Public Engagement

Science and the Media – a collection of essays from the American Academy of Arts & Sciences

by Andrew Maynard October 16, 2010

Back in August, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences published a collection of essays under the editorship of Donald Kennedy and Geneva Overholster on the (seemingly) increasingly strained relationship between science and the media. I was too embroiled in the move to Michigan at the time to pay it much attention, but a news [...]

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Decoupling “nanotechnology”

by Andrew Maynard August 12, 2010

Even though it was written a couple of years ago, this post remains very relevant as people continue to make sense of nanotechnology. Maybe it’s time to revisit yellow-technology! Originally posted May 17 2008. Nanotechnology as an overarching concept is great for sweeping statements and sound bites, but falls short when it comes to real-world [...]

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Building trust between science and society: A Scientist’s Manifesto

by Andrew Maynard May 9, 2010

Having recently finished Robert Winston’s “Bad Ideas? An Arresting History of our Inventiveness,” I was rather taken by his concluding “Scientist’s Manifesto” – a fourteen-point guide to help strengthen the relationship between science and society. As well as reflecting much of my own thinking, it embodies many of the ideas coming out of the science [...]

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Public participation in nanotechnology – should we care?

by Barbara Herr Harthorn May 4, 2010

A guest blog by Barbara Herr Harthorn, Director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at the University of California Santa Barbara. A couple of weeks back, my colleague David Guston wrote here about engaging the public on nanotechnology. In his piece he gave an excellent overview of the US government’s activities – or relative [...]

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Ben Goldacre, what were you thinking?!

by Andrew Maynard May 1, 2010

The politics of science fascinates me – the more so because there are still some naifs who think that science is apolitical. And like all politics, sometimes it gets nasty. I was reminded of this rather starkly while reading an interview with Ben Goldacre this morning in the latest edition of Imperial College’s science magazine [...]

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Power to the people – should citizens be more involved in assessing energing technologies?

by Andrew Maynard April 28, 2010

Does the US need more public participation in assessing technologies and their potential impact on society, and informing decisions on their development and use? Richard Sclove – author of a new report on technology assessment – thinks yes; but only as part of a new paradigm for technology assessment. The report, published today by the [...]

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Public Engagement with Nanotechnology

by David H Guston March 30, 2010

A guest blog by David H. Guston, Director of the Center for Nanotechnology in Society at Arizona State University. The President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) has recently put the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) through its biennial paces. Launched in 2000 by President Clinton, authorized in 2003 by the 21st Century Nanotechnology [...]

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Engaging the public on science? Surely you’re joking!

by Andrew Maynard March 10, 2010

I was at a meeting a couple of weeks ago where engaging the public (or “publics” to be more accurate) in science came up. In the course of discussions, I mentioned an initiative by Research Councils UK to involve members of the public in developing a call for research proposals on the use of nanotechnology [...]

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New report on Science and Trust emphasizes acknowledging risk and uncertainty

by Andrew Maynard March 8, 2010

A new report released today from the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Expert Group on Science and Trust emphasizes the need to address risk and uncertainty in developing and using science and technology within society. “Acknowledging risk and uncertainty” is the second of eight broad aspirations from the independent group, established to [...]

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Poll: Does trust in science need restoring?

by Andrew Maynard February 16, 2010

Prompted by a blog post by Stephen Hill this morning – and a flurry or Twitter responses to it – here’s a quick question on science and trust: More on this in a later blog.

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Science Media Centre briefing on Climate Science in the Media – Don’t Panic!!

by Guest February 12, 2010

A guest blog by Gary Kass, Principal Specialist in Strategic Futures at Natural England The London-based Science Media Centre (SMC) describes itself as “an independent venture working to promote the voices, stories and views of the scientific community to the national news media when science is in the headlines” and sets out its “ultimate goal” [...]

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21st Century Tech Governance? What would Ned Ludd do?

by Guest December 18, 2009

By Jim Thomas, ETC Group A guest blog in the Alternative Perspectives on Technology Innovation series For a fresh perspective on how to do technology governance consider starting somewhere else. I suggest York Castle in Northern England – a stark stone tower from the thirteenth century. It was here in 1812 that the English state [...]

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Tim Jones’ Exquisite Corpse of Science – an update

by Andrew Maynard November 15, 2009

Back in July I wrote a short blog about Tim Jones’ Exquisite Corpse of Science project – an innovative project to explore what people think about science and it’s place in their lives and society, through the medium of drawing and film. Four months on, I though it was worth a quick update. One of [...]

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Do scientists encourage misleading media coverage?

by Andrew Maynard October 30, 2009

As scientists, how we love to rail against the incompetence of the media. As self-proclaimed keepers of the truth, we decry – usually rather vocally – the misinterpretation and misuse of our precious studies. And as we commiserate together on the injustices of the world, we inevitably get to thinking that if only journalists could [...]

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Is too much choice bad for the health?

by Andrew Maynard October 11, 2009

Sunday morning breakfast – a croissant, a coffee, and a stress-free morning. But wait a minute… I wonder how healthy all that butter is? When did I last have my cholesterol levels checked? Were they high? Will my crisp, moist butter croissant push me into a French pastry-coronary? And how about the coffee? Didn’t I [...]

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Enough with the nano already!

by Andrew Maynard September 18, 2009

Okay, so I’ve been letting work interfere with my blogging life over the past few weeks, which has led to an interminable series of impenetrable blogs on nanotechnology. I promise I’ll try and lighten up over the next few weeks (although I’m afraid there are still a couple of nano blogs to come over the [...]

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Geoengineering the climate: A clear perspective from The Royal Society

by Andrew Maynard September 1, 2009

Initial reflections on the new Royal Society report “Geoengineering the climate: Science, governance and uncertainty” After many months’ hard work, the Royal Society’s much-anticipated report on geoengineering was published today. Aimed at presenting “an independent scientific review of the range of methods proposed [for geoengineering the climate] with the aim of providing an objective view [...]

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Reflections of a “scientific illiterate”

by Andrew Maynard August 11, 2009

Reviewing Unscientific America: How scientific illiteracy threatens our future, by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum My name is Andrew, and I am scientifically illiterate. Just thought I’d get that off my chest! And before you protest too much, I do have some pretty convincing evidence. Math makes my head ache. I cannot recite the Earth’s [...]

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Anything I can do, you can do better!

by Andrew Maynard July 18, 2009

Art makes a mockery of experts and empowers the marginalized. At least that’s how I feel at the moment! Having broadcast the news of Tim Jones’ fabulous Exquisite Corpse of Science project, I thought it only fitting that I do what I’ve been telling everyone else to do, and get out my Sharpie. And here’s [...]

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The biggest science-art project in history?

by Andrew Maynard July 15, 2009

Okay, so there may be a dash of hyperbole there, but following up on the success of his Exquisite Corpse of Science project (see my previous post), Tim Jones is hatching an ambitious plan to create the world’s largest interconnected montage of drawings representing peoples’ impressions of, aspirations for and concerns about science. The plan [...]

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Andrew Maynard is…

A professor and scientist with an unhealthy interest in the dark side – policy, communication and all that. When not writing and talking about science and technology, he chairs the University of Michigan Environmental Health Sciences Department and directs the UM Risk Science Center. More...
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