From academia to science communication

Many of us feel the need not just to practice astronomy, but to communicate it as well.  However, away from the traditional student lecture hall, how does one effectively engage with the general public who may not even know that they are interested in the subject?

This talk is about my 20 years experience of engaging the public in astronomy.

It will discuss ways of making astronomy interesting and relevant, understanding the needs of journalists and readers, the difference between accuracy and precision, and the importance of story telling.

It will emphasize that effective science communication is honest but, above all, humble.

About the speaker:

Journalist, author, astronomer and broadcaster, Stuart Clark is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society, Visiting Fellow at the University of Hertfordshire and a former Vice Chair of the Association of British Science Writers.  He has a first-class honours degree and a PhD in astrophysics.

He is the former editor of Astronomy Now, the UK’s best-selling astronomy magazine, and the current senior editor for space science at the European Space Agency.

His first work of narrative non-fiction, The Sun Kings, was shortlisted by the Royal Society for their 2008 general science book prize and won Italy's 2009 Montselice Prize for best scientific translation, as well as the Association of American Publishers 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Award for Excellence in the Cosmology and Astronomy category.

His first novel, The Sky's Dark Labyrinth (McArthur), is the first of a trilogy that will examine pivotal moments in astronomy history. He will be appearing in Toronto and Montreal in mid-October as part of the Canadian book launch.