Countdown to CAP 2022
The SOC is pleased to announce the Keynote Speakers for the 2022 Communicating Astronomy with the Public conference #IAUCAP2022.
Prof Fred Watson
FRED WATSON is Australia’s first Astronomer-at-Large, an outreach and advocacy role within the Commonwealth Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources. He is graduate of the universities of St Andrews and Edinburgh, and worked at both of Britain’s Royal Observatories before joining the Australian Astronomical Observatory as Astronomer-in-Charge in 1995. Recognised internationally for helping to pioneer the use of fibre optics in astronomy during the 1980s, he is best known today for his award-winning radio and TV broadcasts, books, music and other outreach ventures. He holds adjunct professorships in several Australian universities, and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 2010. He has an asteroid named after him (5691 Fredwatson), but says that if it hits the Earth, it won’t be his fault. His latest book, Exploding Stars and Invisible Planets, was published by Columbia University Press in January.
Summary of talk:
Day, September 13, 11:00-11:30am Sydney time
Astronomy at Large – Strategies for effective communication:
Astronomy outreach is a multi-faceted activity, ranging from entertaining pre-schoolers to informing politicians on issues of policy or funding. And, while it’s relatively easy to inspire people with the excitement our science, there are those in the community who would question the relevance of what we do. Effective communication across this multi-dimensional spectrum requires a range of strategies – the wider the better. In Australia, this has been recognised with the creation of an outreach position attached to the government department responsible for the Square Kilometre Array and the nation’s strategic partnership with ESO. These facilities provide a framework around which effective communication strategies can be built. This presentation by the first incumbent in the job will explain how the role came about, what it entails, lessons learned, and the strengths and weaknesses of astronomy outreach in the government sector.
Connie Walker
Connie has been an astronomer at NSF’s NOIRLab for over 20 years. She is actively involved with light pollution issues on the ground and more recently in space, heading their Office of Observatory Site Protection. She has leadership roles on dark skies protection nationally with the American Astronomical Society and internationally with the International Astronomical Union and with the International Dark-Sky association. In 2020 and 2021, she was co-chair of two workshops focusing on the impacts of satellite constellation and two conferences focusing on the impacts of satellite constellations and artificial light at night. As of this April, she has taken on the co-directorship of the new IAU Center on the Protection of the Dark and Quiet Sky from Satellite Constellation Interference (CPS). She has an AB in astronomy and in physics from Smith College, an MS in electrical engineering from U. Mass Amherst and a PhD in astronomy from U. Arizona. She has had a couple of years of experience as an electrical engineer for a large aerospace company between the advance degrees. Her astronomer-husband, newly-married lawyer-daughter, computer-ace son and Garfield-like cat tolerate her interest in the dark side.
Day 1, September 13, 11:30-12:00pm Sydney time
Toss Gascoigne
Toss Gascoigne is a former President and life member of the international Network for the Public Understanding of Science and Technology, and has published on the history of modern science communication, on whether the field could be considered a discipline, on the process of running training workshops, and on science advocacy.
He is chief editor of ‘Communicating Science. A Global Perspective’ (ANU Press, 2020) documenting the way science communication has developed. It involves 107 authors and includes chapters on 39 different countries. It’s the first time these processes have been recorded and the book has had an international impact (and 50,000 downloads). He has written on the establishment of ‘Science meets Parliament’, an Australian initiative based on the American ‘Congressional Visits Day’ which allows scientists to meet national politicians to make the case for science and research. He has run hundreds of training workshops in Australia, the Pacific and a dozen other countries ranging from Colombia and Uganda, to Belgium and India on science communication.
Mr Gascoigne headed national organisations in Australia for 15 years: as Executive Director of both the Federation of Australian Scientific and Technological Societies (FASTS) and the Council for the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences (CHASS).
Summary of talk
Day 2, September 14, 09:10-09:40am Sydney time
Modern science communication emerged in the twentieth century as a field of study, a body of practice and a profession—and it is a practice with deep historical roots. We have seen the birth of interactive science centres, the first university actions in teaching and conducting research, and a sharp growth in employment of science communicators.
Astronomy was always in the foreground: controversial, political, mystical – and posing the greatest philosophical questions of them all: where do we come from? Why are we here? Astronomers like all scientists have increasing demands to communicate. You need to publish in journals to win promotions; in the media to satisfy public curiosity about black holes; give public lectures to show the dazzling images from deep space; and write policy briefs to keep policymakers interested so they will fund bigger and better equipment. You may be involved in climate change and promoting peace and talking to the media. Your hand is full.
This talk will suggest a framework, based on running 1,700 communication workshops in 30 countries for scientists of all disciplines. It begins with the Audience, and focusses on three points:
- Who is your audience?
- What do you want to talk to them about?
- What’s the best way to engage this group?
Kirsten Banks
Kirsten Banks is an Astrophysicist, Science Communicator, and a proud Wiradjuri woman with an undeniable passion for space and astronomy. Her eyes have been on the skies ever since she was a young girl and her love for the stars bloomed after she watched the Hubble documentary. Kirsten strives to share her passion for the Universe at every opportunity she gets. She is known for her time on ABC Q&A’s Science Special in 2019 and for her TEDxSydney Youth talk.
Kirsten completed a Bachelor of Science degree with 1st class Honours in Physics in 2019 studying the evolution of massive and bright galaxies within the near Universe. She is now a UNSW Scientia PhD candidate studying asteroseismology of stars within the Milky Way galaxy.
Summary of talk:
Day 3, September 15, 09:10-09:40am Sydney time
Aboriginal people have been looking to the stars for the past 65,000 years and counting. There is a rich history of astronomy in Australia and it is filled with a wealth of knowledge. You can learn a lot about the world around you by looking at the stars, from navigating the landscape to predicting the weather, you can even use the stars as a seasonal menu. Despite this wealth of knowledge, there is a distinct lack of understanding and acceptance of Aboriginal culture in Australia, so where does Aboriginal Astronomy and Indigenous Science fit in with contemporary Science Communication?
