Category Archives: Communication

Jam Yesterday

Posted on December 18, 2011 by Stephen

On a grey day back in October I made my way along Albemarle Street to the Royal Institution for the filming of DemoJam, a lively and light-hearted program of science produced by Jonathan Sanderson and the rest of the gang … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Protein Crystallography, Science | Tagged , , | 12 Comments

The past, The future and The Guardian

Posted on October 16, 2011 by Stephen

This week I got to visit a part of London that is for me a hallowed place – the offices of The Guardian newspaper. I was participating in a workshop for the people who had been short-listed for the Wellcome … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Science & Media | Tagged , , , | 31 Comments

Meet me on a Monday

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Stephen

This is shameless, shameless self-promotion but I was interviewed back in May by Carl Carruthers for his Meet a Scientist Monday podcast, which has gone live today. The interview was long enough ago for me — being of advanced years … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Fun, Protein Crystallography, Science | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Perusing the Papers

Posted on September 25, 2011 by Stephen

Last night, having rounded off a busy week with a day of manual labour helping to repair my mother-in-law’s kitchen floor, I retired to bed early with the newspaper. Saturday’s Guardian, if you want to know. It was delightful. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Scientific Life | Tagged | 12 Comments

I’m a Scientist – making the film

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Stephen

Today sees the release of my new film: I’m a Scientist. It’s about scientists. Please take a look either here, or on the web-site that I have created specially for it*. The film was a long time coming. I had … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Fun, Science, Science & Media, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 45 Comments

Is Massively Collaborative Scientific Publishing Possible?

Posted on September 7, 2011 by Stephen

The job of a newspaper columnist is to agitate and George Monbiot did exactly that last week with a furious rant in The Guardian about academic publishers. It may have been an odd choice for most of his readers but … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Open Access, Science, Scientific Life | Tagged , | 113 Comments

Coming Soon

Posted on August 29, 2011 by Stephen

Today sees the release of the new trailer of my latest and most ambitious film project. In doing so I am following the sound advice of Richard Hamming and forcing my own hand. With the trailer now on public view, I will … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Fun, Scientific Life | Tagged , , | 18 Comments

Here comes Impact

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Stephen

In UK scientific circles and the wider realm of academia impact has been around for a while now. Grant forms incorporate large blank spaces in which applicants are required to outline their plans for ensuring that the work they hope … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Science, Science & Politics | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

The Best Seminar?

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Stephen

What is the best seminar that you have ever attended? And what made it so good? I pondered this question after my name appeared on the list of speakers for our internal divisional seminar series this term. I thought that, … Continue reading →

Posted in Communication, Fun, Science | Tagged , , , | 27 Comments

Writing Science

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Stephen

Writing about science. It’s important. And not just because you could win some dosh from the Wellcome Trust. I tried to explain why (and a little bit about how) in a guest post on Grrlscientist’s blog today.

Posted in Communication, Science, Science & Media | Tagged , | 5 Comments

Here is a Man Who Stood Up

Posted on March 4, 2011 by Stephen

In many ways Travis Bickle, the disturbed taxi driver in Scorsese’s famous film, is a model of public engagement. For one thing, he really thinks about his audience. He rehearses in front of a mirror so that he will be … Continue reading →

Posted in Blogging, Communication, Science | Tagged , , , , | 41 Comments

Cosmos and Kapoor

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Stephen

Having delighted in Jacob Bronowski’s The Ascent of Man earlier this year, I sat down to watch Carl Sagan’s Cosmos, which several commenters had recommended to me. You can read what I thought of it in my guest post at … Continue reading →

Posted in Astronomy, Communication, TV review | 2 Comments