Tomorrow at the University of Washington I will be speaking to the Department of Communication in the morning and then joined in the evening by Chris Mooney to deliver our Speaking Science 2.0 lecture. In the afternoon, we will also be hosting a discussion with graduate students on the topic of "When Science Turns Political..."
The events are sponsored by the Forum on Science, Ethics, and Policy (FOSEP) and the Pacific Institute. The evening talk at the Pacific Science Center, free and open to the public, starts at 7pm (details on the full day's events).
Using the anniversary of Sputnik as the hook, Thomas Robey, past director of FOSEP, has an op-ed in the Seattle Post Intelligencer today, emphasizing the importance of science communication and plugging Friday's talk. Here's how Robey closes the article:
Sputnik circled the planet for only three months. By the time the beach ball-size piece of metal disintegrated in the atmosphere, scientists occupied seats at the tables where policy decisions were forged. Science first informed national defense, then the quest for better health. Add to those today's challenges of energy use and climate change and the incentive to do good science and for it to inform decisions in politics has never been greater. Each of us -- scientists and others -- must engage the future with our ideas, our resources and our imagination.
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I really thought this school was maybe just a housing for the well off "children". That was, untill I was introduced to stundent body. All I saw was the new genaration of hopefull mind really to be moded. So I am going to be donating the check and keep up the good I will be watching.
Speaking Science 2.0 will actually be at the Pacific Science Center, not the Pacific Institute. I wouldn't write, except that the Pacific Institute actually exists and I wouldn't want anyone to go to the wrong place.
It was great to see Tom's piece in the PI this morning. There is a lot of good energy surrounding this topic in Seattle right now and we are excited to be hosting you!
Oops. It's been a long week. Corrected.
Will you be back in D.C. next week?
That is an excellent image capturing one of the essences of that campus, bringing back treasured memories. Growing up in a county with 0.4 people/mi^2 (still), graduating in a HS class of 45 (smaller now) and enrolling without seeing the campus (or even a city over 50K), walking onto the Quad with those then ivy-covered building disappearing into a lifting fog was a deeply moving experience. The huge Suzallo Library Reading Room - better - under the tallest roof in the image) with its cathedral ceiling, stained glass windows (many blown out by dynamiting of the Administration Building entrance during the Vietnam protest era), massive oak tables and then a thick cork floor projects an awesome academic atmosphere found on few campuses, unfortunately.
I suspect a very important but often overlooked part of framing is the role that the associated physical environment plays for both the message sender and the message receiver. Senators sitting where they do during hearings, the campus environment for students and so on impacts the message. Get it wrong or over do it and I'll bet bad things happen.
"Sure" It looks beautiful but what is this school all about?