Newsletter

Nov. 12, 2024. Two-way communication can build trust, science communicator Raven Baxter told an audience at Virginia Tech’s Haymarket Theatre on November 6. Also known as “Dr. Raven the Science Maven,” Baxter emphasized that every interaction a researcher has with another person is an opportunity to build curiosity, learning, and trust. Giving people a chance to engage with scientists encourages this, she said. "When trust leads, the truth follows, and people will be open to possibilities," Baxter explained.

Nov. 1, 2024. How might biological diversity arise? That’s one of the questions Caitlin Miller addressed at the October 24, 2024, Science on Tap event “Evolutionary puzzles: How moving into new areas can change evolution.” Miller shared some theories behind the puzzle of evolution that explain how new traits can emerge in populations and demonstrated the ideas through two fun games.

Oct. 24, 2024. Mark your calendars: It’s time for the Nutshell Games! In this fast, fun, and friendly research presentation competition, 30 graduate researchers tell their research stories in just 90 seconds to a public audience and a panel of judges representing both Virginia Tech and our local community — including, as always, 7th graders. The Nutshell Games will take place at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, November 2, at the Moss Arts Center. Please join us!

Oct. 23, 2024. With clipboard scoring sheets resting in their arms, small groups of fifth graders visited graduate student research posters displayed throughout the Melrose Branch of the Roanoke Public Library. Asking thoughtful (and sometimes very challenging!) questions, these student judges listened to presentations from Virginia Tech graduate students and assessed 18 science fair posters and research explanations on specific criteria. After each poster presentation, the elementary students huddled together to decide on the score they would award.

Oct. 22, 2024. "There is nothing more valuable than metaphor and story when it comes to connecting with audiences," said Patty Raun, director of the Center for Communicating Science during a recent Times Higher Education webinar. Raun was invited by Times Higher Education Campus to participate in a panel discussion titled “How to present research to a wider audience for greater impact.”

Oct. 20, 2024. How do you run a land hermit crab breeding endeavor from the mountains of Virginia? That’s what Mary Akers shared on September 26, 2024, at the Rising Silo Brewery-hosted Science on Tap event “Be the Ocean: Getting Hermit Crabs to Land.” Armed with gallons of saltwater, thousands of miniscule baby hermit crabs, and adult hermit crabs as old as 40 years, Akers shared her self-taught journey to becoming an expert in breeding and raising land hermit crabs.

Sept. 9, 2024. Center for Communicating Science director Patty Raun will participate in a Times Higher Education panel September 27. Titled “How to present research to a wider audience for greater impact,” the panel discussion will cover how to use new media to amplify your work, how to build a stand-out online profile, effective ways to discuss the impact of your research, and innovative methods of communication.

Sept. 7, 2024. When we dreamed up the Nutshell Games back in 2016 (thank you, Lesley Yorke!), 30 courageous graduate students stepped up the challenge of explaining their research in 90-second research talks to a public audience. We did not anticipate that in 2024 we’d be opening registration for the ninth such event and that nearly 250 students would have shared their work with the world in this way. But it’s fun! – for both the audience and the presenters.

Aug. 30, 2024. How does a couple pivot from graduate degrees in engineering to owning and operating a family farm? That’s what Glade Road Growing founders Sally Walker and Jason Pall shared on August 22, 2024, at the Rising Silo Brewery-hosted Science on Tap event “Growing Glade Road Growing.” With the Glade Road Growing farmstand as a backdrop to the talk, participants followed the couple’s journey from unused land to fully fledged farm.

Aug. 16, 2024. Center for Communicating Science (CCS) faculty are used to helping others develop their communication skills. But we’re always ready to learn, too, and CCS director Patty Raun is still processing all that she encountered on a recent trip to Kenya. One example of the complexity of research communication in Kenya, Raun said, is that the country is made up of 47 different tribes, each with its own language or dialect.