Kansas State University

K-State well represented at SciComm 2018 at University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Submitted by Sarah Hancock

A group of about 15 K-State students and staff attended the SciComm 2018 conference at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln in late March.

The conference included workshops from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Portal to the Public, and Friends of Joe's Big Idea; lightning talk and film festival competitions; two keynote addresses from science communication practitioners and experts; brief talks on K-12 and undergraduate science education, engaging with the public, specific tools such as comics for engaging with various audiences, working with the media, blogging, and more; a science festival with tabletop activities at the University of Nebraska State Museum; a poster session; and Nerd Nite.

Ten students received travel awards to attend the conference:

• Shannon Barry, undergraduate in ag communications and journalism.
• John Coffin, doctoral student in biology. 
• Bernadette Drouhard, undergraduate in chemical engineering. 
• Nicole Green, doctoral student in biochemistry. 
• Sophie Higgs, master's student in biology.
• Brittany Hollerbach, doctoral student in kinesiology.
• Andrew Kahn, undergraduate in microbiology.
• Lauren Konrade, doctoral student in biology.
• John O'Brien, undergraduate in math.
• Melitza Ramirez, undergraduate in kinesiology.

The following students delivered lightning talks:

• Bernadette Drouhard, "Climate Change Easily Explained."
• Andrew Kahn, "HPV: An Unknown Risk that Everyone Knows About."
• Lauren Konrade, "Stepping Out of Line: Why Evolution Isn’t Linear."

The following students developed tabletop activities for the science festival:

• John Coffin, "The Power of Adaptation."
• Nicole Green, "Supermodel: Using the Fruit Fly to Understand Mighty Muscles."
• Brittany Hollerbach, "An Exploration of Firefighter Health and Safety."

The following students participated in the poster session:

• Shannon Barry, "Uncovering the Truth about Monsanto’s Roundup."
• Bernadette Drouhard, "Nutrient Recovery from Anaerobically Treated Municipal Wastewater."
• Nicole Green, "Inquiry into the Remote Takes Flight: Integrating Drosophila into High School Classroom Curriculum."
• Brittany Hollerbach, "Examining Quality, Affordable Housing in Riley County, Kansas."
• John O'Brien, "Tessellations of the Plane: Symmetries and Sheaves."
• Melitza Ramirez, "An Examination of Supplement Use in Volunteer Firefighters."

The following students and staff delivered 15-minute conference talks:

• Nicole Green, "'Talking' Your Way Into a Job: Incorporating Science Communication Into Your Graduate Training Experience."
• Sarah Hancock, Office of the Vice President for Research, "Building a SciComm System: The Kansas Science Communication Initiative."
• Sophie Higgs, "Tips from a Graduate Student: How to Start That Science Blog."

Other attendees included Megan Miller, program coordinator in the K-State Graduate School; Priscila Guzman, doctoral student in biology; and Stephanie Lee, master's student in chemistry.

Learn more about the Kansas Science Communication Initiative.