Coordinating the 2014 Communicating Science Symposium

This year, I really dived into my passion for science and science education. I truly believe in strengthening connections between scientists and non-scientists -- and when the opportunity came to coordinate the 2014 Wellesley College Communicating Science Symposium, an event that celebrates that relationship, I jumped on it. The Wellesley Energy and Environmental Defense (WEED) has held the symposium -- or "CommSci" as we call it -- for four years now, and this year's event was the biggest yet. 150 people registered from Harvard, Boston College, Babson, Olin, Cornell, Swarthmore, Tufts, UMass and so many others.

As the coordinator, I dreamt about everything that needed to happen before March 8th, delegated assignments to others and took on several hats and tasks myself. There were so many highlights of this stressful yet rewarding experience I cannot pick my favorite, though having the former director of the National Science Foundation, Dr. Rita Colwell, agree to speak definitely stands out.

This year, the event focused on the theme of Biotechnology and Environmental Health. Renowned microbiologist, Dr. Colwell had a lot to say about the importance of communicating research to others, particularly discussing how the cholera outbreak in Haiti could have been prevented if better collaboration existed. President Bottomly joined in by opening the day-long event with a few of her own remarks on "communicating science" and her roots in immunobiology as well. I had a great team who put a much effort into making the event possible. The panel session was really informative and well-rounded, as we heard from MIT biological engineering professor Dr. Natalie Kuldell, the BBC "The World" environment editor Peter Thomson, NLM "PubMed Health" leader Hilda Bastian, and Global Health researcher from the Harvard School of Public Health Sophia Qiu (also a Wellesley alum).

From breakfast to the keynote speaker to a wonderful lunch served by Slow Food to the panel session to afternoon tea, WEED went to great lengths to ensure that everyone was having a wonderful time -- and I don't believe many still understand the tremendous amount of time and energy that went into the event for student-run event. Regardless, I think everyone had a great time and I appreciate all the attendees who came up to me afterwards to congratulate me. The entire experience was wonderful and even more, sitting next to Dr. Colwell at a dinner table the night before was awe-inspiring. (I mean, the lady is just a wonder and still sharp as a needle.) Can't wait til next year!

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