July 31, 2017 to August 4, 2017
Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
US/Central timezone

Science writing workshops with the ATLAS experiment

Aug 2, 2017, 10:57 AM
12m
Comitium (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory)

Comitium

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

Presentation Diversity, Education and Outreach Diversity, Education, and Outreach

Speaker

Dr Tasneem Zehra Husain (Author and Science Educator)

Description

Particle physics is fascinating to an overwhelming majority of the population but is shrouded in mystery.. Our theories appear abstruse and abstract, our experiments are specialized and technical; there is a barrier - both literal and metaphorical - that keeps the uninitiated out. As practicing scientists, we are often called upon to explain our work: to spread awareness, to educate, to justify the expenditure of public funds, or to counter an increasingly troubling suspicion of science. But the dispassionate, objective, disembodied voice we have been trained to use in our professional lives, doesn't work very well with the public. In order to communicate meaningfully with a more general audience, we must start from a point of connection and keep referring back to the things we have in common - the human experiences and emotions we all share; we must risk being subjective and personal, be willing to talk about the messy, creative aspects of science and the passion that animates our work. This talk will describe workshops organized in 2016 and 2017 by the ATLAS collaboration with author Tasneem Zehra Husain, to help scientists rediscover their unique writing voice and learn how to craft stories in a manner that will resonate with a lay audience.

Primary author

Dr Tasneem Zehra Husain (Author and Science Educator)

Co-author

Dr Isabel Trigger (TRIUMF)

Presentation materials