UWF Hal Marcus of College of Science and Engineering to host science communication coach
The UWF Hal Marcus of College of Science and Engineering continues its 2018 Great Minds Distinguished Lecture Series with a presentation from James Rea on March 8. Rea, a communication instructor at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science in Stony Brook, New York, will present “Science Matters: On the Importance of Communicating Science to All,” a discussion about the importance of, and challenges in, communicating complex scientific topics to a public audience.
This event will be held at the Institute for Machine and Human Cognition located at 40 S. Alcaniz Street in downtown Pensacola. It will start with a reception at 5:30 p.m. The presentation will follow at 6 p.m.
Through his presentation, Rea helps research scientists recognize the importance of transferring knowledge out of labs and sharing the excitement of scientific discoveries to non-academic audiences by using clear, vivid and engaging language to engage and inform the public audience of citizens, media and lifelong learners.
Rea found this calling in 1996 at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he translated vital scientific research into language the
public would understand and remember. Rea further honed his skills as an independent reporter for National Public Radio, crafting stories most often for WAMU 88.5 FM in Washington, D.C. Rea founded the production firm SiteStories to help technical organizations share their stories through web videos. By 2011, he had interviewed numerous experts. Rea follows this passion through his own firm Experts/Clearly, and as an instructor with Alda Communication Training.
For more information about the lecture and to RSVP, visit uwf.edu/greatminds.
For more information about the Great Minds Distinguished Lecture Series, contact Dr. Matthew Schwartz, associate dean of the college at 850.474.3455 or mschwartz@uwf.edu.
