SciComm Support Drop-In
Via zoom. Weekly, free consultations. Open to all career stages, including faculty, staff, postdocs, and students. You can get advice, brainstorm, and find collaborators for topics including (but not limited to): Broader Impacts, communicating with journalists, connecting with school groups, designing figures & infographics, poster and slide design, public-oriented science writing, graphic design tips, and more! We're also happy to be a sounding board for your great ideas.
Scholarly Writing Practices + Scholarly Writing Techniques
These spring and fall cohort programs support graduate students in the essential mindsets and foundational techniques that establish a healthy writing practice during and beyond grad school. See details in our Grant Writing and Writing Resources section.
Weekly Newsletter Features Trainings, Events & Resources
Stay up to date by subscribing to our weekly email featuring updates on trainings, events, opportunities, and resources.
If you know of an event relating to science communication and public engagement (including trainings, research of scicomm, and sharing science), please let us know.
Our AY 2023-2024 theme is SPEAKING UP, and we're featuring several talks and activities that connect the UW and broader scicomm communities to a range of ideas, examples, and tools for how you can speak up for and about science.
Dr. Rebecca Swenson, University of Minnesota
March 4, 2024, 1:00 pm | Berry Center auditorium & on Zoom (pw: pizza)
Dr. Rebecca Swenson, University of Minnesota
March 5, 12:00 pm | in-person & on Zoom
Q&A about studying science communication, as your primary work or as a supplemental
focus in your research career.
RSVP for in-person event, lunch provided.
Register for Zoom access.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Swenson is an Associate Professor of Agricultural, Food, and Natural Resource Communication at the University of Minnesota. Her research program focuses on how topics and debates related to agriculture, food, and the environment are discussed in the media, by organizations, and among audience members. She is widely published and has won numerous teaching awards.
Our AY 2023-2024 theme is SPEAKING UP, and we're featuring several talks and activities that connect the UW and broader scicomm communities to a range of ideas, examples, and tools for how you can speak up for and about science.
Dr. Priya Shukla, Reclaiming STEM Institute
October 4, 12:00 pm | in-person & on Zoom
Q&A about getting & writing a Forbes column, United Nations reports, contributing to & writing books, etc.
RSVP for in-person event, lunch provided.
Register for Zoom access.
Dr. Priya Shukla, Reclaiming STEM Institute
October 5, 1:10 pm
Berry Auditorium + Zoom (pw: EcoEvo)
Free | Light refreshments provided after
Dr. Priya Shukla, Reclaiming STEM Institute
October 6, 12:10 pm | in-person & on Zoom
Q&A about starting a nonprofit, consulting on science policy, co-produced research,
& social justice advocacy in science.
RSVP for in-person event, lunch provided.
Register for Zoom access.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Shukla is a Science Engagement Specialist with the California Ocean Science Trust and co-founder of the Reclaiming STEM Institute, a science communication social justice organization. Her research explores the effects of climate change on shellfish aquaculture in California, and she is deeply invested in improving the accessibility of marine science. For more information, see priyashukla.com and her column for Forbes.
Dr. Louisa Blair
October 18 | 12:00 pm | in-person & on Zoom
Q&A about getting past writer's block, writing clearly for technical/scientific audiences,
the connections between writing and thinking, writing English as an Additional Language
& more.
RSVP for in-person event, lunch provided.
Register for Zoom access.
Dr. Louisa Blair
October 19 | 12:00 pm | In-person & via Zoom
Q&A about supporting student writers, with special emphasis on early career writers
and people writing in English as an Additional Language.
RSVP for in-person event, lunch provided.
Register for Zoom access.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Blair is a writer, translator, and editor with a penchant for intersections of science and history. She has worked for over a decade as the staff editor/translator and writing coach for the research team of a major NSERC chair/professor* working in public health. Her most recent book, The Calf with Two Heads: Transatlantic Natural History in the Canadas, is due out November 2023.
Professor Danielle Cover, JD - UW College of Law
November 6, 12:00 pm
Berry Auditorium + on Zoom (pw: pizza)
Free | Light refreshments provided before.
Speaker Bio: Professor Cover directs the UW Civil Legal Services Clinic, is the Wyoming Excellence
Chair in the College of Law, and was a long-time co-chair of the Shepard Symposium
on Social Justice.
Dr. Shukla's visit is co-sponsored by: UW Science Communication Initiative (WySCI), Haub School of Environment & Natural Resources, Honors College, Science Initiative Learning Actively Mentoring Program (LAMP), WY-NASA Space Grant/Women in Math, Science & Engineering (WiMSE), NIH-WY INBRE, and Department of Zoology & Physiology.
Dr. Blair's visit is co-sponsored by: UW Science Communication Initiative; College of Agriculture, Life Sciences & Natural Resources' Global Perspectives Program; and Center for Global Studies.
Dr. Cover's talk is co-sponsored by: UW Science Communication Initiative and Department of Zoology & Physiology.
FEARLESS IN PURSUIT OF THE TRUTH
October 20, 7-8 pm @ Night Heron
Free | Light refreshments provided
This book launch features stories of physiology, mental health, relationships to nature, and more. Local author Emily Pifer launches her book The Running Body in an event featuring two local writers: Ammon Medina, an award-winning poet and storyteller, and Bethann Garramon Merkle (WySCI Director), an essayist and award-winning blender of art and science. Join them for an evening discussing the stories we tell ourselves about the nature of human experience, the environment, and more.
STUDENT ACTIVITIES
October 27 | Coffee chat & lunch opportunities
If you are a student in Creative Writing, the School of Culture, Gender & Social Justice,
or the UW INBRE program, please contact your program directors/organizers for details
about student events with the author. Free copies of Unsettling will be given away
(via drawings) at these events!
PUBLIC LIBRARY READING, Q&A + RECEPTION
October 27, 7:00 pm @ Albany Co. Public Library + on Zoom
Join Elizabeth Weinberg at the Albany County Public Library for a reading from her
new essay collection. Unsettling: Surviving Extinction Together explores human impacts
on the environment through science, popular culture, personal narrative, and landscape.
Using the stories of animals, landscapes, and people who have exhibited resilience
in the face of persistent colonization across the North American continent, science
writer Elizabeth Weinberg explores how climate change is a direct result of white
supremacy, colonialism, sexism, and heteronormativity. She weaves together science,
personal essay, history, and pop culture to propose a new way of thinking about climate
change--one that is rooted in queerness and antiracism. Weinberg will read from Unsettling,
answer audience questions, and sign books. Books will be available for purchase at this event.
PUBLIC EVENT: FEELING SCIENCE: GRIEF + EMOTION IN SCIENCE COMMUNICATION
October 28, 12:00 pm @ Berry Center auditorium + on Zoom (separate link from 10/27 event)
Zoology + Physiology Department seminar series
Science writer and author Elizabeth Weinberg will discuss the vital, unavoidable role
of emotions like grief in science communication. Her talk draws on her extensive experience
as a science communicator for the Interagency Arctic Research Policy Committee and NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. Much of her science writing can be found
on the Sanctuaries website.
AUTHOR BIO
Elizabeth Weinberg is a queer essayist, science communicator, and the author of Unsettling: Surviving Extinction Together. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Washington, and her
writing has appeared in The Rumpus, The Toast, American Wild Magazine, SEVENSEAS magazine, and other publications. She lives and writes in the traditional and ancestral
homelands of the Tongva and Kizh peoples (Los Angeles) with her spouse, Leslie, and
their dog, Pigeon.
CO-SPONSORS
Weinberg's visit is co-sponsored by the UW Science Communication Initiative; School
of Culture, Gender & Social Justice; Queer Studies minor; Science Initiative-Learning
Actively Mentoring Program; Wyoming INBRE; Department of Zoology & Physiology; Creative
Writing Program; and Albany County Public Library.
The following events were organized or co-sponsored by WySCI and its members.
SciComm Support Drop-In
Starting September 10 | Tuesdays | 1:30-3:00 PM | BioSciences, room 16
Free consultations
Open to all career stages, including faculty, staff, postdocs, and students.
The drop-in is staffed by experienced, professional science communicators from across campus and across disciplines.
Get advice, brainstorm, and find collaborators for topics including (but not limited to): Broader Impacts, communicating with journalists, connecting with school groups, designing figures & infographics, poster and slide design, public-oriented science writing, graphic design tips, annd more!
We're also happy to be a sounding board for your great ideas.
Thursday, September 5 | 2:15-4:45 PM
Energy Innovation Center, 2nd-floor project room
Free; pre-registration required
Registration required for individual sessions, including WySCI sessions (see below) - contact conference organizer; space limited. Contact Rob Field, out-going CGS director (rfield1@uwyo.edu)
*WySCI Sessions: Exploring Communication: mini-workshops on Science Communication about Energy. Session 1, 2:15-2:50 pm: Science Information, Misinformation, and You; session 2, 3:00-3:40 pm: The Language of Environmental Change, led by Jeffrey Lockwood, entomologist and professor of natural sciences and humanities, Department of Philosophy and the Creative Writing Program, University of Wyoming; session 3, 3:50-4:30 pm: Ethics of Science-Community Interactions. Sessions 1 and 3 led by Bethann Garramon Merkle, WySCI director and Research Scientist, Department of Zoology & Physiology, University of Wyoming.
Friday, September 20 | 11:30-11:50 AM
College of Law Classroom
Free
Our goal, in creating Phenomenal Women, was to develop creative solutions to issues of implicit and explicit bias. We wanted to realize a freer reality. Our group meets at least once a month and has grown organically; we are now 10 in number. Our group communicates via email where we help one another confront bias in our everyday interactions. We share poetry we have written, events we host, ideas we have and tears we shed. In this session, we plan to tell our story and to relate how being one of the Phenomenal women has changed our lives. Moderator: Rachel Watson (Director, LAMP, Science Initiative). Panel takes place during the 2019 Community Conversations: Scholarship and Research Symposium on Culture, Gender & Social Justice (September 19-20. Panel Details.
Wednesday, October 9 | 1:00-3:00 PM
UWyo Art Museum
Free; pre-registration required | limited to 15
Register here. Click here to view event flyer.
This 2-hour session at the University of Wyoming Art Museum will equip participants
with vocabulary, techniques, and background essential to art-science integration.
Participants will learn to use 1) drawing, 2) discussion of artworks, and 3) consideration
of public relationships to art and science to enhance science education experiences
for students of all ages.
Facilitators: Bethann Garramon Merkle (WySCI & Dept. of Zoo/Phys.), Rachel Watson
(Science Initiative & Dept. of Chemistry), and Raechel Cook (Art Museum)
Tuesday, October 15 | 1-4:00 PM
Berry Center 217
Free | session details | pre-registration required; limit to 15
Register here.
Confirmed participants will be expected to do workshop prep, including reading an
essay or other excerpts from guest author Chelsea Biondolillo's work and possibly
completing writing in advance of the workshop. The writing assignments will be brief
(~250-500 words). Click here to view required workshop prep.
This afternoon session is an opportunity for participants to explore how a science
writer approaches writing about science and sharing science through non-academic genres
including poetry and essays. Participants will participate in facilitated exercises
led by guest author, Chelsea Biondolillo, who was formerly a UWyo ornithology and
creative writing student. Facilitator: Bethann Garramon Merkle (WySCI & Dept. of Zoo/Phys.).
Berry Center 217 | Free | Open to all science disciplines | for undergraduates, master's, and PhD students considering applying in 2019 for a GRFP fellowship
Friday, September 6 | 9-10:30 AM
Monday, September 23 | 10:00 AM-noon
Friday, October 11 | 9-11:00 AM
Please bring two printed copies of your draft statement to workshops 2 and 3. This free, three-part workshop series will orient prospective applicants to the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program, provide writing support, and connect applicants to recent fellowship winners at UWyo. The series also introduces a new GRFP Resource Guide developed by the workshop facilitators. GRFP applicants are encouraged to participate in the full workshop series. Details.
Facilitators: Emily Gelzer (master's student and honorable-mention winner, NSF GRFP 2018) and Bethann Garramon Merkle (Director, WySCI | Research Scientist, Wyoming Migration Initiative, Dept. of Zoology & Physiology). Co-sponsored by the Wyoming Migration Initiative
Tuesday, October 1 | 1-3:00 PM
University of Wyoming Art Museum
Free | pre-registration required | limited to 15
Register here. Click here to view event flyer.
This two-hour session at the University of Wyoming Art Museum is an opportunity for
participants to experience how artists approach questions of species identification,
conservation, and more -- all through the lens of artwork based in taxidermy traditions.
Guest artists: Enrique Gomez de Molina and Troy Abbott, whose work will be on display
at the Art Museum this fall, through an exhibit entitled (re)Evolution. Facilitators:
Bethann Garramon Merkle (Director, WySCI | Biodiversity Institute & WMI/Dept. of Zoo/Phys.)
and Raechel Cook (Curator of Academic Engagement, Art Museum)
Thursday, October 10 & Friday, October 11 | Click to view event flyer.
You are invited to join Dr. Virginia Schutte in a free, two-day series of trainings
and discussions about how to effectively share science through social media, careers
in science communication, and more! No registration required.
Events & Trainings in the series (see calendar above for details & locations):
-WiMSE Cuppa: Coffee/Tea Break | 10/10 | 8-9 AM | New Engineering building, lobby
-WiMSE Lunch | 10/10 | 11:30 AM-12:30 PM | AG 4040
-Workshop: You Science Narrative on Social Media |10/10 | 1-2:30 PM | Berry 217 |
Great for labs and other units on -campus looking to develop or enhance social media
presence. Also good for individuals interested in sharing science on social media.
Watch on Zoom.
-NSF GRFP Workshop # 3: Pitching Your Science and Refining Your Research Statement
| 10/11 | 9-11 AM | Berry 217
-Seminar: How Science Communication Can Advance Your Career in Science | 10/11 | Noon-1
PM | Berry Auditorium | Watch via WyoCast
-30-minute meetings - Thursday and Friday; openings throughout the day.
Dr. Virginia Schutte is an award-winning science communicator who has both a PhD and 5+ years of broad science media experience. She has worked with to deliver training workshops; she developed social media expertise as the media department for a marine science lab; and her photography, videography, and website-building skills have been used by scientific institutions on 2 continents. Dr. Schutte is unstoppably and loudly enthusiastic about how science makes life better. Series sponsored by: UWyo Science Communication Initiative, UW Top-Tier Science Initiative, Dept. of Zoology & Physiology, INBRE, WiMSE, Wyoming Migration Initiative, and Biodiversity Institute. For details and/or to request a meeting with Dr. Schutte, please contact Bethann Garramon Merkle (bmerkle@uwyo.edu)
Tuesday, November 5 | 1:00-2:30 PM
ROOM CHANGE: Aven Nelson 212
Free | session details |pre-registration required
Register here.
Join via Zoom.
This afternoon session is an opportunity for participants to discuss writing about
science in multiple genres, getting away with jokes and puns in scientific writing,
storytelling in academic manuscripts, and more -- all with the guy who literally wrote
a book on it. Confirmed participants will be expected to do workshop prep, including
reading an essay or other excerpts from guest author Stephen Heard's work and preparing
1-3 discussion points/questions. Facilitator: Bethann Garramon Merkle (Director, WySCI
| Biodiversity Institute & WMI/Dept. of Zoo/Phys.)
Zoology & Physiology Brown Bag seminar
Monday, May 13 | noon | Berry Center Auditorium
Dr. Kika Tuff, founder and creative designer of Impact Media Lab, will give a brief
talk and then lead a discussion about how story and science come together. She will
focus on how science is what drives the data, and how to build a story into writing
a paper, giving a talk, sharing science with colleagues and beyond. Join us for pizza
and a workshop/conversation about how to tell better stories about your work.
Dr. Tuff earned her PhD in ecology in 2016 from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
At Impact Media Lab, Kika helps scientists and science organizations find the compelling
stories in their research and develops media campaigns to share those stories with
the world. As she points out, "Better storytelling helps scientists have more successful
careers (write better papers, build better grant proposals, get noticed for new opportunities).
It turns out that better storytelling is better for your science, your career, and
our society."
Co-sponsored by Impact Media Lab, the University of Wyoming Science Communication
Initiative, and the Department of Zoology & Physiology.
Thursday, February 28, 5:30-7:30 PM at Albany County Public Library | Laramie, WY (map)
Last year, talks featured botany, biology, microbiology, censorship in Spain, and astronomy. This year will again feature a wide range of topics, with these short (less than 7 minutes each) talks tailored to a broad audience. Free and open to the public. Hosted by the UWyo Graduate Student Network and WySCI.
April 11 | 1:30-2:30 PM | UW Union Ballroom | Free | Hosted by WySCI as part of the 2019 Shepard Symposium on Social Justice (April 10-13)
Panelists discuss how scientists have subject-matter expertise crucial to the intersection of social justice and environmental issues and inclusion and equity in STEM. But, often, scientists aren’t trained to appropriately engage with equity issues, and scientific knowledge isn’t appropriately incorporated into society. Panelists will share their experiences and recommend ways of rectifying this disconnect.
Panelists are:
Judith Antell, retired director of the UWyo High Plains American Indian Research Institute and founding director of the UWyo Native American Studies Program;
Saeideh Esmaeili, a PhD student studying onagers, an endangered ungulate in Iran;
Jimena Golcher-Benavides, a PhD student studying fish in Lake Tanganyika, East Africa;
Christine Porter, Wyoming Excellence Chair in Community and Public Health;
Moderator: Bethann Garramon Merkle, WySCI director.
FREE | October 15, 2018 | 10 AM - noon | BP Collaboration Center in the Energy Innovation
Center (map, flyer) | Details/RSVP: 766-3621, carolyn.broccardo@uwyo.edu
NOT a WySCI event, but we heartily recommend it. The workshop is open to UW faculty and staff members, students and postdoctoral researchers. Attendees can join any or all of the sessions. The workshop schedule is as follows:
10-10:30 a.m. -- “Best Practices for Data Management.”
10:30-11 a.m. -- “Responsible Authorship.”
11-11:30 a.m. -- “Avoiding Research Misconduct.”
11:30 a.m.-noon -- “Science Communication.”
Effective 9/10/2018 | Mondays and Thursdays | 12-1 PM | 425 Wyo Hall (EPSCoR conference room). FREE CONSULTATIONS open to all, including faculty, staff, and students.
The drop-in is staffed by experienced, professional science communicators from across campus and across disciplines.
You can get advice, brainstorm, and find collaborators for topics including (but not limited to): Broader Impacts, communicating with journalists, connecting with school groups, designing figures & infographics, poster and slide design, public-oriented science writing, graphic design tips, annd more!
We're also happy to be a sounding board for your great ideas.
FREE | October 25, 2018
Open to undergraduates
The event is geared towards undergraduate students with the goal of connecting students with STEM professionals who can give insights into careers in STEM, what types of skills/education you might need, what advice you would give to your younger self, etc.
Begin with snacks and a quick introduction, followed by a one hour speed mentoring session. Over the course of one hour, small student groups will engage in 5 speed mentoring sessions (~10 minutes each) – rotating between mentors.
The speed mentoring sessions will be followed by a dinner and keynote talk (possibly Governor Mead!). Contact smcbride@uwyo.edu or craitj@uwyo.edu for registration details or to volunteer as a mentor.
Event sponsored and organized by the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, in conjunction with the Science Initiative, the Wyoming-NASA Space Grant Consortium, the College of Engineering and Applied Science's K-14 Outreach Program, and WySCI.
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018 | noon-1 pm | Coe Library, room 506 or connect via Zoom
Free | Light refreshments provided by the Science Initiative.
This panel is an opportunity to ask questions and have a discussion with several UWyo representatives and employees. Topics include the professional implications of engaging with policy makers, sharing your expertise in policy settings, what is allowed as a State of Wyoming employee, and more. Panelists: Shannon Pipes (UWyo Office of the General Counsel); Carolyn Broccardo (Director, Research Integrity & Compliance, Office of Research & Economic Development); Meredith Asay (Interim Director, Office of Government Relations); Nicole Korfanta (Director, Ruckelshaus Institute); Donal O'Toole (Chair, Faculty Senate; Dept. of Veterinary Sciences). Moderator: Bethann Garramon Merkle (WySCI; Wyoming Migration Initiative, Dept. of Zoology & Physiology) Event co-sponsors: Wyoming Science Communication Initiative; Science Initiative; Research Integrity & Compliance-Office of Research & Economic Development.
FREE | Monday, Nov. 12, 2018 | noon-1 pm | Ag 30
This one-hour workshop will introduce you to tips and techniques you can use to photograph your lab-based research, including yourself and your research team, your research methods and setting, and more. Topics will include getting the most out of your phone, cheap-to-free lighting fixes, developing a shot list, and using photos on social media. You are welcome to bring whatever photography equipment you are most likely to use again/for the purposes of photographing your lab-based research. This workshop is led by David Keto of UW Extension, along with Teddi Freedman (College of Engineering) and Bethann Garramon Merkle (Wyoming Migration Initiative, WySCI). Lunch will be provided by the College of Engineering's K-14 Project. Register here - limited to 25 participants. Contact wysci@uwyo.edu with questions.
FREE | Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018 | noon-1 pm | Union Family Room
Women in Math, Science and Engineering (WiMSE) hosts their last WiMSE lunch of the semester. At this Resume Roundtable, you'll receive a presentation on the difference between a resume and a CV. Then, you'll break out into small groups, and several experts in resume and CV writing, as well as writing cover letters, will be available to assist you.
Please bring a resume, CV, or cover letter if you would like advice on how to improve your materials. We will also talk about how to develop a resume, CV, or cover letter if you are just starting out.
Event is hosted by (and lunch provided by) the McNair Scholars Program.
Summer 2019 | Applications due December 1, 2018
Internship: Accepted interns will work 12 weeks in the summer of 2019, likely between 20 and 32 hours a week (possibility to work 40 hours a week under special circumstances). Internship director, Dr. Kristen Landreville, will work with accepted interns to identify a specific Wyoming media outlet for the full internship period. Compensation: $12.50 per hour, plus travel stipend ($225-$360).
Qualifications: Selected interns should be familiar with reporting, newswriting, and AP Style.We prefer applicants who have experience with newswriting, reporting, and editing, and applicants who have taken the Media, Science, and Society class (COJO 4230).
Apply: email the following to Dr. Kristen Landreville at klandrev@uwyo.edu by Sat. Dec. 1, 2018: 1) a resume, 2) completed application form, and 3) a cover letter that includes an explanation about why you’re interested in the science journalism internship. If you have any questions, please email internship director, Dr. Kristen Landreville at klandrev@uwyo.edu; Communications and Journalism Department.
FREE* | Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018 | 11 am-noon | Berry Center-room 227 or join via Zoom
This moderated Q&A will feature four past AAAS Mass Media fellows: Amanda Grennell, Joan Meiners, Katherine Wu, and Yen Duong. They will not be presenting; rather, they will respond to your questions about applying for and doing a AAAS Mass Media fellowship. This session will be held via Zoom and in-person at the University of Wyoming. This is not a AAAS-organized session.
*Participation is free, but it is expected that you will have reviewed the AAAS Mass Media Fellowship application materials and will come with questions for the fellows.