When Science Speaks

Leonard Sonnenshein is the Founder and Chief Scientific Officer for Salvation Farming Solutions, LLC and GrowFish LLC. He is also Co-Founder of the World Ocean Network. Leonard is a regular collaborator and consultant with international agencies such as UNESCO, UNDP, WHO, and the International Ocean Institute.

Climate change can be a charged, controversial subject in the general public. Not everyone believes the effects are real or dangerous. How do scientists go about communicating scientific research to those who aren't receptive to the subject matter?

Agriculture, despite being integral to feeding people around the world, has its own impact on climate change. The increased need for agriculture has led to an increased effect on the climate. The guest on this week's episode is doing his part to alleviate this issue.

Leonard has a degree in biology and secondary education from the University of Missouri St. Louis, and a degree in biology and philosophy that he also earned from the University of Missouri St. Louis.

[2:10] How Leonard communicates about climate change to an audience that might find the subject controversial

[5:11] How to be a better communicator of science

[9:47] The effects of agriculture on the climate, and how to improve the climate footprint of agriculture

[12:36] Leonard's advice for entrepreneurs

[17:15] Working with the Yield Lab

[19:10] Changes in agriculture in recent years

[21:03] What Leonard is working on now

The Yield Lab

LinkedIn for Leonard Sonnenshein

While the scientific community, for the most part, has a consensus on climate change, the general public is a little more divided. For many people, the subject is controversial, and aren't very receptive to discussion on this important topic. So how do scientists broach the topic? What are the best ways to go about communicating scientific data in a way which will not turn some people off?

For Leonard Sonnenshein, as he points out in the interview, the way to reach a wider audience is to avoid the buzz words like "climate change", and instead concentrate on the tangible effects of it. How has climate change affected your audience directly? If you are speaking to farmers, how has their ability to grow crops been altered? Will it affect their livelihood? Now, instead of a theoretical discussion about climate, it becomes something your audience can relate to.

Agriculture is central to feeding people around the world. As worldwide population grows, so does the need for a vast and efficient agriculture industry. With an increase in production comes an equally increased climate footprint. There is a log of pollution which comes from the industry, as Leonard points out in the interview. What can be done to alleviate these stresses on the environment?

Leonard has some ideas for that, as well. There are multiple ways to approach the issue, such as creating products which are based completely on nature so that there is little or no harm done. Another tactic is to grow products like corn which have more cobs per plant, increase the size of the kernels, and improve the plant's ability to fight pests and disease. Reducing waste is another way to reduce the need to grow as much overall per capita.

Learn more about Leonard Sonnenshein and his work on this week's episode of When Science Speaks.

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Dr. Laura Woodworth-Ney is the Executive Vice President and Provost at Idaho State University. Laura is also a faculty member there and is the Chief Academic Officer of the University. She oversees units that impact research and instructional academic programs. Laura has also had prior appointments at ISU including Chair of the Department of History and co-Director of Women's Studies.

The gap between those who make policy decisions in government and the more rural citizens can sometimes be a wide one. There are a lot of experts who have a passion for their fields and a storehouse of knowledge, but that doesn't always translate to and influence those who make policy. This week's guest on the podcast hopes to help close that gap and help those who live in rural areas of Idaho.

Dr. Laura Woodworth-Ney earned her PhD in American History and Public History at Washington State University. Prior to that, she completed her master's degree in History also at Washington State University. Her undergraduate studies were done at the University of Idaho, where she earned her bachelor's in English.

[2:26] The Idaho Science and Technology Fellowship

[7:55] Getting entry-level faculty involved in policymaking

[11:01] The time scale is longer in science than it is in policymaking

[14:01] The difficulties which first-generation college students face

[15:45] Dr. Woodworth-Ney did not plan on staying in Idaho originally

[20:02] Dealing with fast-moving changes in technology

[22:02] What it was like in the late 19th Century American West

[25:49] Emerging trends in academia

Dr. Laura Woodworth-Ney

LinkedIn for Dr. Woodworth-Ney

There is a big difference between the worlds of the scientific community and private industry. The needs, goals, and deadlines of each are distinct due to the timescales that each operates in. Academic activity has a rhythm and a flow more naturally centered around the academic calendar, while private industry has only the quick turnaround and completion of its goals in mind. The result is a difference in the relative speed between the two.

As Dr. Woodworth-Ney mentions in this episode, that difference can lead to a lack of synergy. The timescale gap also exists in the world of lawmaking, as well, as they have a much longer time to develop their ideas than the private sector. So what is the solution for bridging this gap? Laura hopes the fellowships they are working on can use policy to bridge a gap between private industry and the scientific community.

The technological revolution of the last few decades has accelerated exponentially in the last 10 years. The ways we travel, communicate, and even eat our food have been revolutionized, and this is just as true on campuses as anywhere else. Things like class registration, dining, and how students are informed about campus happenings have completely changed.

In this episode, Dr. Laura Woodworth-Ney gives an excellent example of this rapid change. Her mother and grandmother also attended the same university as she did, and as Laura mentions, registration for classes was done the same way for her mother as it was for her. That is no longer the case, as the internet has made those ways seem obsolete. The students who are attending classes today have never known a world without a cell phone and the internet, and even emails are no longer used as much as they once were, as Laura points out.

Learn more about Dr. Laura Woodworth-Ney and on this week's episode of When Science Speaks.

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Dr. Angela Fowler is the Director at the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs at the Indiana University School of Medicine, where she advocates for the needs of postdocs and designs workshops for postdocs and grad students to guide career planning. Prior to her position as Director, she was a Postdoctoral Fellow at La Jolla Institute for Immunology, researching Zika and Dengue in addition to helping develop a career development program.

Career planning is difficult in any stage of life, but even more so during the graduate school and postdoc periods. Research is usually the focus, and it can be difficult to put energy into planning a career that has not happened yet. During her postdoctoral fellowship, Dr. Fowler developed a passion for career development after she heard a talk from a career planner who had made it their focus to help postdocs plan their careers.

Dr. Angela Fowler earned her PhD in Microbiology at the University of Kansas after completing her Bachelor's in Biology from Pittsburg State University. Angela is a first-generation college graduate and is the first-ever PhD in her family.

• [2:30] What do the best manuscripts have in common?
• [4:46] Keys to getting the best post-doc experience
• [8:44] The career development program Dr. Fowler helped develop at the University of Kansas
• [11:20] The earlier you plan to transition to career life the better
• [12:50] Finding meaning in helping people
• [14:16] What makes a great mentor, and what makes a great mentee
• [17:32] Dr. Fowler's favorite resources for information

• Indiana University School of Medicine
• LinkedIn for Dr. Fowler
• Carpe Careers

When is the best time to begin planning for a career during a postdoc? It is difficult to plan for careers that have not materialized yet. But the problem will not go away, and the sooner it is addressed, the better. Fortunately, there are experienced professionals who have gone through the process before who give their time and energy to helping others address these very concerns.

It was during Dr. Folwer's postdoc when she developed a passion for career development, in part because of her own experience. She heard a talk from someone who had a position and role which was centered around helping those like her to develop their career while still in a postdoctoral program. The experience inspired Dr. Folwer and she began to volunteer in career development programs, as she speaks about on the podcast.

Networking and career planning can seem like a distant problem at the beginning of a postdoc. Focusing on the present is always a good idea, but at some point, the experience will end and the sooner that reality is addressed, the smoother the transition will be to a successful career.

As Angela talks about during this week's episode, it is a good idea to begin the postdoc period being mindful of your future career, as well. Multiple career plans and paths can materialize out of a postdoc, and it is not ideal to put off thinking about those possibilities until the postdoc period is almost completed. Dr. Fowler has made it a part of her career to helping postdocs navigate those situations.

Learn more about Dr. Angela Fowler and her passion for career planning on this week's episode of When Science Speaks.

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Dr. Quinta Nwanosike Warren is the Founder and CEO of Engineering Research Consulting, LLC., and the author of the book A Practical Guide to Oil & Gas Resource Characterization For Geologists and Reservoir Engineers. She is currently working as an AAAS Fellow with the Millenium Challenge Corporation and has served as Director of Professional Education at the Dakar American University of Science and Technology.

Having a career plan is certainly a great idea to implement. Defining a goal will help to bring focus and accountability which can provide momentum to a career track. Sometimes life can offer a curveball, however. After planning on going to medical school, Dr. Quinta Warren was offered an opportunity in the oil and gas industry. Despite the fact it operated outside of her goals, she saw the great opportunity and took it, forever altering her professional life.

Dr. Warren earned her PhD in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. She completed her undergraduate degree at Penn State University, earning a Bachelor's Degree in Chemical Engineering. It was at the former where she first met representatives from ConocoPhillips which set her on her career track.

[1:03] Introduction and background for Dr. Quinta Nwanosike

[3:19] What attracted Quinta to policymaking positions

[5:16] The internship that started Dr. Warren's career

[8:52] Techniques for communicating complex scientific ideas to the general public

[14:25] How to navigate career changes

[19:21] What makes a good mentor, and how to be a good mentee

[24:26] Lessons that Dr. Warren find most valuable

[27:35] Keys to success in the workplace

Energy Research Consulting

Millennium Challenge Corporation

A Practical Guide to Oil & Gas Resource Characterization For Geologists and Reservoir Engineers, by Quinta Nwanosike-Warren, and Kelsey Mosley-Bufford

Gaining experience is how we grow in our professional life. The most difficult aspect of starting out in a new career is the inherent lack of experience in a chosen field. Internships are a fantastic way to get valuable experience and gain the knowledge needed to grow. They are also a natural way to develop a personal network of contacts.

Dr. Warren had just such an opportunity in the second year of her PhD program at Georgia Tech. She was tasked with running a symposium that brought together industry professionals together with graduate students looking for internships. The delegation from ConocoPhillips was so impressed with how well her event was run that they offered her an internship on the spot. Even though she had not planned on working in the oil and gas industry, she accepted the offer. As Quinta points out in the interview, it was not what she had originally envisioned for her career track, but she seized an opportunity when it came to her.

Having a mentor can be a life-changing relationship. The opportunity to interface with people who have walked the path before is immensely valuable. It is important to find a mentor who is the right fit for you and your goals. They should have the skills and knowledge you wish to learn, but being comfortable with them is equally important, as Dr. Warren points out. But mentorship is a two-way street, and what it takes to be an ideal mentoree is often overlooked.

What are the ideal traits to have for those who wish to find a good mentor? As Dr. Warren speaks about in this episode, wasting your mentor's time is not a good idea. Being open and clear about what will be needed from them is also important. No one will want to be a mentor for someone who they feel has wasted their time or has not been upfront or truthful.

Learn more about Dr. Quinta Nwanosike and her professional life on this week's episode of When Science Speaks.

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The world is going through a progression, as more and more women and minorities are breaking into all areas of education and business. There is still a long way to go, but this progress is spearheaded by leaders in both areas who make it their passion to help equality become more and more of a reality in our modern times.

Dr. Heather Metcalf is the Chief Research Officer at the Association for Women in Science (AWIS). Metcalf is Project Lead on the STEM to Market and Advanced Resource and Coordination Network initiatives. She has extensive experience leading the empirical intersection between work and gender in the STEM fields.

The social sciences and STEM fields each have their own ways of thinking. Having immersed herself in both computer science and gender studies, which are fields with two traditionally distinct mindsets, Heather had a unique, well-rounded experience that informs her professional life and the initiatives she leads.

Heather completed her postdoctoral research at the University of Arizona where she holds a patent on training materials for effective search and hiring processes. Heather got her PhD in Higher Education - Science and Technology Policy at The University of Arizona, where she also earned her Master's in Gender and Women's Studies. In addition, Heather completed an MS in Computer Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

[1:02] Introduction to Heather Metcalf, PhD

[5:22] Having two different focuses during her education gave Heather a well-rounded approach to both fields

[8:13] How the career and experience of Heather's mom informed her work.

[9:37] Advice for those who are the first in their family to attend college, and the challenges that Heather faced as the first in her family to attend

[14:52] The First Culture Study Heather implemented in her Master's degree, and her thoughts on the results

[23:28] The STEM to Market initiative Dr. Metcalf is leading

Stem to Market Program

LinkedIn

Association for Women in Science (AWIS)

Many people spend their entire educational and professional careers immersed in either qualitative-based areas or the science and technology fields. During the educational process for quantitative professions in STEM, sometimes communication and non-technical writing skills can end up being undervalued, even if it isn't intentional.

For Dr. Metcalf, those areas did not seem so separate. As she mentions in the interview, endeavors such as writing an argument aren't so much different from making a proof in mathematics or creating an algorithm. Even more important is the need for scientists to be better at communicating complex and important issues such as climate change to a sometimes skeptical public.

Becoming an entrepreneur is a difficult endeavor that involves a high amount of risk. For those who have great ideas but find themselves without the capital to bring them to fruition, the task can seem insurmountable. The solution for most startup entrepreneurs is to find investors to help them realize their dream.

As Heather talks about this week, many investors have an inherent bias towards women. More often than ideal, when women are seeking capital, investors tend to ask them questions about risk. Conversely, they tend to ask men questions about promotion. As Heather points out, women receive less than 2% of Venture Capital investing, and women of color receive even less, at one-half percent. That is the goal of the STEM to Market initiative, to help promote STEM women entrepreneurs and cultivate inclusive investors.

Learn more about Dr. Heather Metcalf and her work by listening in on this week's episode of When Science Speaks.

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