COMM 5660 (1 cr. B. Lewenstein, course #13779) A weekend workshop offered fall and spring that trains researchers in the sciences (including natural sciences, engineering, experimental social sciences, etc.) to communicate effectively with non-scientists such as policymakers, political stakeholders, the media, and the general public. Training activities may include role-play, reading/discussion, writing press releases and other outreach materials, and discussion with invited speakers.

Agenda and syllabus

April 17 & 18 from 9am-5pm each day

The full syllabus is shared after enrollment via Canvas. The weekend is conducted virtually.

For more information see last year’s course syllabus. Read about advice from last year’s panelists in Opportunities for Public Communication of Science.

Opportunities for Public Communication of Science kicked off with a panel of speakers who shared the diverse ways in which they communicate science to public audiences. A virtual happy hour and informal discussion followed. This public portion of COMM 5660 Science Communication Workshop taught by Bruce Lewenstein was recorded on March 5.

Panelists:

• Julia Nolte, PhD student in Human Development at Cornell. An alum of this course just last year, and now already a published #scicomm-er, e.g. in Nature, Stories in Science, and Inside Higher Ed
• Sarah Perdue, Cornell PhD ’11. Director of Communications, Department of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison. An alum of an earlier version of this course
• Ariel Zych, Cornell BS ’07. Education Director, Science Friday
• Mark Sarvary, Cornell PhD ’06. Director of Cornell’s Investigative Biology Teaching Laboratories, producer of Locally-Sourced Science podcast and other examples of public communication of science and technology