Down To Earth: Cornell Conversations About – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode, we discuss the aspect of science identity and how that influences a person’s engagement with science communication.

References used:

Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet, and Bruce V. Lewenstein. “Science Communication Training: What Are We Trying to Teach?” International Journal of Science Education, Part B 7, no. 3 (July 3, 2017): 285–300. https://doi.org/10.1080/21548455.2017.1303756.

Carlone, Heidi B., and Angela Johnson. “Understanding the Science Experiences of Successful Women of Color: Science Identity as an Analytic Lens.” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 44, no. 8 (2007): 1187–1218. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20237.

Davies, Sarah Rachael, Megan Halpern, Maja Horst, David Kirby, and Bruce Lewenstein. “Science Stories as Culture: Experience, Identity, Narrative and Emotion in Public Communication of Science.” Journal of Science Communication 18, no. 05 (October 14, 2019). https://doi.org/10.22323/2.18050201.

Seraj, Mina. “We Create, We Connect, We Respect, Therefore We Are: Intellectual, Social, and Cultural Value in Online Communities.” Journal of Interactive Marketing 26, no. 4 (November 1, 2012): 209–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2012.03.002.

Tan, Edna, Angela Calabrese Barton, Hosun Kang, and Tara O’Neill. “Desiring a Career in STEM-Related Fields: How Middle School Girls Articulate and Negotiate Identities-in-Practice in Science: MIDDLE SCHOOL GIRLS’ NARRATED AND EMBODIED IDENTITIES-IN-PRACTICE.” Journal of Research in Science Teaching 50, no. 10 (December 2013): 1143–79. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21123.

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Key references for this episode are: 

Brossard, Dominique, and Bruce Lewenstein. “A Critical Appraisal of Models of Public Understanding of Science: Using Practice to Inform Theory.” In Communicating Science: New Agendas in Communication, 11–39, 2010. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203867631.

Kahan, Dan M., Asheley Landrum, Katie Carpenter, Laura Helft, and Kathleen Hall Jamieson. “Science Curiosity and Political Information Processing.” Political Psychology 38 (February 1, 2017): 179–99. https://doi.org/10.1111/pops.12396.

Pew Research Center’s Journalism Project. “How Americans Get Science News and Information,” September 20, 2017. https://www.journalism.org/2017/09/20/science-news-and-information-today/.

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In this episode, we sit down with Bruce Monger, one of Cornell's most beloved professors to discuss what it is like to teach the biggest course taught on campus. The course is Introductory oceanography and is often hailed as a life-changing course. He has opened the eyes of many students about the challenges we face due to a changing climate. 

Ever wonder about the computer models used to predict future climate scenarios? In this episode, special guests, Colin Evans and Marc Alessi from Cornell's Emergent Climate Risk Lab explain climate model basics and give us some insights into the different scenarios often used to discuss what scientists think will happen in the future. They also bring up RCP 8.5 scenario, or the business-as-usual scenario often used to describe the worst possible outcomes and whether not it is something we should still be using when discussing climate change. Read more here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00177-3

In the final installment of her ocean science series, Marta returns to Cornell to interview Professor Drew Harvell and one of her past students, Serina Moheed '20. Prof. Harvell recently published a book on marine disease titled Ocean Outbreak, and we discuss her research on marine epidemics and other related topics. Prof. Harvell and Serina worked together in last year's Cornell Ocean Research Apprenticeship for Lynch Scholars (CORALS), and Serina describes her experiences as a student marine researcher.

Cornell senior Kate Selley interviews Dr. Andrew Minchener, OBE, General Manager of the IEA Clean Coal Centre. He discussed the merits of improving the efficiency of coal as a way to bridge the renewables gap to a sustainable future. Listen on Wednesday as Down to Earth discusses the past, present, and future of coal in a changing climate.

For the fourth oceans episode, Marta sat down with three physical oceanographers at WHOI this summer to discuss ocean circulation. Dr. Mike Spall and Dr. Chris Piecuch explain large-scale circulation and its importance in climate, and grad student Mara Freilich discusses her research on vertical motion of seawater and its relevance for ecosystems.

For the third oceans episode, Marta sat down with Dr. Hauke Kite-Powell from WHOI, Melissa Baldino from Duke, Sally Dowd from Berkeley, and Maddie Schumm from UT Austin to discuss marine policy and marine resource management and the research that goes into it. Listen in to learn about ecosystem services, economic models for fisheries, ecosystem models for aquaculture, and animal behavior in a noisy ocean.

Marta discusses rising sea levels with experts from  Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Colorado College. Listen in as we dive deeper into the complexities of ocean science and sea-level rise. 

This week, Marta introduces a podcast series on ocean science topics. Last summer, she worked as a research intern at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and she took advantage of her time there by interviewing experts in ocean science/climate change hot topics like coral bleaching, sea-level rise, and marine resource policy. The first oceans episode is on coral bleaching and ocean acidification, with guests Dr. Anne Cohen from WHOI and Ellen Park from Cornell University.