Tag Archives: Event

ASC National Conference 2012 – update

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The conference will be at Sydney Masonic Centre from 27-29 February 2012. Here’s a quick overview on progress so far:

  • Opening keynote: Professor Ian Chubb, Australia’s Chief Scientist will open the conference and be the first plenary speaker.
  • Hail to the Chiefs: Several state Chief Scientists have accepted invitations to speak at the conference. We anticipate they will feature in a plenary and perhaps parallel sessions.
  • Nobel presence: In a special video interview made for the conference, Australia’s 2011 Nobel Prize winner for Physics, Professor Brian Schmidt, will talk about the role of science communication in his work both before and after being awarded the Nobel. Rod Lamberts and Sue Stocklmayer will be asking him the hard questions. This special session will include a broad discussion of the role of science communication for science prize winners. Brian will be speaking in Washington during our conference and was sorry that he couldn’t be in two places at once.
  • Program progress: The program committee is digesting the submissions from the recent call for session producers and their proposals.
  • Pre-conference kick-start: There have been discussions with key people about the pre-conference event. If all goes well it will be fun and thought-provoking, and be a great way to lead into the conference proper.
  • Research stream: Rod Lamberts has nine reviewers lined up to scrutinise submitted research papers. Some of them may help with a subsequent monograph of a selection of edited papers to be produced after the conference is over.
  • Website: The conference website has gone live. Have a look at http://2012conf.asc.asn.au/.
  • Lots of infrastructure is being set in place and there are a few hurdles to get over. Online registrations will be activated any day now.

Jesse Shore
National President

AGM in Perth, 30 November 2011

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The WA branch of the ASC has agreed to host this year’s National AGM in Perth. The official announcement will be posted soon. We keep the AGM short and to the point, yet provide opportunities for some lively discussion.

The AGM will be followed by David Ellyard presenting his Science Quiz. Around 100 people enjoyed this competitive challenge at last year’s end of year meeting in Adelaide.

Only financial members can attend the AGM and the quiz will be open to all.

See you in Perth in November.

Jesse Shore
National President

ASC WA Event – Behind the Scenes at WA Museum

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25 October 2011
4:30 pmto5:45 pm

Apologies for the short notice. Please register your attendance at http://ascwamuseum.eventbrite.com/

The Australian Science Communicators WA Branch and the Western Australian Museum would like to invite you to a tour of WA Museum Collection and Resource Centre at Welshpool.

When: Tuesday 25 October
Time: 4.30pm – 5.45pm
Where: WA Museum, Kew Street, Welshpool (corner of Orrong Road and Leach Hwy)

The event will include an overview of the WA Museum and its science program by Di Jones, Executive Director, Collections and Research.

Participants will then go on a tour of the Collection and Resource Centre (CRC) with Mark Harvey (Head of Terrestrial Zoology), Alex Bevan (Head of Earth & Planetary Sciences) and Jane Fromont (Head of Aquatic Zoology).

This will be followed by refreshments and networking.

Register by Friday 21 October. Please email asc.events.wa@gmail.com with any event enquiries.

Cost: Free for ASC members, $10 for non-members

Visit to Adelaide for National Science Week 2011

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The ASC South Australia branch, had a busy National Science Week. I missed their contribution to the launch event, but arrived in Adelaide in time to see Science Alive, the huge local Science Week event. I met a number of ASC members who were involved in exhibit stands and talks at this enormous undertaking, which filled a large pavilion at the Adelaide showgrounds. The event attracted around 24,000 people over 3 days. I’ve heard Science Alive will be offered even more space for next year.

The day after Science Alive closed, ASC SA hosted the book launch of Dinosaurs in Australia, a CSIRO publication, and attracted a full house of 120 people to this fun evening.

They held this event in association with RiAus. I look forward to a continued close relationship between the branch and RiAus which is now being led by its new director, Paul Willis.

Jesse Shore

National President

ASC National Conference 2012

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The Sydney Masonic Centre has been selected as the venue for the ASC conference. It has impressive facilities and is well located. The dates for the conference are 27-29 February 2012. Very shortly Rod Lamberts will issue the call for papers for the research stream of the conference.

Rod has lined up a significant keynote speaker and I expect that we can build some important sessions around this dignitary. I’ll leave it to Rod to make the the relevant announcements soon.

I’m looking forward to a thought provoking three days. Be sure to mark it in your diaries and attend what I anticipate will be a terrific group of sessions.

Jesse Shore

National President

Victorian Branch

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VICTORIA

The Victorian Committee of the ASC promotes and supports science communication by organising professional development and networking events for local ASC members. We invite knowledgeable and relevant professionals to speak on current issues relating to science communication.

Previous Events

The Brain That Repairs Itself?
Tuesday September 13 2011

Dr Clare Parish and Dr Lachlan Thompson, from the Florey Neuroscience Institutes, gave a special talk to ASC members about the latest treatments for neurological conditions including stroke, motor neuron disease, Huntington’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Stem cell therapy offers a contemporary way forward for people seeking treatment for these neurological conditions.   Clare and Lachlan are trying to stop brain degeneration by placing genetic material directly into a cell, delivering signals to tell the cell to stay alive.

Novel sci-comm activities targeting adults
Tuesday 2 August 2011
The Victorian re-science team ( www.re-science.org.au ) has been piloting novel events in unusual venues and everyday environments which target adult audiences. Whether it is scientists presenting at the local fruit ‘n’ veg market or a drama & science performance at Melbourne Anglican Cathedral these ideas are novel experiments in science communication.

Communicating science in a crisis
Tuesday 5 July 2011
Ed Sykes from the Australian Science Media Centre and Dr Mark Quigley, Department of Geological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Christchurch to discussed how scientists, science communicators and the media dealt with this year’s natural disasters. What are the lessons for future reporting?

Science Centric 2010
Bring along your colleagues and friends for a social evening, a chance to meet Melbourne’s leading science communicators and to find out about ASC future activities and plans.

What do the public really think?
How easy is it to conduct a survey? What can surveys reveal? And how can we use them to better direct our communication efforts. A discussion on public surveys, polls and focus groups with speakers from the academic, private and government sectors.

Bushfire Science: communicating in an emotionally charged environment
Using the Black Saturday bushfires as a case study, panellists discussed the role of scientists, science communicators and the media in communicating science in an emotionally charged environment.

Brochures, banners and budgets. Oh my!
A designer, a publisher and a typographer provided insights about design matters and the sometimes complex journey in producing printed resources such as public brochures, banners and annual reports.

 

Web 2.0: A practical info session for science communicators
A fascinating discussion on the world of Web 2.0 with experts and academics speaking about the possibilities for science communicators.

Science Centric 2009
A “meet up” for science communicators and their mates held at the Three Degrees Bar and Brewery in central Melbourne.

Movember – Science communication and men’s health
Health communicators, scientists and staff from ‘Movember’ led a panel discussion on how we might better communicate the science of men’s health issues.

ASC Victorian Committee (2010–2011)

President: Ian Muchamore  vic_president@asc.asn.au

Vice President: Laura Miles

Treasurer: Jason Major

State Representative to National ASC Council: Maia Sauren

Committee Members: Niall Byrne, James Hutson, Adrienne Jones, Vivienne Lee, L.E. Ohman

Updated September 2011

 

15th Annual Kenneth Myer Lecture by Prof. David Attwell

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The Florey Neuroscience Institutes presents the 15 Kenneth Myer Lecture Brain Power” by Prof David Attwell

Have you ever wondered how our brains have evolved over the years? Or why it is still not possible to do a brain transplant?

This year’s lecture will feature leading British neuroscientist Professor David Attwell, an inspiring speaker and world expert in brain signals, who will  be talking about how electrical signals are used to think, how these signals are used to represent information in the brain, and how they can fail in brain disease.

This free public lecture is in memory of Kenneth B Myer, one of the founding benefactors of the Howard Florey Institute.

Since 1992, the Florey has invited many internationally distinguished scientists to speak to the Melbourne community

 Date: Tuesday 4th October 2011

Time: 6pm

Venue: The Plenary

                Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

                1 Convention Centre Place, South Wharf

                Melbourne 3006

 Places are limited. Please call Jade on 03 9035 8629 or email jade.sarna@florey.edu.au to reserve your seat/s.

Alternatively you can register to attend online at www.florey.edu.au

For more information on transport and parking please visit www.mcec.com.au

Where Worlds Collide

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Thanks to Kiran Shettigara from The Science Exchange, RiAus for providing this information:


Where Worlds Collide- Saturday 20 August 2011

Event review by Freya Dougan-Whaite

RiAus teamed up with Adelaide’s Friendly Street Poets to share a selection of poetry informed by scientific concepts and inspired by the wonders of science in everyday life. The event, aptly named Where Worlds Collide, is part of the Great Big Science Read which occurs annually during National Science Week. The aim was to reach a new audience by exploring the juncture where arts and science meet. Winners of the RiAus Sci-Ku competition (science Haiku) were also announced, and entrants from New South Wales and the Northern Territory were excited to be flown into Adelaide for the ceremony.

The speakers varied in age and gender, and the event was entertaining and fast-paced. Chemistry and Physics, became metaphor for human emotion and lifelong relationships with the beauty of nature were shared.

The public were invited to be involved through an open-mic session in the week before the event, where anyone could share three minutes of their poetry. Several talented speakers from the open-mic were booked to reappear for Where Worlds Collide.

The combination of professional poets/writers, competition winners and open-mic talent, contributed to an event that truly engaged an audience that may not otherwise attend a science event.

The 2nd Annual National Science Communication Officers’ Forum 2011

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Thanks to Karine Bruron from Liquid Learning Group for providing this information:

Liquid Learning is delighted to present The 2nd Annual National Science Communication Officers’ Forum 2011 – the premier event for communication professionals to exchange and acquire knowledge, tools and skills for true performance excellence.

The National Science Communication Officers’ Forum 2011 will be held on 22 & 23 November 2011 at Citigate Central, Sydney

Essential Tools and Approaches for Developing Communication Strategies within Scientific and Technical Research Environments

View the brochure here: http://bit.ly/pxt0bc

ASC Members receive a 10% discount off the standard registration fee.

Visit Liquid Learning’s website at: www.liquidlearning.com.au

Email: marketing@liquidlearning.com.au

Phone: (02) 9437 1311

 

ASC National Conference 2012 Update

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The news from the head of our conference organising committee, Rod Lamberts, is that our professional conference organiser has produced a short-list of Sydney venues. The dates for the conference are 27-29 February 2012 with a preconference event likely on the evening of Sunday 26 February. We are now in the process of deciding which venue to choose. Rod has the conference committee started on a range of tasks and program ideas and soon will issue a call for papers for the research stream of the conference.

I note that several new topics are being proposed for the conference. This reflects the growing maturity of the field of science communication and that as professionals, our work is involving a wider range of activities, technologies and responsibilities.

A popular feature of the previous conference was that many sessions had a range of speakers presenting various aspects of a central topic. This encouraged greater discussion from the floor and interaction among the speakers. The upcoming conference will also emphasise interactive discussions, opportunities to network and professional development sessions.

Details will be coming soon. In the meantime I encourage you to mark the conference dates in your diaries, include it as part of your professional training plans, and put your hands up to be a session producer when the call is issued.

Jesse Shore

National President