Yearly Archives: 2012

Renewal date approaching for many members – 1 September 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The cost of membership is still:

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

Jesse Shore
ASC President

Inspiring Australia Updates – a new initiative

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

Inspiring Australia Update

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

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

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

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

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

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

VIC | Science Centric Science Week After-party

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Science Week is a time of frenetic activity for many science communicators. Come along and celebrate the end of Science Week at the Science Centric After-party, a networking evening for Melbourne science communicators.

When: August 21, 2012, 6:30 pm
Where: Three Degrees, QV Square
First drink and nibbles are on us!
ASC members: Free
Science Week organisers: Free
Non-members: $15
(Discounted memberships on the night)
ASC members are encouraged to bring along a friend, who can also enter for free.
To book: http://sciencecentric_2012.eventbrite.com

SA Branch: “Winter Warming Dinner”

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It’s time to catch up!

On Monday 23rd of July, join us for drinks followed by dinner at The Seven Stars Pub – a centrally located pub at 187 Angas Street in the City.

A quiet venue for casual conversation in good company by the fireplace. Bring friends, colleagues – anyone interested in communicating science. Good prices. Normal pub fare. No cost parking. Pay for what you eat/drink on the night. See www.thesevenstars.com.au for venue details

Drinks at 6pm. Dinner from 6.30 onwards. Bookings for the sole purpose of providing the venue advance notice of numbers at

http://winterwarmingdinner.eventbrite.com.au/

ACT: CSI vs Real Forensic Science

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8 August 2012
5:30 pmto7:30 pm

Crime scene tape.

A woman is reported missing. Blood and other physical evidence have been found in her office. Has she met with foul play?

A team of forensic scientists have been called to assist in investigating the case.

Join a team of Australia’s leading forensic experts as they work through this hypothetical scenario and discover how each of the specialist forensic scientists work together to examine evidence and solve crimes – classically it’s not quite as it appears on TV!

Where: CSIRO Discovery Centre, Clunies Ross Street, Acton (Directions)

When: Wednesday 8th of August

Time: 5.30pm – 7.00pm with light refreshments provided once event concludes

Limited seats available so please RSVP via this LINK or by calling 02 6246 4646

Discover hidden talents that even you may not have known you had. There will be prizes for audience members who can answer various forensic-related questions, including:

  • What is Locard’s Exchange Principle?
  • Who is considered the father of the science of fingerprints and why?
  • Sir Alec Jeffreys was the first forensic scientist to use what technique in forensic cases?
  • Who was Calvin Goddard and what was his contribution to forensic science? What forensic techniques were used to determine that the Hitler diaries were fake?

There will also be a special opportunity for ASC members to network in the industry link room post event

THIS FREE EVENT IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY:

Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society logo.

Australian Science Communicators logo. Inspiring Australia CSIRO  

 

Science engagement survey extended to 29 July 2012

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

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

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

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

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

Jesse Shore
National president

ACT: Communicating the “State of the Environment” – July17th

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17 July 2012
5:30 pmto8:00 pm

What state is our environment in and how do the experts pull this knowledge together?

Join the ACT Branch of the Australian Science Communicators and CSIRO Discovery to learn about the production of the State of the Environment reports click here. The authors of these reports − including scientists, policy makers and communication professionals − synthesise and communicate the latest data so that all Australians know how our natural resources are faring. Find out how the SoE team evaluated previous editions to improve the format of the 2011 edition and hear about what the feedback on these changes has been so far.

 CSIRO Discovery Centre Lecture Theatre, Clunies Ross St, ACTON

Tuesday July 17th – 530pm arrival for 6pm start (seminar to finish approximately 7pm).

Nibbles and drinks provided.

RSVPs essential through http://stateofenvascact.eventbrite.com/

 All welcome, event is free but gold coin contributions gratefully received

Panellists include:

Peter Kanowski is Professor of Forestry at the ANU Fenner School of Environment & Society (fennerschool.anu.edu.au); he is currently on extended leave as Deputy Director General of the Center for International Forestry Research (www.cifor.org). Peter’s academic work focuses principally on forest policy and governance. Prior to his membership of the 2011 SoE Committee, he has played significant roles in various forest-related policy processes at international, national, state and local levels.

Steven Cork is an ecologist and futurist.  As an ecologist he spent 25 years in CSIRO researching the interactions between humans and the natural environment around the world.  As a futurist he played a leading role in developing scenarios for the World’s social-ecological futures for the United Nations’ Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and has run similar projects with government and non-government groups around Australia. He has worked extensively as an advisor to governments on policy issues and as a government employee developing and implementing environmental policy.  He now works privately as a futurist, strategist and ecological advisor as the Principal Consultant of EcoInsights and leads a project on the resilience of Australia in the private sustainability R&D organisation Australia21. He is an adjunct Professor in the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. He was a member of the committee that prepared the 2011 National State of the Environment Report.

Nancy Dahl Tacconi is the Director of the National Environmental Reporting section in the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Populations and Communities. She has worked with the department in decision-support and science management roles for over 10 years. Most recently, she was the project manager for the latest five-yearly national State of Environment report (SoE 2011), coordinating all aspects of the project from initial plans through to delivery of the report and a review of its impacts.

Kylie Evans is the principal Communications Writer and Editor for Biotext. She has written and edited documents for a range of clients, including the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care, Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, ACT Government, Pedestrian Council of Australia, and the World Health Organization. One of her most important projects has been substantive editing and informational design for the Australia State of the Environment report for the Australian Government Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities.

Kirstin Duncan is the senior graphic designer for Biotext. She gained her formal qualification in graphic design at the Canberra Institute of Technology whilst working as an infographics adviser for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet and running a flourishing freelance graphic design business. Clients included the Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, DonateLife ACT and The Australian Institute of Horticulture ACT. Highlights since joining Biotext in 2011 include sourcing photography for Australia State of the Environment 2011, developing design concepts and layouts for a Sandalwood Growers’ Guide and the University of Queensland’s Health Information Systems Hub’s working paper series.

WA Event – Communicating Space

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19 July 2012
4:30 pmto8:00 pm
4:30 pmto8:00 pm

Communicating Space

It’s one of the hottest topics in science at the moment – space. As seen by the recent public interest in the Square Kilometre Array bid and visit to Australia by astronaut Buzz Aldrin, people are hungry for more information on life, the Universe and everything.

So what are the challenges of ‘communicating space’ to the many and varied interest groups? How do you engage the general public in a ‘far out’ topic? And how can we translate these insights and initiatives to other fields of science?

Join our expert panel to hear more about the challenges and rewards of science communication in the astronomy and astrophysics fields, and ask your own burning questions.

This event will include a 15 minute live presentation in Horizon – The Planetarium.

 

Our panel

Carley Tillett – Manager at Horizon – The Planetarium
Pete Wheeler – Manager, Outreach and Education at ICRAR, the International Centre for Radio Astronomy Research
Dr Wiebke Ebeling – Education and Outreach Coordinator at CAASTRO, the ARC Centre of Excellence for All-Sky Astrophysics

 

Thursday 19 July
6.30pm – 8.30pm
Horizon – the Planetarium at Scitech

Refreshments provided

Free for ASC members, $10 for non-members, $5 for students – please register at Eventbrite
http://communicatingspace.eventbrite.com.au

 

‘God particle’ collides with art and society this Sunday

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8 July 2012
11:30 amto5:00 pm

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Time is running out!

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

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

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

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

Once again, here is the description of the project:

The biggest snapshot of science engagement in Australia

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jesse Shore
National president