing and the different approaches we’ve learned alo...

We can’t wait for you to meet Dr Catherine Wheller on this week’s episode. Catherine has had a wonderfully diverse career and is currently the Communications Manager at the National Youth Science Forum (NYSF). The NYSF is a not-for-profit organisation that runs a number of programs to encourage young people in their passion for science. Catherine is an experienced science communicator, and higher...

We’ve all heard the phrase ‘Publish or perish’. But what about the more recent maxim ‘Be visible or vanish’? Regardless of your career stage, there are many advantages to having a professional online presence: it will bring new opportunities, connections and visibility. But it can be hard to know where and how best to invest your time and energy when it comes to social media. In this episode, Mich...

Welcome to Season Two of Let’s Talk SciComm! We’re thrilled to introduce you to our first guest for this season, Dr Shane Huntington OAM. Shane is the Chief Executive Officer of Little Big Steps; a charity helping kids with cancer. Shane is also a speaker, trainer and facilitator. He has been providing consulting services in communication and strategy for over 20 years. He is the host and producer...

On the outside you appear confident, composed and on top of your game. But on the inside, you are wracked with self-doubt. You feel like a fraud and as though someone is about to tap you on the shoulder and ask you what you think you’re doing. You’re sure you’re not good enough, experienced enough or smart enough to be doing what you’re doing. This week Jen and Michael chat about the Imposter Expe...

In this episode we’re so excited to introduce you to Catriona Nguyen-Robertson who is a singing scientist: she sings in the laboratory and dreams up immunology experiments in the shower. She is a researcher at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity, studying the immune response in skin allergies. An advocate for diversity in STEM, she is Secretary of the Pride in Action Network, an...

In 2014, Steven Pinker published a piece in The Chronicle of Higher Education titled ‘ Why academic writing stinks’ . While we might take offense at the notion that our writing ‘stinks’, there’s no question that the way many of us have been taught to write as researchers and scientists can be difficult for our readers to make sense of. In this episode, Michael and Jen chat about why science writin...

In this episode we’re delighted to speak with Dr Graham Phillips, a very familiar – and much loved – Australian science communicator and journalist. Graham was the host of ABC TV’s science program Catalyst for many years, and also a producer-reporter on that program. He began his career as a scientist (PhD in astrophysics) before quitting to become science journalist/broadcaster/communicator. He’s...

All scientists need to give talks but being able to give a brilliant talk takes skill. Are you wondering how to best keep your audience’s attention? How to design slides that enhance, rather than distract from what you’re saying? And how to tackle your inevitable nerves? This week Jen and Michael chat about how to give a better science talk. Listen for our thoughts and advice on how to plan, desig...

In this episode we’re thrilled to chat with Dr Linden Ashcroft, a lecturer in climate science and science communication at The University of Melbourne, and a proud member of the UniMelbSciComm teaching team. She is also a historical climatologist, and uses pre-1900 documents and weather observations to explore the climate of Australia’s past so we can better prepare for the future. Her career has...

This week Jen and Michael chat about the important topic of ‘How to NOT be boring’ when communicating about science. We’re sure you can all remember sitting through an incredibly boring science talk or struggling to read a boring piece of science writing. If you want to get your message across, it’s essential you capture your audience’s attention and convince them what you’re writing or speaking a...

In this episode, we’re delighted to chat with Euan Ritchie , Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation in Deakin University’s Centre for Integrative Ecology and the School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Melbourne, Australia. Euan has published over 150 scientific articles related with biodiversity conservation, wildlife ecology and management, ecosystem management, and environment...

Welcome to Let's Talk SciComm! In this trailer episode, hosts Dr Jen Martin and Dr Michael Wheeler introduce themselves and season one of the podcast. For updates, be sure to follow us @LetsTalkSciComm on Instagram and Twitter , and Let's Talk SciComm Podcast on Facebook . Transcript: https://go.unimelb.edu.au/3b62