Breadcrumb
Lorena A. Barba
Lorena Barba. Photo: P. Groom.
PhD, Caltech (2004)
For up-to-date contact information, please see my faculty profile.
Press corner
I remember being quite intrigued by a statement of Carly Fiorina's at the Caltech Commencement speech in 2004. She first told an anecdote of Feynman, which ended with Feynman saying
"I couldn't explain it in simple terms, which means we don't really understand it."
Then she made a call for all the graduates to "aim beyond the audience of your peers." This reminded me of the importance of communication in science, and I haven't forgotten this message.
On a similar note, only recently at the AAAS members conference in February 2007, Google's Larry Page declared that
"Science has a real marketing problem."
Communication is an integral part of the scientific endeavour. But we are not used to communicating in a way that is accessible to non-scientists. Neither are we used to discussing the more human aspects of being a scientist! I believe these to be important enough that I deliberately pursue opportunities for these forms of communication, beyond our usual peer-review jungle. Here are some samples of appearances in the press or publications aimed at the general public.
Appearances in the Bristol University News web site
Other publications
Subtext magazine, Issue 2
I was interviewed for Subtext, the University's employee magazine, for the Spring issue of 2007. Read my interview in page 4.
Research magazine, Issue 12 (Sept. 2006)
In an article which appeared in the University's Re:search (pages 6-7), the aims and recent activities of the SCAT project are discussed.
Press or online news
Article about the SCAT summer school in Chile (Jan. 2007)
This article in Spanish was published by local newspaper El Mercurio after a press conference on the first day of the SCAT summer school in Valparaiso.
Interview in Diari de Terrassa (Barcelona), February 2006
This interview in Spanish was carried out during the launch meeting of the SCAT project in Barcelona, attended by scientists from the 10 institutions in Europe and Latin America that participate in the project.
Zonta International on Amelia Earhart month (January 2006)
A feature in the section on Special Events Celebrating Amelia Earhart Month of the Zonta International web site, announcing the news of the SCAT project led by Dr Barba – 1999 Amelia Earhart Fellow.