This summer, NPR (formerly National Public Radio) correspondent Jon Hamilton will be teaching a graduate level course at Wright State.
According to a March 21 press release, Hamilton’s course will focus on “how to communicate scientific information in a way that is brief, clear, engaging, and fun.”
Summer 2013 will mark the fourth offering of the web-based course, entitled “Communications in Science.”
In the past, Hamilton’s students have included scientists, journalists, educators and others.
“What my students have in common is an interest in science and a desire to convey scientific information in a way that’s entertaining, clear and informative,” explained Hamilton, whose 2009 piece on the neuroscience behind autism treatment earned him the Michael E. DeBakey Journalism Award that year.
Hamilton first agreed to teach the scientific communication course at WSU in 2010 when he visited the campus for an NPR story. Working with NPR, Hamilton speaks with scientists every day, and while most of them have important, fascinating things to say, many of them struggle with communicating their knowledge to the public in a way that can be understood.
Unfortunately, serious problems can arise without clear scientific communication.
Hamilton is concerned that some people and elected officials don’t fully understand the basics of important scientific issues.
In the past, incomplete understanding of issues like evolutionary biology, environmental toxins and climate change resulted in some poor decisions—not vaccinating children for lethal diseases or ignoring sea level rise until a storm floods Manhattan, for example. “If journalists, educators, and scientists did a better job communicating scientific ideas, we could make better decisions in the future,” said Hamilton.
For more information about Hamilton’s Scientific Communications course, visit www.med.wright.edu/ or call Stacy Hendry, B.S., at (937) 775-4091.
