Science Communication
Imagine researchers discover a cure for cancer, but they never clearly communicate their findings to the public.
This begs the question, what's the point if nobody knows?
The same sentiment is true for all scientific endeavors. We owe it to ourselves as scientists and to the public to effectively convey our science, because (1) almost all projects are funded by public resources and (2) scientific results can directly impact people's lives. These are the main reasons why I am passionate about science communication. Also, wouldn't it be nice if people actually understood what you do as a scientist?
Over the summer, the Harmony of Nature team was awarded the 2023 Arts Support Award from Connecticut Sea Grant. Soon after, Molly M. James was interviewed by the local radio station WSHU about Harmony of Nature. The interview aired in the featured local news during the broadcast of NPR's All Things Considered on August 8th and NPR's Morning Edition on August 9th.
This next phase focuses on the theme of waves (tidal waves, wind waves, sound waves, tsunami waves, etc.), and still emphasizes international collaboration and communicating science through music.
The team expanded to include composer and computer scientist Max Lu. Our musician Hea Youn “Sophy” Chung will travel to NY and CT to record and perform the new pieces in early 2024.
Our project has been featured in UConn Today, a publication by the UConn Office of Communications, as well as, in a blog post by the Korean Meteorological Administration. The CT Insider also interviewed Molly for a recent article.
"Harmony of Nature is an international collaboration, science communication, and experimental music project between professional pianist Hea Youn “Sophy” Chung and oceanographer Molly M. James. Harmony of Nature converts natural phenomena into sounds through coding technology and expresses them in classical music. After converting data into sound, the goal is to convey current climate change and natural flow by expressing the nuances (shape, texture, touch, etc.) of the natural phenomenon in classical music. By expressing invisible science and natural phenomena through art, we want to more effectively convey scientific concepts, especially the effects of climate change, through music. Ultimately, we want people to connect emotionally with nature and better understand their local environment."
In November 2022, Sophy performed the pieces in concert and the recording is on her YouTube channel. The composition are available to listen to on Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.
On February 7th, 2023, Molly was a featured speaker in the 27th annual Coastal Perspectives Lecture Series held at UConn Avery Point. You can view the recording here.
Over the summer of 2020, I designed and produced two factsheets for the Science and Technology Working Group of the Connecticut Governor's Council on Climate Change (GC3) and the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA). They visually summarize findings published in two CIRCA reports, which detailed specific changes that are predicted to occur in Connecticut by 2100, for a general audience.
As the 2019-2020 graduate student communications fellow, my core responsibility was to write a newsletter each semester. The spring edition included interviews with faculty and research associates, a popular science piece on a recent publication by professors, a history of the women in the department, and more.
As the 2019-2020 graduate student communications fellow, my core responsibility was to write a newsletter each semester. The fall edition included an interview with an alumni, a press release on an event honoring an emeritus professor, a popular science piece on microplastics, and more.
I contributed a featured piece for the Branford Land Trust newsletter in December 2018 about local effects of sea level rise in Connecticut. The article highlights the work of the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) on localized trends used in planning for climate change impacts in the state.
"Framing Your Science"
I have given two "brown bag" seminars to fellow graduate students about effective strategies for science communication and tailoring presentations to diverse audiences. I utilized the message box as developed by COMPASS to help frame and target one's message.
