Making science matter

URI grad students experiment with communicating their research

The rules for the Science Café were simple: take no more than five minutes to present your research, use at least one PowerPoint slide for support, but no more than five, describe the problem, tell the audience what you found, and explain why your research matters.

And, if those restrictions weren’t daunting enough, the 12 University of Rhode Island graduate students arrived at Tuesday’s event in the Coastal Institute Weaver Auditorium without knowing such usual details as who would speak in what order and whether they might have a pointer at their disposal.

Introduced solely by name and advising professors, the students would have to jump into their subject matter and deliver a brief, basic description of what they have been studying for years.

But, that was the point, according to Associate Dean of Research Richard Rhodes III, College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS). Rhodes served as emcee for the event hosted by Rhode Island NSF EPSCoR with URI CELS, College of Pharmacy, IDeA Network and Rhode Island INBRE.

Comparing the strategy to speed dating, Rhodes said the young scientists needed to communicate their science in a way that would be understood by a broad audience that may not have a scientific background.

“Think of the number of science issues that show up daily in the popular press — climate change, genetically modified organisms, DNA as evidence, DNA as medicine, global food production, drug development,” Rhodes told those gathered to hear the presentations. “What is the science that underpins all of that and how will we as scientists assist in the development of scientific literacy?”

Addressing the graduate students, Rhodes noted: “As we begin to think about developing a literate populace, it begins with you. You serve as our next generation of students — the leaders of students, leaders of science, leaders of society.”

Then, Rhodes turned the next 90 minutes over to the students, each using his or her allotted time to explore a wide range of research taking place at URI, spanning the fields of oceanography, biological and environmental sciences, civil and environmental engineering, aquaculture, ecology and ecosystem sciences, biological oceanography, cell and molecular biology, and biological oceanography.

“If we want our citizenry to be scientifically literate, then we as scientists must be effective and engaging communicators. Our work can no longer be a best-kept secret.”

The student body of work ranges from collaborating with the University of Johannesburg to develop ceramic water filters made from local clay, ensuring safe and sustainable sources of drinking water, to understanding how life-giving diatoms at the base of the marine food web cope with the impact of climate change.

They study adaptability, whether that of a bacterial genus to a range of ocean temperatures or of marine animals to extreme environments. They investigate the aggression of crabs, both native and invasive, and the resulting ecological impact; the interaction between invasive insects and their destructive infestation of the native eastern hemlock.

At the event’s conclusion, Rhodes told the students: “What you did tonight took a lot of courage. It will make y ou better communicators and better scientists.”

In retrospect, reflecting on the event, Rhodes said the experience provided the graduate students with the opportunity to share their work in a novel setting, compelling them to identify the broader impacts of their work and describe it to a lay audience:

“If we want our citizenry to be scientifically literate, then we as scientists must be effective and engaging communicators. Our work can no longer be a best-kept secret. In the end, we want our students, our stakeholders, our citizens to be able to make reasoned and rational decisions about the work around them and around us.”

Calling the café a smashing success, Rhodes added, “Are we going to do this again? You bet!”

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle