When Science Speaks

This week's episode features Melanie Flores, an MIT-trained chemical engineer, theater arts aficionado, and two-time TEDx speaker, who currently applies her multidisciplinary skills to her work as Director of Solutions Consulting at SymTrain, a firm that automates and scales role-play training and coaching.

We discuss a range of issues such as:

- Melanie's fascinating career journey - themes and common qualities in her various roles - The importance of feelings and human emotions in professional environments, even those where technical skills are emphasized - When and from which influences Melanie's interest and aptitude in writing and communication originated - How Melanie unveils the value of emotional intelligence and storytelling through setting an example, not lecturing - Melanie's professional role and why she enjoys it - How Melanie's experience teaching pre-school helped her in the engineering and - more broadly - the business world - Recommendations for engineers and other technically-focused listeners who want to add or enhance communication skills in their own toolkit

This week's episode features world-reknown fitness trainer and author Ronan Diego de Oliveira.

We discuss a range of topics related to Ronan's approach to developing, describing, and teaching innovative fitness programs, including:

- The science upon which Ronan's 10X fitness program is based, the way he's able to explain scientific concepts with clarity and enthusiasm, and, in his opinion, what makes a good teacher

- The science behind 10X

- The way Ronan explains the science and nutrition in the program and how he decides what to include, what to leave out, and how to express the concepts and elements of the program such as fitness, nutrition and sleep

- Ronan's fitness journey so far and also the philosophy he shares in the online programs and speeches he delivers

- Ronan's recent program called the 10K Challenge, details about the program, and some of the common misperceptions people have about the value of walking vs. running

- With many of us feel pressed for time and exercise often squeezed out of our daily routine, some time-efficient things we can do to improve our overall health?

- Ronan's 1 piece of advice for listeners they could apply right away that could get them on a path to a more healthy future

Resources mentioned in the program

Newsly

Promo code for 1-Month premium Newsly subscription: SC1SPEAKS

Mindvalley

10X Fitness Program

Holobody Program

This episode features part of the team behind an exciting, innovative, and just-launched online resource for bioscientists called Career Cognitive City.

In this week's episode, you'll hear Rachel Rudlaff, Ph.D. and Tito Adhikary, Ph.D., two of the key leaders on the Cognitive City team, share details and plans for this expansive, organic platform, such as:

Who will particularly benefit from Cognitive City When work started on CogCity and what the goals are for this resource How CogCity is different from other resources available online for similar target audiences Some specifics about CogCity's interactive aspects and how this functionality could solve certain issues for the target audience 5 years from now, what Rachel and Tito would like CogCity's contribution to be in terms of serving its target audience

In this week's episode featuring Thalyana Stathis, Ph.D., Manager, Office of Career & Professional Development, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, we discuss an array of topics related to career advancement and effective communication for scientists, including:

- How Thalyana's involvement in ballet and Greek dance during her undergraduate studies at Cornell and also while earning her Ph.D. at Yale provided space for her to gain perspective and relieve stress during her Ph.D. program.

- Thalyana's extensive involvement in Toastmasters in New York City, including what motivated her to join, how Toastmasters helped her sharpen communication skills, and why she encourages researchers at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to participate in Toastmasters.

- Principles Thalyana advises MSKCC researchers to apply in their own editing and presentation process that could also aid listeners.

- Details about Thalyana's career transitions, networking, and helpful lessons she learned along the way.

- Thalyana's current role at MSKCC and the work she and her colleagues do to assist researchers with science communication.

Resources mentined in the espisode

Thalyana Stathis, Ph.D.

Toastmasters' New York City chapter

Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science

New York Academy of Sciences

AAAS Media Fellowship

3-Minute Thesis (participating institutions)

This week's episode features biologist, author, and stand-up comedian Adam Ruben, Ph.D.

We discuss issues related to science, comedy, and the importance of communication, including topics such as:

- How Adam developed and uses both his scientific and communication skills

- Whether he thinks all scientists should be able to clearly and crisply translate their work to general audiences without dumbing it down

- As a scientist now working as a molecular biologist and previously during other chapters of Adam's academic and professional life, whether he was ever criticized or penalized for being such an active and exceptional communicator (Spoiler alert: "Yes"; and here's what happened)

- How the field of science communication has changed since Adam first entered it more than 15 years ago

- Why Adam decided to launch a stand-up comedy career/hobby

- Adam's two books, "Pinball Wizards" and "Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go To Grad School" - what led him to write each book, and their major themes for readers

- The best advice Adam ever received about communicating science to non-scientists, and more...

Resources mentioned in the episode

Stupid, Stupid Decision to Go To Grad School

Pinball Wizards

This week's episode features renowned physicist Sabine Hossenfelder, Ph.D., author most recently of the book "Existential Physics" and creator of the popular YouTube channel, "Science Without the Gobbledygook."

In this week's episode, we discuss a range of fascinating, mind-blowing topics such as:

- "Does the past still exist?", "Was the universe made for us?", and why, in Dr. Hossenfelder's words, science is first an inspiration, not merely a profession.

- What led Dr. Hossenfelder to start "Science without the Gobbledygook?", her popular YouTube channel, which has 514,000 subscribers and counting

- In discussing the many topics in the episodes on her channel - quantum physics, the expansion of the universe, and Einstein's theories of relativity, to name a few - what Dr. Hossenfelder means when she says she'll make her explanations as simple as possible, "but not any simpler" and whether she considers oversimplification a problem in communicating about science to general audiences

- The approach and principles Dr. Hossenfelder uses as she goes about explaining these topics - in many ways translating them into terms and concepts that are more relatable to the public at large

- Generally speaking, how effective Dr. Hossenfelder thinks government authorities have been in communicating to the public about major science-focused topics such as COVID, climate change, and more recently, monkeypox

- As a physicist deeply exploring and explaining topics as abstract as "Does the Past Still Exist?" (one of her YouTube episodes watched on her channel more than 1.2 million times) how Dr. Hossenfelder thinks about her own future and her own definition of "free will"

Resources Mentioned in the Episode

Existential Physics, By Sabine Hossenfelder, Ph.D.

Science Without The Gobbledygook YouTube Channel

This week's episode of the show features Patrick Mullane, Executive Director of Harvard Business School Online and Executive Education and author of book "The Father, Son, and Holy Shuttle: Growing Up an Astronaut's Kid in the Glorious 80s".

We talk about a range of topics related to career development and the power of curiosity and critical thinking as well as what it was like growing up with an inquisitive, inspiring astronaut Dad whose day job involved amazing feats of courage and engineering few are capable of conducting.

Specific areas discussed include:

Patrick's excellent book, "The Father, Son, and the Holy Shuttle", which gives readers a window into Patrick's life growing up as the son of an astronaut, Mike Mullane, who was chosen in the very first group of space shuttle astronauts, a group that included Sally Ride

How Patrick approached translating the technical language in the book into jargon-free, relatable descriptions and the role animation plays in his writing process The value - from a cognitive and "whole person" standpoint - of having curiosity about what makes things work and trying to deduce how they do operate The key assets Patrick feels have enabled him to be successful in all the diverse industries and professional settings where he's thrived, including academia Patrick's recent return to lead Harvard Business School Online and Executive Education as Executive Director, what he sees as the value proposition of the online and exec ed offerings, and his vision for both of these valuable sources of education

This week's episode features science writer and science policy veteran Sheeva Azma, a neuroscientist who's also a published author.

In this episode, we discuss a range of communication and policy topics, such as:

Sheeva's professional journey from being a research assistant in neuroscience to a legislative intern in the U.S. Congress

How Sheeva made her own professional transition and some pitfalls to avoid she learned from that personal experience

What surprised Sheeva as she moved from the world of science to a policymaking environment and common misperceptions she encountered among her science colleagues about what it's actually like to work in Congress

As a professional and published communicator as well as being, during a prior chapter in her career journey, a professional scientist, Sheeva's early interest and experience in science, communication, and public policy

The digital and strategic communications company, Fancy Comma, LLC, that Sheeva founded

Her new book, Amplifying Science Communication with Public Relations, what motivated Sheeva to write the book and the major themes Sheeva wants her readers to take away from the book

The denigration, in some quarters of academic science, of the importance of science communication and Sheeva's comment on this dynamic - in the past, present, and future

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Fancy Comma, LLC

Amplifying Science Communication with Public Relations

This week's episode features Sonali Majumdar, Ph.D., Assistant Dean for Professional Development at Princeton University. We discuss an array of issues related to career development, challenges faced by international students, and science policy, including:

- Sonali's significant and successful transitions in her academic and professional journeys and what surprised her and what she wishes she'd known in hindsight.

- How Sonali applies her philosophy about the Ph.D. skillset in her current leadership role at Princeton

- Two of Sonali's professional passions - science communication and science policy - how she developed them and why she is so energized by them

- Challenges Sonali encountered as an international Ph.D. and some ways she's handled or overcome these challenges, including relating to visa issues

- Sonali's role as Assistant Dean for Professional Development within the GradFUTURES Team at Princeton University and GradFUTURES programming, some of which is available to listeners who don't attend Princeton

- Sonali's thinking about the future for Ph.D.s, particularly amid COVID and the discruptive forces it accelerated and unleashed, and how academic training at the Ph.D. level can help in adjusting to new norms around work and best positioning yourself for success in this "brave new world" of work

This episode of When Science Speaks features Srikant Iyer, Ph.D., Associate Director of the New York Academy of Sciences. We discuss an array of topics related to career transitions and finding your professional passion, such as:

- The grad school to career transition

- Srikant's strengths to be a change agent and how these qualities inform how he creates experiences, delivers resources, and crafts programs

- How to create an environment where people feel supported to enable success

- The importance of communication and understanding how language can motivate and also reinforce barriers and biases - The role and value of constructive conflict in growth

- How to foster an environment of psychological safety and also curiousity