This story originally appeared on Scistarter.com, a website that helps everyday people find out about and take part in real science projects and activities. Also, who would have ever predicted the never-ending utility of a picture of me reading Science magazine while wearing a Santa costume? Probably Santa.

By Darlene Cavalier

Make sure you’re on Santa’s “nice list” this year. Consider helping researchers help the planet this holiday season. Here are a dozen opportunities to get involved in real research during the 12 days of Christmas!

On the first day of Christmas, Missouri gave to me…an opportunity to help stem the threat of invasive pear trees in Missouri’s urban forest and in other parts of the U.S.

On the 2nd day of Christmas, the UK’s British Trust for Ornithology gave to me….the Nest Record Scheme, a citizen science project to monitor the the turtle dove, the UK’s most most threatened farmland bird, and many others.

On the 3rd day of Christmas, Iowa gave to me…the Greater Prairie Chicken Project ensure these future hens remain in Iowa.

On the 4th day of Christmas, the National Audubon Society gave to me…the world’s longest running citizen science project, the Christmas Bird Count.

On the 5th day of Christmas, Nevada gave to me…the chance to collect monthly water quality data at the Yuba River, which is affected by gold mining.

On the 6th of Christmas, Seattle Audubon Society gave to me… the chance to help seabird researchers create a snapshot of geese density on more than three square miles of nearshore saltwater habitat.

On the 7th day of Christmas, the Swan Society of the University of Melbourne gave to me…the My Swan project to report sightings of tagged black swans around the world.

On the 8th day of Christmas, Zooniverse gave to me…the Milky Way Project, a chance to help scientists study our galaxy, as well as the Milky Way advent calendar and even Milky Way tree ornaments!

On the 9th day of Christmas, the Science Cheerleaders gave to me…1300 young ladies cheering for citizen science as they set a new Guinness World Record for the World’s Largest Cheer!

On the 10th day of Christmas, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums gave to me…FrogWatch, an opportunity to help protect frogs-a-leaping.

On the 11th day of Christmas, Cornell’s Lab of Ornithology gave to me, Science Pipes, a free service that lets you connect to real biodiversity data, use simple tools to create visualizations and feeds, and embed results on your own web site or blog.

On the 12th day of Christmas, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation gave to me…theRuffed Grouse Drumming Survey to help hunters survey the population of ruffed grouse during breeding season.

If you’re fortunate to experience a white Christmas, consider sending your snow depth measurements to cryosphere researchers at the University of Waterloo’s Snow Tweets project. They want to use your real-time measurements to help calibrate the accuracy of satellite instruments currently measuring snow precipitation.

Happy holidays from the SciStarter team!

This story originally appeared on Groundwire.org, a Seattle-based non-profit organization helps environmental organizations connect, inspire and mobilize their communities. (Disclosure: There are actually 6.0221415 x 10^23 ways to make science less sciency, but that would have defeated the point.)

Science. So not boring.

Take a moment and think of something that doesn’t involve science. (Hint: it’s impossible)

Science is integral to every aspect of our lives. Yet, for as long as we’ve had scientists trying to make sense of the universe, the scientific community has struggled to find an effective way to communicate those stories to the general public.

While it may be of little consequence that the average person doesn’t fully grasp the formulas of quantum mechanics, many areas of science — like climate change and renewable energy — represent our most pressing public policy challenges. Without the ability to communicate in a way that is meaningful and accessible to any audience, scientists risk alienating themselves from the discussion altogether.

Environmental non-profits face a similar challenge in trying to communicate their message to their communities. Whether an organization is focused on tar sands or storm water pollution, it must be able to communicate complicated information in ways that mobilize people and inspire them toward action.

Below are three strategies from the scientific community that can help your organization frame its work and help people understand why it matters.

1. Turn your experts into expert communicators

One of the best ways to help people learn about complicated topics is to send them right to the experts.

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Armed with Science project uses web technology, such as blogging, podcasting, and Twitter, to create one-on-one dialogs between its scientists and members of the public. The project aims to demonstrate the value of science and technology, while making scientists first-hand communicators of their own work. Rather than rehashing mission statements, scientists share their personal experiences and provide insight for those who might be interested in pursuing similar careers.

For the Dispatches from Antarctica series, Air Force Lt. Col. Edward Vaughan blogged for 50 days during his deployment to Antarctica, providing an inside look at scientific research conducted by the U.S. Antarctic Program. During his time on the ice, he took photographs, conducted video interviews, and even fielded questions from children at elementary schools around the world.

Identify a few subject matter experts in your organization who are interested in engaging stakeholders on important issues. Then, choose the appropriate forum to create authentic discussions with your community. If you’re feeling adventurous, try a real-time Facebook Q&A or a video chat in Google+ Hangouts.

2. Provide opportunities for people to contribute

As much as we all love textbooks and lectures, it’s certainly a lot easier to learn about something when you’ve got a stake in the outcome.

For decades, scientists have looked to volunteers from the public, known as “citizen scientists,” to contribute to real scientific studies — from frog monitoringto comet hunting to measuring noise pollution. Scientists are able to gather information that was previously unavailable, and volunteers have the opportunity to learn about and participate in scientific endeavors that are important to them.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Nestwatch project uses citizen science to help study the relationship between nesting birds and climate change. Volunteers collect important data on bird nesting behavior, which scientists use to study population trends and breeding behaviors across different landscapes. In return, volunteers learn to make observations and collect data, an important part of the scientific process.

Identify opportunities to get input from your community. This can include simple feedback about your website, observations of certain phenomena, or user-generated videos and images. Acknowledge these contributions on Facebook and Twitter, and write a blog post that demonstrates how input from your community has improved the way your organization does business.

3. Collaborate with like-minded organizations

Though scientific research papers may not be the most palatable reading material, they do represent one of the core values of the scientific community — collaboration. For your average scientific paper, it’s not uncommon to have six or more authors, each with different skills, training, and expertise. By combining their resources and investing in common goals, scientists are able to answer questions and solve problems that might otherwise have been out of reach.

In the same way, collaborations can play an important part in achieving your communications goals. Small or emerging organizations can partner with large organizations to share their accomplishments and messages with a broader audience. This can be an effective way to build more awareness, while improving brand credibility through association with a better-known organization. Conversely, large organizations might partner with smaller organizations to communicate with local or niche communities. By highlighting their synergies, the collaborating organizations can provide the appropriate context to engage people on related but perhaps unfamiliar topics.

Identify organizations that have similar goals or work in a related field. This could include non-profit partners, potential donors, community groups, or a local newspaper. Demonstrate your interest in collaboration by mentioning them on your social media accounts or linking to their website in your newsletter. Determine how your resources, employees, and brand can be used to support their interests, and vice verse. Initiate a meeting to discuss how to collaborate in ways that benefit both organizations.

Amy Mayer at Schools.com wrote a great story about citizen science, featuring a few insights from Dr. Lisa Gardiner and me (both part of the Science for Citizens team). Read it and report back. That’s not an order…or is it?

Here’s a quick excerpt:

Aspiring research scientists, environmentalists, mobile technology aficionados and video game buffs all can contribute to myriad citizen science projects, along the way joining a global community of regular people contributing to research science. It’s usually fun, often free and typically takes only the amount of time you want to give it.

Although the term “citizen science” is relatively new and increasingly common, the concept is longstanding. In the 19th century, for example, amateur naturalists aided experienced ornithologists by keeping track of the various species of birds they encountered. Today, modern technology and creativity have expanded tremendously the types of projects the public can participate in. All have in common the fact that volunteer public efforts really contribute to ongoing scientific research.

Getting involved is easy

John Ohab with the Science for Citizens website says his database has over 400 projects that have a way for people to sign up and contribute their own data. Some of the more readily accessible projects simply ask you to make an observation (such as when buds appear on trees, what birds are at your feeder, or the snow depth wherever you are) and send in your data points. In most cases you submit your data via a website or Twitterfeed. SnowTweets, for instance, lets participants dash off their measurements from their phones via Twitter. Cyrosphere researchers at the University of Waterloo in Canada collate the snowfall data and use it to check data from satellite observations.

Projects appeal to different people depending on their specific interests. Ohab says those that, like SnowTweet, harness the power of smartphone technology, often appeal to high school and college students.

Expanding the scientific community

One collaboration among a dozen science centers around the country is developing a smartphone app for the public to help gather data on the Urban Heat Island Effect. C3: Communicating Climate Change is a project that hopes to develop a robust database of the temperatures along the urban-rural gradient–in other words, amassing large datasets so that meaningful interpretations can be made. According to the Maryland Science Center’s website, the difference between the temperature of a metropolitan area and the rural areas that surround it, or the Urban Heat Island, “is not an effect of climate change, but rather of human activity shaping our environment. One may ask, if we can make changes on a local scale, are we also responsible for changes globally?” Citizen scientists will provide the raw data that researchers use to explore this and other questions.

Read the full story at Schools.com.

This post originally appeared on Science Cheerleader:

The Science Cheerleaders – professional cheerleaders pursuing science and technology careers – often are asked, “What’s it like to be a cheerleader AND a scientist?” or “When did you first know you wanted to be an engineer?”

During our live events, fans and youngsters have the opportunity to ask questions and get them answered by the Science Cheerleaders on the spot. Now, we’re extending this opportunity to you, too!

The 2011-2012 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders, six of whom are pursuing science and engineering careers, have offered to answer the most popular questions submitted through Tuesday August 23rd. Questions with the most votes from the public will be answered by the cheerleaders during a videotaped interview at their Tempe, AZ, training facility.

You can submit your questions to these Science Cheerleaders by tweeting to @SciCheer or commenting on this blog post, the YouTube video, or our Facebook Page. Extra points to anyone who leaves a YouTube video response. If you like someone else’s question, retweet it, up vote it, like it — whatever you have to do to let them know you’d like that question answered.

Below, each of the Arizona Cardinals Science Cheerleaders has shared a little about themselves. Take a look and then ask ‘em anything by August 23rd.

Hi, I’m Samantha, and I’m not just you’re average cheerleader; I’m studying Engineering Management with a focus in Mechanical Engineering at Arizona State University. I am also a national member of the Society of Women Engineers and currently interning at Microchip Technology. This is my rookie year as an Arizona Cardinals Cheerleader, but I have been dancing my whole life and even won the national pom championship my senior year of high school.

Hi, my name is Kristi, and I work professionally in the two best professions anyone could ask for: cheerleading and science! I started cheerleading when I was very young, continued throughout high school and college,and now I am a proud second year member of the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. Outside of cheerleading, I obtained a Bachelors of Science in Nursing degree and am blessed to currently work in my third year as a Registered Nurse with emphasis on Women and Infant services.

My name is Emily, and I am studying Biomedical Engineering at Arizona State University. I am currently an intern at Intel and love it, but hope one day to work on research and development in medical technology after receiving a Masters degree. This is my first year on the Arizona Cardinals cheer team, but I was Captain of my varsity high school team, part of the dance company and cheer for all four years, and was a part of the Arizona State University Spirit Squad for one year.

Hi, my name is Maria, and I am a rookie member of the 2011 Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. I graduated from Rice University with a degree in political science and earned my J.D. from the University of Arizona in 2010. When it’s not gameday, you can find me at work as an Advocacy Specialist for the Girl Scouts, where I collaborate with local lawmakers on policies to provide increased exposure to the national STEM initiative. Helping to promote the next generation of female scientists, engineers, IT professionals, and mathematicians is one of the most rewarding aspects of my job!

Hi, I’m Nicole, and I am a fourth year member and line captain for the Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders. I studied kinesiology and earned my Bachelor of Science degree from Arizona State University. When I am not on the field, you can find me at a local physical therapy clinic working hands on with the science and physiology behind body movement.

My name is Jacque, and I am a Licensed Professional Civil Engineer who received my B.S.E. in Civil Engineering from Arizona State University. I have been cheerleading since the age of five, and I am proud and honored to now be a professional cheerleader and a rookie member of the amazing Arizona Cardinals Cheerleaders.

I am proud to share that the U.S. Department of Defense’s Armed with Science project won 2nd Place for Social Media Outreach/Communications at the 2011 National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards.

Armed with Science connects Defense scientists and engineers with the general public by empowering subject matter experts to communicate through blogging, social media, and other Internet technologies. I’ve had the opportunity to serve as project lead for the past two years.

Included on our award were several of my valued Armed with Science colleagues: U.S. Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg, who helped launch the project with me in 2009; U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Vaughan, who produced the Dispatches from Antarctica series; and Melody Cook, who produced the Office of Naval Research’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

Each year, NAGC recognizes superior communications efforts of government agencies and those who produce them. The NAGC Blue Pencil Awards are geared toward writing, editing, photography, and published products, while the Gold Screen Awards recognize audio-visual and multimedia products. According to the official NAGC Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards announcement, there were more than 430 entries in 38 categories. Awesome. Check out the Awards Program for the full list of winners.

Armed with Science was edged out by Challenge.gov, an online challenge platform created by the U.S. General Services Administration’s Center for New Media in partnership with ChallengePost. The site connects the U.S. Government and the public to help solve some of the nation’s most pressing challenges. I’ve had the opportunity to work with the team over the past year, and they are the real deal.

I also wanted to congratulation a co-former AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow of mine, Dr. Dan Stimson, whose ”Lobe-oratorium” entry took home 2nd Place in the Best Display category. For more info on Dan and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s “Lobe-oratorium” display, check out this recent edition of the NIH Record.

And, here is a giant copy of the Awards Program cover. I can promise you that clicking on it will result in you being magically transported to a glorious PDF version of the Awards Program.

As part of a collaboration on the Changing Planet series, Science for Citizens is partnering with a climate research project at the University of Waterloo called SnowTweets. To help researchers track climate change, we’re asking people to grab a ruler, go outside, and measure the depth of snow wherever you happen to be. Then, report the data here. Pretty easy.

With the help of friends and family, I was able to produce the above video to show people just how easy it is to contribute. The video went decidely not viral, despite enjoying a presence on the Science for Citizens blog and Discover Magazine’s Intersection.

Thanks to everyone who helped out! Enjoy the below image of me holding a ruler while laying on a snow-covered bench outside of my office in my work clothes. It makes sense.

The chin-rub and reminding the high school student that combined you have six more degrees than they do are two of the most effective maneuvers. Can you name any others?

Two additional noteworthy items from today’s Wakefield High School Science Fair judging experience: 1) Kel and I probably learned more about soil absorption during this student’s presentation than we will learn for the rest of our lives combined times 40, and 2) neither of us were judges in the Earth Sciences category.

This week, my Defense Department (DOD) buddies, Lt. Jennifer Cragg and Elaine Wilson, wrote very nice stories about the Dispatches from Antarctica series that I’ve been working on for the past few months. The series features Air Force Lt. Col. Ed Vaughan’s first-hand experiences on OPERATION: DEEP FREEZE, DOD’s support of National Science Foundation research in Antarctica. In our effort to connect students to Lt. Col. Vaughan’s experiences, we had students from Arnold Elementary School in Maryland  and the DOD Education Activity Guam High School submit their top questions, and Lt. Col. Vaughan provided responses during his deployment in Antarctica.

To help get the word out, Lt. Cragg crafted a story for the American Forces Press Service and Elaine followed up with post on her popular Family Matters blog. If you’d like to read one of their stories, mouse over the giant screen captures below and click the appropriate button on your mouse.

This Science Cheerleader home-made holiday cheer really conveys just how much attention I command on-screen when wearing a Santa costume.

The current issue of Science (published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science) includes a nice piece on Science Cheerleader right below a diaper-laden baby and the words “Poop Scoop”. Click on the giant image above this sentence or download this .pdf file for evidence.

There is nothing I like more than anything that I do. So, i encourage you to check out this Science Cheerleader interview I conducted with my friend and colleague, Arlene!

It looks like Science for Citizens is getting some attention over at the online video network, Motherboard.TV. Co-founders Michael Gold and Darlene Cavalier were interviewed by Motherboard’s Jordan Keenan this past spring at Harvard during the Humanity Plus Summit, where Darlene spoke about citizen science. Check out the slides from the presentation.

I figured, hey, if I’m going to continue interviewing cheerleader-scientist hybrids, I should probably pick ones that are conducting research on human retinas.

Two weeks and two interviews with San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush cheerleaders who are both smarter and have better abs than me. If I don’t get to work, I may lose the “John O-Ab” moniker that I have secretly given to myself and not revealed in a public forum until now.

Christine’s story is pretty awesome. She has a Masters in biomedical engineering from Arizona State and is currently pursing a PhD in the Joint Graduate Group in Bioengineering at UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco. And she previously cheered for the Arizona Cardinals and the Phoenix Suns, which by default pretty much makes her my favorite former Cardinals and Suns cheerleader. Go Science!

You should also check out the previous interview with Erica.

I recently had the opportunity to interview San Francisco 49ers Gold Rush cheerleader, Erica, for a story on ScienceCheerleader.com. In addition to her cheerleading duties, Erica is software engineer who develops online courses for graduate students. As someone who operates in the seemingly unrelated worlds of cheerleading and science and technology, she offers a really unique perspective. Check out the interview!

I was admittedly a little hesitate about this interview. There was some serious conflict between the tortured Arizona Cardinals football fan part of my brain and my passion for connecting science and society. But, when I found out that both Erica and I have a habit of sneaking out of our office to practice double pirouettes in the bathroom, I realized this was something that just had to be done. Enjoy!

The most recent edition of the Office of Naval Research (ONR)’s Innovation Newsletter explores “open innovation” — essentially the notion that organizations can and should innovate by drawing from external sources of knowledge. Seems like a good idea, right? I made it up.  (I didn’t)

Dr. Larry Schuette, ONR’s Director of Innovation, and his team gave me the opportunity to contribute a short article discussing how social technologies (e.g., Faced Book, Classmates.com, and YourTube) are playing an increasingly important role at the government-society interface. The three areas I focused on were crowd sourcing, intra-government collaboration, and citizen science.

Also inside the newsletter, you’ll find an article capturing the entrepreneurial spirit that drives Open Innovation forward co-authored by three professors from the Naval Postgraduate School of Business; an article on massive multiplayer games and insight generation; and an article on Open Innovation and lessons learned within a specific Naval science and technology community of interest.

The Innovation Newsletter is published quarterly and covers a variety of exciting topics. It include articles from scientists, engineers, warfighters, professors, program officers, and others, all sharing their insights and research on a particular field of interest.

Fresh off a vacation to Seattle, I thought I would highlight some of the amazing citizen science projects taking place in Washington state. Check out my recent post on the Science for Citizens blog. Look, there is also a picture of a happy fun western gray squirrel, which I’ve obscured below to entice you.

On Tuesday, I had the opportunity to give a lightning talk at the Gov 2.0 Expo Keynote Kickoff. All of the talks were 5 minutes and consisted of 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. It was definitely a great experience.

The title of my talk was, “You’ve Been Scienced: Communicating Military Science and Technology with Social Media”. I would love to know your thoughts unless they aren’t complimentary.

In case you hate watching videos, here is a picture from the event, courtesy of O’Reilly Media and James Duncan Davidson:

Here is a brag badge that I generated over at Science for Citizens.

Several items worth noting:

1. I did not know the Cowboys Cheerleaders would be at the South by Southwest Interactive conference.
2. Those are my lab goggles, and I did bring them to the conference.
3. That is not my cowboy hat.
4. I too am impressed by how natural and comfortable I look wearing a cowboy hat.
5. This video does not indicate in any way that I am less opposed to any modicum of success potentially achieved by the Dallas Cowboys football team.
6. The Arizona Cardinals will still win the Super Bowl in 2011. I guarantee it.
7. I am also guaranteeing that guarantee.

Gooooooooooooo SCIENCE!

This video was made for ScienceCheerleader.com. Arizona Cardinals fans, feel free to formally disown me in the comment section on either website.

This is my first post for the recently launched ScienceforCitizens.net blog! I think you’ll find it both brilliant and of surpassing excellence.

Here’s your chance to be part of science history! In the video below, Andy Farke and Matt Wedel introduce the Open Dinosaur Project, a collaborative research effort to develop a database of dinosaur bone measurements.

The best part? You don’t need formal scientific training, a background in research, or even to have seen the Jurassic Park movies. You just need an interest in paleontology and access to skeletal information, publications, or fossils. Anyone who contributes data — whether high school students, teachers, or grandparents — is eligible to be a junior author on the resulting scientific publication.

Could you be the next Indiana “Bones”? (<– terrible) The only way to find out is to visit the Open Dinosaur Project page and get started! You should also check out their fantastic blog!

Special thanks to Andy Farke and Matt Wedel for making this video!

Katie Packard at AFCEA wrote this very thoughtful article on Armed with Science. Check out the original.

Defense Department Wants You to Get Scienced

SIGNAL Online Exclusive, January 2010 – by Katie Packard

The U.S. Defense Department’s weekly podcast series, “Armed With Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military,” emphasizes the important roles science and technology play in military operations by interviewing scientists, engineers, policymakers and other personnel. Not only does the series highlight cutting-edge technologies and capabilities, it also encourages information sharing and collaboration across the government and the military.

The series was launched in January 2009 through the Defense Department’s Emerging Media Directorate. It’s the only Defense Department podcast dedicated entirely to science and technology. Lt. Jennifer Cragg, USN, an operations officer in the directorate, explains that the concept was developed in 2008 after public affairs officers working in various commands in the U.S. Navy realized there was “a unique need to communicate effectively about science.”

Dr. John Ohab, a new technology strategist in the Public Web division of the Defense Media Activity, agrees. “We interview scientists, engineers, policymakers, teachers—anyone involved in science and technology in the government to have them talk about science in ways that are meaningful to the general public.”

The series has two goals, Ohab shares: to convey the Defense Department’s involvement in science and technology and to communicate science and technology in ways that are accessible to anyone. “We want to demystify science,” he says. “There’s often a disconnect between the general public, the government and scientists. We want to break down those barriers to show the scientists as humans.”

From the beginning, the series has been successful. The first podcast received 3,000 feed or download requests. Throughout the year, episodes have been downloaded 200,000 times. Because of its popularity, the series began to air every week instead of every other week.

“Everyone wants to be a part of this,” Ohab shares. “What started as a DOD thing has now become a government thing. We have 50 government agencies and PAOs looking to find the people who can best speak about [these topics].” The series features guests from the military, government agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs and NASA, and other organizations such as the Science and Entertainment Exchange.

The original focus of the series was on science and technology in relation to military operations, but that has expanded. Podcast topics include anything from applications to policy to high school science fairs.

Some of Ohab’s favorite episodes include a focus on substance abuse in the military with the Military Health System and a focus on cyber crime with Jim Christy, director of future exploration at the Defense Department Cyber Crime Center. “Here he’s talking about cyber crime, which is not necessarily the most pleasant thing, and we’re learning about him as a person. He’s [a retired special agent], he’s advised multiple presidents, he’s a retired college hockey referee. He developed the first forensic technique to recover data from a cut-up diskette. He’s a Little League baseball coach.”

This emphasis on the stories and people behind the science is a driving force behind the Armed With Science blog. “Every week, I ask people, ‘What did you do to get to this division? What’s your background?’” Ohab explains. “Their background and stories are often the most interesting part. That’s going to be the focus of the blog—first-hand accounts, people’s stories.”

Ohab also intends for the blog to serve as a test site of sorts. “We’re trying to use the blog to test out some of these new social technologies.” Ohab wants to see what works and what doesn’t work. Tools being considered include applications that allow users to choose which account they want to log into when leaving blog comments, for example logging in under their Facebook or Twitter accounts.

Lt. Cragg notes, “We’re trying to use as much social media [as possible] to get the information out there. I like learning about social media tools to inform people about science. It’s like walking into a science class every day.”

In addition to the blog, Armed With Science is also on Facebook and Twitter. Follow along and get scienced!

This was originally crafted for ScienceCheerleader.com, my favorite website ever besides JohnOhab.com.

Last week, I had the opportunity to attend the 2010Consumer Electronics Show (CES), an international conference that brings together designers, developers, manufacturers, and distributors of consumer electronics products. CES reaches across global markets, connects the industry, and enables consumer innovations to grow and thrive. It was quite an amazing experience, full of new e-readers, 3D TVs, holographic displays, multi-touch screens, and some of the hottest new tech gadgets around.

Still, I couldn’t help but be most proud of this glorious yellow Albert Einstein t-shirt that I nabbed at the Promise Technology booth.  It was well worth the 20 minutes of technical jargon I had to endure while listening to a pitch for the company’s new Smartstor Zero network storage device.

Drew Carey, host of The Price is Right, gives an Armed with Science shout-out during CES 2010.

The UCLA Alumni website will feature a recent UCLA Magazine story about Armed with Science to ring in the new year. The swanky banner will be live at the top of the page Dec. 28, 2009 – Jan. 3, 2010.  I like to think that the banner represents my internal struggles as a human-robot hybrid with a fragile sense of self.  It is also might just be a neat collage.

Here’s the teaser:

Did you know the Navy is going green? That the Army is working on an advanced battery that will power tanks? Or how atomic timekeeping works? You would if you listened to John Ohab Ph.D. ’07 on Armed with Science, a weekly audio webcast launched by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Last night, I was reading through the January edition of Discover Magazine, which chronicles the 100 Top Science Stories of 2009, when I made quite a discovery (pun intended): a story written by our very own Darlene Cavalier placed #69! Darlene’s piece, “Prize-Driven Research Takes Off,” focuses on the growing number of organizations offering prizes for successful science and technology innovations. The article should be released online in the next few weeks, and we’ll make sure to post it here.

Congratulations Darlene! What an honor!

This post was Ctrl-C and Ctrl-V’d from ScienceCheerleader.com.

Can’t decide on a holiday gift for Granny? Don’t know what to get your 10 year-old brother,  Billy?  Tired of wasting money on Barbies and video games that may not last through the New Year? I say, give your loved ones a gift that keeps on giving: a do-it-yourself experimental hydrogen fuel cell car that runs on water!

That’s right! The Fuel Cell Car & Experiment X7 Kit provides a playful introduction to one of the most significant technologies of the 21st Century: reversible hydrogen fuel cells. Each kit comes with a full-color, 16-page manual with easy, step-by-step instructions for assembling and using the car. In addition, the kit contains scientific explanations on how fuels cells work, the intricacies of fuel cell car design, and potential alternative energies for automobiles.

Most importantly, the kit is appropriate for anyone aged 10 and up, which means you’ll never be stuck wondering what to get that friend or family member who always seems to have everything. While other kids are showing off their boring skateboards and lame iPhones, yours could be harnessing the power of water. Don’t miss out!

Get the  The Fuel Cell Car & Experiment X7 Kit today!

This was writtenfor ScienceCheerleader.com and copied here for my parents and the other two people who visit my website every day.

This article was written for ScienceCheerleader.com. By reading it, you justify the public humiliation that I endured while walking nearly a mile with a giant red balloon.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Internets, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has announced the DARPA Network Challenge, a competition that will explore the role of social networking in communication, team building, and group mobilization. The challenge is to be the first person to submit the locations of 10 8-foot, red, weather balloons at 10 fixed locations in the continental United States.

Here’s how it works: The red balloons will be deployed on Saturday, December 5, in readily accessible locations and visible from nearby roads. Teams and collaborators will have approximately 9 days, until 12:00 PM (ET) on December 14, to collect the locations of the balloons and submit their entries.  All locations must be submitted in latitude and longitude coordinates. The event is open to individuals of all ages irrespective of nationality or residency (except Federal employees and their spouses and dependents), but first you must register your team on  the DARPA Network Challenge website.

Find the red balloons. Win $40,000. Do you have what it takes to be the next Balloon Boy/Girl?

Check out this new story, Armed and Scientific, just released by UCLA Magazine. I was recently interviewed for the “Quick Takes” series, which highlights former students and their work since graduating from UCLA. Much of the article focuses on my experiences at the Defense Department, but the author did include a brief ditty about Science Cheerleader, describing it as “a web-based media platform that… aims to make science more fun and understandable to wider audience.”  Woohoo!

Armed and Scientific

By Dan Frankel
Published Oct 1, 2009 8:00 AM

Did you know the Navy is going green? That the Army is working with industry and academia on an advanced battery that will power, among other things, tanks? Or how atomic timekeeping works? You would if you listened to “Armed With Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military,” a weekly audio webcast that the U.S. Department of Defense launched in January at blogtalkradio.com/ArmedwithScience.

Hosted by neuroscientist Dr. John Ohab Ph.D. ’07, the show features one-on-one interviews with scientists from a wide variety of government agencies discussing everything from electronic warfare to drug abuse in the military. A new media guru with his own weekly podcast, and nearly 2,400 followers on Twitter, Ohab’s mission is to make the broad topic of science accessible to the broader population.

“We’re primarily going after the non-science audience, people who have an interest in science but no science training,” he explains. “What it all goes back to is communication and information sharing. People say scientists can’t communicate. People say government can’t communicate. By and large that’s not true; we just speak different languages.”

Meanwhile, the program also serves the mandate of making the Pentagon more open and accessible to the tax-paying public. “People think of the Department of Defense as guns and missiles and tanks, and to some extent that’s true, but this is a great opportunity to understand the breadth of science operating within the federal government and to understand how it impacts society,” says Ohab.

Meanwhile, the peripatetic scientist/podcast personality is also fascinated by the ongoing media revolution, using just about every social networking tool he can find to expand his show’s audience. Besides his social network activity, Ohab seeks to expand on the “Armed With Science” dialog through his personal blog, and a key voice for the Science Cheerleader, a web-based media platform that, like Ohab’s podcasts, aims to make science more fun and understandable to wider audience. In fact, some of the questions Ohab asks his scientist guests originate among his Twitter followers.

“We’re sort of on the forefront,” he concludes. “To do something that no one else in the government is doing, that is to host a radio program that discusses controversial topics that have implications for our national security, is pretty neat.”

I recently had a chance to interview Lauren Aguirre, executive director of NOVA’s Web team, about NOVA’s new Beta Evolution website. The resulting story was originally posted on ScienceCheerleader.com.

Humans evolved. Shouldn’t our websites? That’s the idea behind NOVA’s new Beta Evolution website, an experimental effort to transform the way NOVA delivers its award-winning science and technology programming.

Since 1996, NOVA has pioneered new forms of web-original content with more than 30,000 pages covering anything from string theory to aviation to how the Pyrimids were built. The Beta Evolution website serves as one-stop shop for all matters evolution, including the recent three-part NOVA series, Becoming Human, which explores the latest scientific research on human origins. Over time, NOVA will rely on user feedback to help inspire new ways of designing, organizing, and presenting this content to make it more useful for viewers.

Last week, I had the opportunity to chat with Lauren Aguirre, executive director of NOVA’s Web team, about goals of the new project, the challenges of organizing 13 years of content, and her experiences at the forefront of science communications. You can listen to each individual question and answer by clicking on the audio player below. Enjoy!

I  wrote this for Science Cheerleader because I like everything that has anything to do with any aspect of Google.

While we most commonly associate Google with its ability to search the Intertubes for our favorite science FAILs, the tech giant is also opening new doors for citizen science. A recent article in the Public Library of Science (PloS) ONE highlights a new mobile phone application, powered by Google Maps and Google’s Android operating system, that allows professional and citizen scientists to gather, submit, and access research data from the field.

The application, called EpiCollect, was initially designed for epedimiological and ecological studies but has potential for a number of other fields, including economics, public health, and resource allocation. Individual users can input data records (variables, photos, GPS location, etc) into EpiCollect from their mobile phone, which is synchronized to a central database. An accompanying web application, located at www.spatialepidemiology.net, provides a common location for mapping, visualization, and analysis of the data by everyone involved in the study. The two-way connectivity between the EpiCollect mobile application and the central database could increase the collection and collation of data for community projects, particular in resource-limited areas.

Importantly, EpiCollect was developed as a free software using Google’s open-source Android operating system. Anyone interested in using the software is encouraged to contact David Aanensen in the Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College London.  The EpiCollect website also provides three sample epidemological datasets and a facility to geocode your own spatial data.

“Drug Free is the Key” for the Defense Department during Red Ribbon Week, which runs from Oct 25-31, 2009. The week is meant to higlight the Department’s effort to raise public awareness and mobilize communities to combat tobacco, alcohol and drug use among military personnel, civilians and families.

I had the opportunity to help spread the word by contributing to The Sara Bellum Blog,  part of a larger effort by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) to provide information to teenagers on the science of addiction.  Now, in addition to facts on how drugs can affect one’s body and resources for teachers, you can also find my article, “Are You Good To Go?,” and a cartoonishly enormous picture of my head. Thanks to Dr. Bioephemera for her help in setting up the collaboration.

Click here to read the article.  I think you will be compelled to rate it 5 stars. (seriously, do it)

Below, I’ve copied and pasted the story.

————————-

Know the Scene: Are You Good to Go?

In the U.S. military, servicemembers ask each other this question to make sure that they’re ready and able to accomplish the mission at hand. If someone is “good to go,” then they are alert, accountable, and prepared to do their job. Someone who is “good to go” will avoid mistakes and make better decisions.

One thing is for sure: you can’t be “good to go” when you’re taking drugs.

For you, the workplace might be school or your summer job. If you’re not “good to go,” it could mean a bad grade on your chemistry test or getting benched on your football team. But for our men and women in uniform, drug use threatens their ability to protect one another and defend our Nation. A lack of concentration or a wrong decision could put everyone in danger. It could even cost someone their life.

That’s why the Department of Defense is taking steps to create the largest drug-free workplace in the world. Its zero-tolerance policy (PDF, 51.27KB)on drugs means that servicemembers will have the best mental and physical health necessary to do their jobs.

At the same time, many of our servicemen and women are young and need as much support as they can get. Just like when you had to move to a new school or find a new group of friends, life in the military can be stressful. The day-to-day grind of combat, the effects of injury, or being apart from family can cause people to be depressed. And depression can lead to drug use. Just like you, service men and women sometimes need help getting through those tough periods – using healthy ways to cope without turning to drugs.

The Real Warriors Program is aimed at wiping out the stigma associated with getting mental health care in the military. The campaign uses the stories of servicemembers who admitted they needed help and now are pursuing successful military careers. From October 23-31, the Defense Department will honor these real warriors during Red Ribbon Week, an event to raise public awareness about the negative effects of drugs on military personnel, civilians, and their families.

Now, more than ever, we need good role models. Whether you are serving in the military, working at a desk job, or going to school, don’t hesitate to offer help to someone in need. When’s the last time you asked someone, “Are you good to go?”

Do you have a personal story about the importance of role models and encouraging one another to overcome life’s challenges?  If so, please comment on this blog post – we’d love to hear your story!

This is a guest post from Dr. John Ohab, host of the Defense Department’s weekly science radio show, “Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military.”

Last week, David Meerman Scott, marketing guru and author of “The New Rules of Marketing and PR,” visited the Pentagon to discuss the importance of social media in the Defense Department’s communications arsenal.  He spent two hours with the All Services Social Media Council, comprised of people from across the Department (ten points if you can find my forehead in the image below), and led a very interesting discussion about social media strategy and brand journalism.

I had the opportunity to chat with David during a 30-minute car ride, and I couldn’t help but detail all of the social media strategies we use to operate Armed with Science, the Defense Department’s weekly science podcast.  He was so impressed with our efforts to provide meaningful information about science and technology through social media that he even mentioned us in a blog entry, Brand Journalism in US Military Humanizes Large Organization.

Click here to read it.

This summer, I attended a series of Congressional briefings, “The Road to the New Energy Economy”, which brought together scientists and policymakers to discuss the various energy challenges facing our nation. One of these briefings focused on emerging biofuel technology, and I managed to score some behind-the-scenes interviews with the events’ sponsors and speakers. The above video, produced for ScienceCheerleader.com, contains some of that footage, my now-famous shorts and labcoat combo, and a little Princess Ladyfriend for good measure.

I hope you enjoy it!

Mitochondria are “the powerhouse of the cell.”  But, you already knew that. Everybody does. It is the one bit of science knowledge that is possessed by every single person who has ever lived. Of course, nobody knows what being the powerhouse of a cell actually means, not even scientists. It’s the great paradox of our time.

Equally as baffling is this mitochondria-like carpet that I spotted and about which Bioephemera blogged. Check out her blog post but only because it mentions me.

I wrote this for ScienceCheerleader.com mostly because I like to talk about myself.

You may not know it, but you have a celebrity double. Everyone does. It’s not something you can control or influence. It doesn’t matter if you agree. Your celebrity double may not be particularly famous, the same gender as you, or even a human, but your double is out there, doing whatever it is that celebrity doubles do, just waiting to be identified.

Sadly (or perhaps quite impressively?), I seem to have an unprecedented ability to identify these synergies. Take a look at my personal archive for evidence. Now, I don’t make the rules or create the parings. Your celebrity doubles are mandated by a being far more powerful than me. My role is to simply point out the truth through conveniently positioned thumbnails like the ones below.

Coincidentally, my science and engineering friends have provided a wonderful array of case studies for celebrity doubles both real and imaginary: a) Jackie, ocean conservationist, and actress Christina Ricci, b) Uday, a neuroscientist, and New Orleans Governor Bobby Jindal, c) Brian, neuroscientist and Shrek, and d) Brandon, a computer engineer, and Olympic swimmer, Michael Phelps. Celebrity doubles, like scientists and non-scientists, come in all shapes and sizes. And sometimes it clearly takes a little creativity to make them apparent.

But, even I’m having a bit of hard time coming up with a celebrity double for our very own Science Cheerleader. Surely, Shrek won’t make the cut this time, but there must be someone (or something) out there to do her justice.

It’s a classic case of Celebrity Double Trouble, and I need your help! Any ideas? (Free T-shirt if we select your idea!)

I wrote this for ScienceCheerleader.com this morning. There is a huge cash prize if you find the secret message. (not really)

Anyone can be a scientist, and not surprisingly, scientists are just like everyone else. That’s what NOVA ScienceNOW hopes to convey with their new show, The Secret Life of Scientists, a web video series that provides a personal and thought-provoking look at the lives of 16 scientists and engineers. Through a mixture of whimsical interview questions, each show will demonstrate how scientists and engineers can be athletes, musicians, artists, chefs, and, most importantly, incredibly human.

Although, SUPER-human might be more accurate for tonight’s episode featuring Nate Ball, a mechanical engineer, entrepreneur, pole-vaulting coach, jazz pianist, and TV star. In his day job, Nate is chief technical officer and co-founder of a technology and innovation company, Atlas Devices. His business develops a tool that he helped invent, the Powered Rope Ascender, which enables military personnel and rescue workers to reverse-rappel up buildings at high speeds. Check out these awesome videos of Nate’s invention in action.

And, Nate isn’t camera-shy. He is currently a cast member on PBS’ Design Squad, a show that features two teams of contestants charged with brainstorming, designing, building, and testing products before putting them to the test.

I had a chance to ask Nate a few questions about how he balances all of these endeavors, what inspires him to innovate, and his strategies for creating more interest in science and engineering. You’ll find, just as I did, that Nate has transformed a childhood passion into a career and drawn from a variety of perspectives to keep himself grounded. To learn more about Nate’s drive to succeed, check out tonight’s episode of The Secret Life of Scientsts.

Dr. John: How do we demistify science and bridge the gap between scientists and society?

Nate: Bridging the gap between scientists & engineers and society has always been an extremely important endeavor, and certainly is now more than ever. The way I like to make my career of mechanical engineering more accessible is to point out that I get to do now what I loved to do as a kid–build stuff and solve problems! Did you like to make forts out of couch cushions when you were 6? It’s a great lead-up to civil or mechanical engineering. Love to make your own recipes in the kitchen? Chemistry or biology may be for you. What usually gives people that “aha!” sort of understanding about engineering is when they realize that engineering is responsible for everything around them, and what engineers do is no different from any of the creative experimentation and problem solving everybody did as a kid. It’s just at a higher level with some extra training.

Dr. John: You clearly balance your interests in science and technology with other interests in your personal life — why is this balance important?

Nate: I pursue quite a few activities outside my office, which I find really important. For one, it gives my brain a chance to rest after exercising the analytical one for 14 hours a day at work (I love my job!). Play music and spending time doing really active things is my chance to change up what I’m working on and recharge the engineering part. I actually find that I’m never as focused as right after a hard workout. My brain just feels like it works differently–nothing seems distracting, I have much better clarity on whatever I was trying to solve before, and I’m even relieved to be sitting down again. But the whole “giving the analytical side a rest” isn’t the only part of it; I find that the things I balance my work with are really complementary to the engineering I do. Exercising the creative part of the brain with playing music or figuring out how to coach one of my pole vaulters keeps the colorful brain half flexible and ready to attack engineering challenges in a new way. So it’s a very important two-way street.

Dr. John: What is your most cherished accomplishment?

Nate: Having heard through a parent that their kid was inspired to pursue engineering after reading about some of my work. That was one of the most gratifying things I’ve ever heard!

Dr. John: Who inspired you to pursue career in mechanical engineering?

Nate: I credit my parents and grandparents with nurturing my interests in engineering-related activities that launched me toward where I am now. When I was about 3 years old around Christmas, my granddad gave me a block of wood, a hammer, and a bunch of roofing nails. After a lot of hammered fingers, I was off to the races and never stopped! My parents’ continued support of all the projects I made growing up, from kayaks to land sailers to potato guns and a Tesla coil, was really responsible for me getting hooked on technical problem solving. They supported my decision to go to MIT and are still cheering me on today.

Dr. John: How big of role can citizens play in the scientific process?

Nate: A huge one! You don’t have to have formal training in science or engineering to be perceptive about how the world works, and the observations of countless laymen have always made tremendous impacts in technical development. Take anything you’re familiar with and think about how it could be improved. How about that bad intersection you always avoid when driving to work because the lights aren’t timed well? Do you always slip on your front walk with the coated pavement? That old car you drove in high school that needed some special operator training (jiggle the key just like this to get it to start…). Every person on earth has some amount of intuition and more than enough capability to observe how things work. We execute careful problem solving processes many times each day whether we realize it or not. And sometimes, average Joe or Jane Citizen makes an observation that’s particularly insightful, and the scientific process helps make another leap forward for everyone’s benefit.

Dr. John: How do you encourage people to become more interested in science?

Nate: I engage many people in a lot of different venues to familiarize them with science and engineering. Some outreach I do directly, some through the engineering reality TV show I host (Design Squad on PBS), and some is done with the help of the very-real engineered products I have helped create, which closely resemble some of the equipment on Batman’s tool belt. Nothing captures the imagination like zipping up a rope at 10 feet per second, and when I’m able to close the loop between what people are seeing me demonstrate and the engineering that made it possible, you can practically see the light bulb go on in their head. And that’s a great feeling.

This Pentagon Channel report investigates whether neuroimaging techniques can be used to detect deception. Dr. Bhatt previously appeared as a guest on the weekly science and technology podcast, “Armed with Science: Research and Applications for the Modern Military”. The report also features my award-winning acting skills and demonstrates the razor-sharp wit and decision-making savvy required to answer personal questions under pressure.

Dr. Bhatt: Were you born in 1980?
John: Yes.

Virtually no hesitation.

I wrote this for ScienceCheerleader.com. I’m expecting to win several journalism awards.

Anyway, the neuroimaging report will air on the Pentagon Channel’s “Around the Services” program in the near future. In the meantime, some of the content was used as background footage in the above report on traumatic brain injury.

Check out the 2:20 mark for my world famous B-roll performance in the MRI scanner. Also making a guest appearance: my brain.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Jessica Palmer, who you might remember from such science blogs as BioEphemera, was recently featured in a Powell’s Books article written by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum. I’ve copied and pasted the article below, likely breaking several copyright and distribution laws in the process, but I’d do it again in a heartbeat. THAT is how cool she is.

The New Scientists
By Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum
August 6th, 2009

Perhaps our nation’s scientific illiteracy isn’t merely an educational problem, but rather a matter of personnel — one whose solution is already struggling to emerge from universities.

÷ ÷ ÷

To qualify as a scientist, Jessica Palmer has ticked off all the right boxes. She received her Ph.D. from a top research institution, the University of California at Berkeley, in molecular and cell biology. She published original research, on the genetics of nervous system development in fruit flies, in Neuron and BMC Neuroscience. And at a time when academic jobs are scarce, especially in the biological sciences, she won a tenure-track faculty position after graduating, and started to pull in grants.

But then she gave it all up. She started a science blog called Bioephemera and went to work in science policy in Washington, D.C. This fall, she will matriculate at Harvard Law School.

“I was labeled pretty early on a troublemaker, for not wanting to go the research routeI was labeled pretty early on a troublemaker, for not wanting to go the research route,” laughs Palmer when asked about her career choices. It started at Berkeley, where she felt constrained by the limited teaching experience and scant opportunities to bring her work out of the lab and into the public arena. “In graduate school,
everybody wants you to publish your first three or four first author papers, and then go on to a postdoc,” says Palmer. Yet she wanted to write for nonscientific audiences. Soon she helped found a publication, the Berkeley Science Review, to give young scientists the chance to do just that.

Palmer is one of a growing number of young interdisciplinary scientists for whom the traditional career path — a trip through the academic pipeline that eventually ends in becoming a version of one’s mentor, a professor — makes less and less sense. In a recent survey of more than 1,000 science graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at another top research school, the University of California at San Francisco, less than half described becoming academic researchers as their top career choice. Instead, these young scientists want to take their degrees into industry or the policy world, into the media or K-12 education.

For some senior researchers, that’s a very good thing. Young talents like Palmer should “no longer be viewed as deserting science,” wrote Bruce Alberts, the editor-in-chief of Science and former president of the National Academy of Sciences, in a recent editorial. That’s especially the case, Alberts observed, since having such researchers leave the ivory tower and filter out into the world would have the beneficial effect of “increasing contacts between scientists and the rest of society.”

Yet at the same time, the science education system doesn’t really know what to do with these Leonardos, and rarely trains them for what they’ll encounter in non-research careers. More traditionally minded faculty members may look askance at their plans of academic abandonment. The young scientists themselves may be afraid to tell their mentors what they’re really thinking — or they may be told, as Palmer was, that they’re committing “career suicide.”

As for the careers they seek, careers that might help reconnect science and society — it’s true: they often don’t even exist.

÷ ÷ ÷

Perhaps, then, it’s time to make the case for the young Renaissance scientist — to argue that she or he deserves both an academic and also a cultural embrace; that such nontraditional career choices should be encouraged, rather than viewed with suspicion; and even that the training of scientists itself ought to change to make becoming a Jessica Palmer less of a struggle. In fact, a surprisingly strong argument can be made that young interdisciplinary scientists who leave the confines of academia are not only good for the country, but also for universities and even for corporate America, especially at a time when preserving the nation’s scientific competitiveness is a concern of presidents.

(Read the rest of the article)

Citizen scientists, I’d like you to meet Ziya Tong, a new correspondent on the Emmy-nominated science video series, NOVA ScienceNOW. Ziya joins a NOVA program well-known for exploring important science and technology topics at the interface of politics, art, and society. So far, she’s covered areas like gene therapy, how walruses and sea lions have influenced human language, and the hunt for the earliest macromolecules. I recently had a chance to chat with Ziya about how her work in science broadcasting is creating common ground for scientists and the public.

For Ziya, it turns out that exploring far-out science topics is just another day at the office – literally! In addition to her work with NOVA, she also hosts Daily Planet, Discovery Channel Canada’s daily science show, and previously served as host and producer on PBS’ Wired Science. She even hosted a travel show, Island Escapes, during which she visited over 50 countries (approximately 45 more than me).

“I’m inspired in a new way every day,” Ziya said. “I’ve had the unique opportunity to meet, and most importantly, learn from very inspiring people.”

Ziya’s work in video production, writing, directing, and hosting has reinforced the importance of presenting science in a way that is meaningful and understandable to people. She operates from several guiding principles: keep things simple, live what you love, and get out in the field to experience real science.

Importantly, she has seen first-hand the impact of citizen participation in the scientific process. For example, in the Wired Science episode, Flotsam Found, Ziya worked with Curt Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer who tracks data points of garbage floating in the ocean. By aggregating records of things people have found on the beach — rubber ducks, shoes, etc — Curt is able to track the flow of objects over ocean currents.

When it comes to getting people involved, Ziya has been a part of some pioneering efforts in the media space. One of her first hosting gigs came on ZeD TV, a Canadian variety show that included user-generated video content and interactive features through its website. This concept would later influence the development of Current TV, a network led by former Vice President Al Gore. Also, on Daily Planet, there is currently an interactive segment, Planet You, where viewers can record and contribute their science and technology ideas.

Ziya also discussed her place as a role model and the importance of mentoring students who are interested in careers in science and communications. She credited much of her own success to the “fantastic visionaries” Arthur and Marilouise Kroker, her mentors at McGill University, where she received a Masters degree in Communications. Ziya hopes to play a similar role for aspiring young science broadcasters, particularly women.

“It’s important to present to young people, especially young women, a new face in the science and technology realm,” she said. “I want to present a critical and thoughtful view that demonstrates the impact that scientists have on society.”

Ziya is not the only one trying to demystify science. On August 31, NOVA ScienceNOW launches The Secret Life of Scientists, a web video series that provides a personal and thought-provoking look at the lives of 16 scientists and engineers. Through a mixture of whimsical interview questions, each show will demonstrate how scientists and engineers can be athletes, musicians, artists, chefs, and, most importantly, incredibly human.

Ziya also offered advice to young students looking to pursue a career in science, whether at the bench or with a camera. “Persistence and passion,” she said. “If you can demonstrate that you care more than anyone else, eventually people will see that.”

As for her future, Ziya has considered lecturing and even writing a book about her experiences covering science and technology across the globe. For now, you can find Ziya on her personal website and access every episode of NOVA ScienceNOW via streaming, download, and RSS or iTunes.

Check out this FoxNews story about ScienceCheerleader.com’s Brain Makeover project:

Professor, Cheerleaders Unite to Teach Science

Tuesday , August 04, 2009
By Joseph Abrams

Just don’t call him professor pom-pom.

A physics professor who says he’ll do “anything” to get people interested in science is teaming up with the Philadelphia 76ers cheerleaders to offer online lessons on magnetics, mass and matter — all through the magic of miniskirts.

James Trefil’s 20-year campaign for science literacy has led him to link up with some unlikely allies at ScienceCheerleader.com, where he and a scantily clad crew of dancing Darwins offer 18 video lessons on core ideas in science.

Click here for photos of the science cheerleaders.

Trefil, who’s left behind his classroom for the summer to help on the Brain Makeover videos, said it made sense for him to use “a little sex appeal” in his effort to reach and teach nonscientists.

“Why not cheerleaders?” asked Trefil, the Robinson Professor of Science at George Mason University. “My own philosophy is, any way you can get the scientific message across, that’s a good thing.”

The Web site offers brief scientific lessons from members of the Sixers squad (“All matter is made of atoms,” explains Lauren), and a bit more background from the septuagenarian Trefil, who does not appear in the videos. Visitors can then take a quiz to judge their own scientific literacy.

The site is the creation of science advocate Darlene Cavalier, a Master of Science Policy who has spent a decade working for Discover Magazine and was also one of the original 76ers dancers.

Cavalier, who is also leading projects to increase the number of citizen scientists in the country, told FOXNews.com she doesn’t worry that some people visiting the site might be less interested in their physics than their physiology.

“More than anything I think it does help break stereotypes,” said Cavalier, who said a higher percentage of Tennessee Titans cheerleaders have formal science training than do members of Congress. Cheerleaders have the edge 10 percent to 8 percent, she said.

For Cavalier and Trefil, having a better educated population isn’t just an end in itself — they say that in order for the general populace to debate ideas like stem cell treatments, they have to understand the science of stem cells first.

“To me, scientific literacy is one of the support pillars for having a really democratic society,” Trefil said. “Democracy is a place where people who are affected by decisions have a say in how the decisions are made. And if you don’t understand the science, you are effectively excluded from the debate.”

Some students could be getting more skirts with their science soon. Cavalier said she’s fielded a number of requests from high school teachers who want to use her videos next year “to turn people on to science.”

For the time being, Trefil says his final exams are usually enough to scare students into paying attention in his classes. But he hasn’t ruled out using the unorthodox method next year to break through any stragglers.

“That’s a good idea,” he told FOXNews.com. “Maybe I will.”

My latest video blog entry for Science Cheerleader featuring more awesome music from Princess Ladyfriend.

On Saturday, July 11, the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), the Defense Agency responsible for protecting the Pentagon, conducted an operational response test to a simulated outdoor airborne biological attack on the Pentagon grounds. The study consisted of the release of a harmless gardening powder into the Pentagon parking area, where nearly 100 citizen volunteers were positioned, followed by subsequent decontamination and surface sampling of the volunteers. The results will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of various emergency personnel and guide future operational responses to attacks on the Pentagon.

Best of all, Pentagon security relaxed its usual restrictions on photography and permitted media to film virtually all aspects of the operation. I had an opportunity to interview various subject matter experts, including Mr. Paul Benda and Dr. Christina Murata, Director and Deputy Director of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, Explosives Directorate at the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, as well as some of the volunteers for a SciCheer video report.

If you’re interested in learning more about the operational response test, check out “Armed with Science”, the Defense Department’s weekly science podcast, this Wednesday at 2pm ET on Pentagon Web Radio. I’ll be interviewing Mr. Benda and Dr. Murata live, and anyone can submit questions before or during the show by posting to the Armed with Science podcast or the Twitter page.

Let’s talk about things that frighten me and start with the mysterious creatures of the deep. I mean, really — surviving under extreme pressures and temperatures, often without sunlight, in a hostile ocean environment where you might very well be someone else’s dinner? We’ve all seen Pirates of the Caribbean. Creepy.

Still, someone needs to ensure that the marine environment is protected from various human pressures like pollution and over-fishing. That person is just not me.

That’s why I’m asking YOU to go down there on my behalf as part of Earth Dive, a global citizen science project that calls on recreational scuba divers and snorkelers to monitor the ocean for key indicator species.When you participate in Earth Dive, your observations are recorded in a special database, called the Global Dive Log, and accessible through a clever Google mapping interface. Over time, observations are aggregated to create a Global Snapshot of the state of the world’s oceans. You can also use the satellite map feature to look for your house, which is totally cool. Importantly, everyone who contributes data is automatically added to a petition demanding that policymakers take action.

Earth Dive is what I like to call a win-win-win situation. I don’t have to be in the ocean; your hobby provides a sense of personal enrichment; and we all work together to monitor and conserve marine life on this planet.

The Vancouver Aquarium has re-imagined the classic arcade game, Frogger, to better reflect the global decline in the amphibian population. The new version, Frogster, retains the spirit of the original game (e.g., horrendous controls and even more horrendous graphics) but now offers a myriad of new dangers, including loss of habitat, pesticides, pollution, and other human factors. The game also provides informative “Did you know?” facts about the amphibian population; for instance, did you know that air pollution is deadly because frogs breathe through their skin? Neither did I!

Frogster is advertised as “The Hardest Game You’ll Ever Play”, and they aren’t kidding. Navigating through car exhaust, polluted water, and human interference is a lot harder when you’re a helpless little frog. In fact, it was so frustrating to watch my frogs repeatedly drowned or flattened by oncoming traffic that I was compelled to help.

FrogWatch USA makes it easy! Since 1998, they’ve leveraged citizen scientists to monitor the health and behavior of various frog species around the country. In as little as 20 minutes a week, you can monitor frogs and toads in your own neighborhood wetlands and help scientists develop practical ways to help conserve these important animals. You can even learn to make your own frog calls — great fun at parties!

So play Frogster, get motivated, and let’s start monitoring some frogs!

Here’s my latest ScienceCheerleader report…

Looking for a fun way to translate your love of pignut hickory (Carya glabra) into scientific data that can help the planet? Look no further than the National Phenology Network (NPN), an organization that calls on citizen scientists to monitor the influence of climate change on plants and animals in the US.

NPN defines phenology as the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events, such as the first flower on a plant, the appearance of a songbird species in spring, or the changing leaves in fall. Phenological events are particularly sensitive to climate variations (e.g., temperature), and shifts in timing can dramatically affect the planet’s ecological systems. That, in turn, can affect the way we live – allergies, recreation, farming, and our ability to respond to natural disasters are all impacted by phenology.

NPN harnesses the power of citizen scientists and the Internet to collect, share, and store information on patterns of phenology for 200 critical plant species across the nation. NPN will use your contributions to help scientists identify which species are changing, and ultimately, better predict the impact of changing phenologies on natural systems and people. Do this immediately:

1. Select your favorite plant.
2. Learn about site selection, plant marking, and phenological observations.
3. Join the network and become an official participant.
4. Start observing, collecting, and reporting.
5. Feel a sense of personal satisfaction and enrichment.

At this time, citizen scientists can only monitor plant species. However, in 2010, NPN will welcome observations for many species of animals, including yellow-bellied marmots, hummingbirds, wood frogs, bumblebees, and all of your favorite Disney characters.

As copied and pasted from its home on ScienceCheerleader.com…

If you’re anything like me, you take pride in knowing everything. That’s why I spend my free time reading and contributing to the Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), an online, collaborative project documenting biodiversity knowledge about all life present on Earth. EOL is a global initiative seeking to create an “infinitely expandable” resource for all of our planet’s 1.8 million known species.

Launched in February 2008, EOL draws from existing databases, such as AmphibiaWeb and Mushroom Observer, and sponsorship from a number of leading scientific organizations. The scientific community and general public can contribute to this growing body of knowledge by posting images to the EOL Flikr group and adding tags and text comments to any species page. In addition, citizen naturalists with a demonstrated commitment to quality science can apply to become curators who are responsible for maintaining EOL’s vetted content.

The Encyclopedia of Life makes it ridiculously easy to get involved – users can log in using OpenID, which eliminates the need to create and forget yet another annoying username/password. They also have a discussion forum and a Twitter page. OmniSCIENCE is just a click away!

PROJECT SNAPSHOT:

• Topics: Biology, Computers and Technology
• Location: at home, close to home
• Duration: any
• Cost: free
• Gear: no
• Level of Difficulty: easy

I’m proud to announce the first episode in an original video series that I’m producing for Science Cheerleader.com, a blog that promotes public involvement in science and builds awareness around important science policy issues. The project took shape this March when I met Science Cheerleader at the South by Southwest Interactive conference in Austin. After her panel, Back Off Man, I’m a Scientist: User-Generated Discovery, we discussed a number of possibilities for creatively engaging her audience and encouraging them to participate in science projects, including a video series that would “show by doing”.

In each episode, I will be taking part in local citizen science projects, interviewing volunteers and project administrators, and reporting back on my experiences. Armed with a bottom-tier HD camcorder, whichever friend I can con into holding the camera, and virtually no audio/visual editing skills, I hope to demonstrate first-hand just how easy and fun science can be. Am I up to the challenge?

This first adventure with Casey Trees relied entirely on the steady camera work of Jackie Marks, several hours of audio/visual production training providing by my Uncle Rob, and the glorious music of Princess Ladyfriend. It was a true team effort, and I think we did a great job representing Casey Trees and their efforts to restore and protect the Washington DC tree canopy.

Science Cheerleader has quite a web presence. You can find her on ScienceCheerleader.com, Twitter, and her Facebook group, Open the OTA with Citizen Input, which is part of a larger effort to encourage Congress to reopen the Office of Technology Assessment.