From the category archives:

Communication

ASME launches a new series of nanotechnology podcasts

by Andrew Maynard July 7, 2010

ASME – the organization that used to be known as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers – has just launched a series of educational podcasts on nanotechnology that are well worth checking out. Between now and next February, the ASME Nanotechnology Institute will be posting new video and/or audio podcasts on their website every couple [...]

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Scientist listen to the public? Surely you’re joking Mr. Mooney!

by Andrew Maynard July 4, 2010

With apologies to Chris Mooney, and all the many scientists that really do get the need to listen to people.  And also with a rather large tongue in my cheek: Dear Mr Mooney, I’ve been way too busy this week doing important sciency stuff to engage with the trivialities of the popular press.  But this [...]

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Day one of I’m A Scientist – It’s the teens who are training us!

by Andrew Maynard June 15, 2010

It’s a quarter to one in the morning Eastern Time, and I’ve just polished off the last question of the day on I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out Of Here!  I should be heading off to bed, but I wanted to capture some initial thoughts on this exercise first. I’ve lost count of how many [...]

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Found in translation – Journalist Andréia Azevedo Soares’ take on a Brazilian nanotechnology documentary

by Andrew Maynard April 25, 2010

Language is often seen as a barrier to communication.  But sometimes it provides a valuable buffer between hearing, understanding and responding, and allows unique perspectives that are often drowned out to be heard. A few weeks ago, I was interviewed by Brazilian TV presenter Luís Fernando Silva Pinto for the TV Globo program Ciência & [...]

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The nanotech gamble – double or nothing?

by Andrew Maynard April 20, 2010

There’s a bit of a brouhaha over nanotechnology safety brewing over at AOL Online.  A few weeks ago, investigative reporter Andrew Schneider posted a series of articles questioning both the safety of nanotechnology-enabled products entering the market, and the US government’s response to the emerging challenge.  Today, Clayton Teague – Director of the US National [...]

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The secrets of engaging teens with science

by Sophia Collins April 13, 2010

A guest blog by Sophia Collins, producer of the on-line teen science event “I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here!” “itz hometime but we want to stay and ask questions” These are the words of a 14 year old student, at a school in inner-city London. The school has some of the poorest academic [...]

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Cultivating ingenuity & humility in an increasingly complex world

by Andrew Maynard April 6, 2010

To coincide with my move to the University of Michigan, Seed Magazine has just published a series of ten questions and answers on what I do and what motivates me as a scientist.  You can read how well I fared (or didn’t, as the case may be) with questions as diverse as “How do you [...]

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Making sense of nanotechnology – a piece of cake!

by Andrew Maynard April 4, 2010

The quality’s a bit flaky, but I thought I would upload this video for a bit of fun.  It’s the first – and possibly the last – time I will simultaneously attempt to unravel the mysteries of nanotechnology… while baking a cake! Filmed at the National Museum of American History as part of Nanodays 2010, [...]

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“I’m a Scientist…” – Seriously addictive science engagement!

by Andrew Maynard March 24, 2010

The website “I’m a Scientist – Get me out of here” should come with a government warning – something along the lines of “Visiting this site could seriously disrupt your professional, social and personal live while altering your perceptions on getting kids hooked on science – proceed with extreme caution.”  In fact I would probably [...]

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24 questions and answers on nanotechnology safety

by Andrew Maynard February 12, 2010

Well I guess I set myself up good and proper – I should have realized that in asking people for their questions on nanotechnology safety last week, they would actually want answers! Having failed miserably to compile a catalog of websites that provide clear and concise answers to the questions asked in last week’s blog [...]

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No Small Matter – a taste of the nanoscale

by Andrew Maynard January 18, 2010

To accompany the review just posted of Felice Frankel and George Whitesides’ book “No Small Matter: Science on the Nanoscale” the authors kindly allowed me to post this series of excerpts.  What I wanted to capture here was the synergy between the images and the prose – and how together they pull the reader in. [...]

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No Small Matter – A connoisseur’s guide to delicate work

by Andrew Maynard January 18, 2010

How do you write a book about something few people have heard off, and less seem interested in?  The answer, it seems, is to write about something else. Felice Frankel and George Whitesides have clearly taken this lesson to heart. Judged by the cover alone, their new book “No Small Matter:  Science at the Nanoscale” [...]

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Daily Mail Science Reporting – Deconstructed

by Andrew Maynard January 8, 2010

Hype, scare mongering, obfuscation and just plain misinformation – the scientific community are reasonably clear about what they think of Tabloid science reporting much of the time.  So I wasn’t too surprised to see the headline “‘Grey goo’ food laced with nanoparticles could swamp Britain” in today’s Daily Mail, following the release of a new [...]

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Scientists and social media – This is not a case study

by Ruth Seeley January 4, 2010

By Ruth Seeley, No Spin PR. A little over a year ago, Ruth Seeley – a freelance communications consultant – rather bravely approached me with a proposition:  She would help me develop a social media strategy for 2020 Science, if I would let her write the experience up as a case study.  Was she mad?  [...]

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Researchers are real people too – thoughts on interviewing scientists

by Andrew Maynard November 29, 2009

Andréia Azevedo Soares has just posted an excellent blog on how to interview scientists over at YS Journal – an on-line journal written, edited and published by students.  The piece is aimed specifically at students from 12 to 20 years old who are engaged with the Young Scientists Journal project from around the world, and [...]

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Riding the wave: Rethinking science & technology policy

by Andrew Maynard October 15, 2009

Part 8 of a series on rethinking science and technology for the 21st century Much to my embarrassment, I’ve just realized that it was over four months ago that I wrote the previous blog in this series – a series that was supposed to evolve over just a few weeks!  Most inconveniently, other priorities ended [...]

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Do peer review journals need a media code of conduct?

by Andrew Maynard October 14, 2009

Since when did peer review journals start to put press hits before published data? Scientific peer review journals are a cornerstone of modern science – providing an authoritative repository of scientific discovery that researchers and others can examine, test and build upon.  Publication in peer review journals is the primary route by which new science [...]

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So you’re curious about nanotechnology…

by Andrew Maynard September 28, 2009

Curious, concerned or just plain confused about nanotechnology?  The new website Nano & Me might be just what you are looking for. Funded in part by the UK department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and developed by the Responsible Nano Forum, Nano & Me is aimed at providing clear and balanced information on an [...]

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Hooked on science – ten things that inspired me to become a scientist

by Andrew Maynard September 3, 2009

How exactly did I get hooked on science?  It’s not something I’ve thought about too much before. But an invitation to discuss how to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists and engineers next week has got me thinking…

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