My first year as a science communicator after leaving the lab. I attended the University of California, Santa Cruz’s science communication program, led by Robert Irion.
This program was an excellent fit for me as it was tailored to researchers moving into communications and was very hands-on. We do three semesters of classes and internships and then a full-time internship over the summer. The Master’s Certificate program is just one full year.
My first internship was at the Stanford University School of Medicine, where I showed up and started writing press releases before I even started classes. Luckily, I was coming from research, so I could easily digest the papers.
Our classes this semester were:
- Reporting science news
- Writing and editing workshop
The year ended with a bang: The annual American Geophysical Union Conference in San Francisco. All the SciCom Slugs attended, and I popped my press room cherry — writing for the AGU’s GeoSpace blog and my first post for the WIRED Science blog.
2009 Clips
Jupiter’s Moons Have Many Earth-Like Features
Photo: Shining Lake Confirms Presence of Liquid on Titan
The Climate Costs of Contrails
Less TV time may help overweight adults burn more calories, Stanford researcher says
Muscle cell infusion shown to strengthen sphincters in animals in Stanford study
Menlo-Atherton High School wins prize for sleep program with Stanford class
Prize honors Pizzo for his work with children
Seed grants to faculty support six community health projects
Summer program for minority high school students receives $1.3 million in NIH funds
Stanford helps establish tissue bank, patient registry for lymphatic diseases
MRI abundance may lead to excess in back surgeries, study shows
‘Scope’ it out: New blog on medical research and policy
Older adults recruited for study to assess ways of preserving mobility