Talking about science

When I tell people - non-scientists - that I am a marine geophysicist, most of them ask me about whales. I study the ocean floor, not the life within the ocean, but I think people have heard of a marine biologist, and often have never come across a geophysicist, let alone one who works at sea. So, I spend a lot of time explaining that whales are beautiful, but I don't study whales. Once, I struggled to explain my research in French, to someone who kept me busy with questions for over an hour - but the next time we met, she asked me how the whale research was going! So, hilariously, when asked to perform at a science-themed storytelling event, I've opted to share a story about whales in a tale about when marine geophysics goes wrong. You can catch me next Monday, at the Burdock (1184 Bloor Street) for The Story Collider, a science storytelling event series and podcast, where people tell personal stories about science. You can reserve your ticket here. The stories might begin at 7:30 but seating is limited, so unless you're happier standing (closer to the bar), you'll want to arrive by 7:00.

Me (left), the marine geophysicist, in the field and some of my sciart
about the exploration of space: my linocut portrait of astronaut
Mae Jemison (above) and mathematician and Space Race aeronautical
engineer Mary Golda Ross (below) 

Last fall, I gave a talk about my experience as an astronaut candidate for the Canadian Space Agency for Science Literacy Week. Since astronauts are both scientists and science communicators, I combined an introduction to my research with my science-art, since I usually use the medium of fine art to communicate science these days. This was the first time I had an opportunity to combine these two very different pursuits in one talk! I also, of course, spoke about the extraordinary experience of the astronaut selection process and getting the opportunity to go the the Astronaut Assessment Centre. I have since given a version of this talk to a troupe of boy scouts and visiting girl scouts. I will be giving this talk two more times this year at Toronto Public Libraries. You can catch me:

March 19th at 2 pm
Albert Campbell Library
496 Birchmount Road
Toronto, ON M1K 1N8

or

Tuesday April 2 at 6:30  pm
Coxwell/Danforth Branch
1675 Danforth Avenue
Toronto, ON M4C 5P2