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When science doesn’t have all the answers

July 17, 2020 Demarcating science in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis By Maria Eugenia Inda, EECS Communication Fellow It matters enormously if I alienate anyone from the truth. — C. S. Lewis   In 2020, life was crushed by an invisible enemy that stopped everything… or rather, almost everything, since people’s fears, worries, and questions have only […]

What’s new in the Comm Lab?

June 11, 2020 Our Communication Lab teams are always thinking about new communication skills and scenarios that we can help to demystify and support. To find a curated collection of our newest resources, click here.

A Designer’s Perspective on Data Visualization

May 27, 2020 Strategies scientists can use when creating graphics for a broader audience By Craig McLean, Yerri Portillo, Tianna Rivera, Tui Calvette, and Christine Lopez Craig McLean is a Communication Fellow in the MIT Civil and Environmental Engineering Communication Lab. All of the authors are members of the Unofficial Committee: a collective of artists and scientists who […]

Let’s not make it viral!

May 6, 2020 Help flatten the curve of misinformation As the numbers continue to rise in the evolving coronavirus pandemic, the amount of information is also increasing exponentially. News and speculation are spreading so fast that the normal mechanisms for releasing information supported by the scientific consensus may fail for a number of reasons: lack of reliable data, […]

How to Be Clear When Nothing Else Is, Part II

April 10, 2020 Reading Responsibly During a Pandemic by Sarah Schwartz, Biological Engineering Communication Fellow Science communicators—and the general public—have professional and ethical responsibilities when writing or sharing information. That is especially true during stressful, high-stakes situations—for example, a pandemic. But communication is not one-sided; it relies upon engagement between the communicator and the audience. As readers, we […]

How to Be Clear When Nothing Else Is

April 6, 2020 Communicating Science During a Pandemic by Sarah Schwartz, Biological Engineering Communication Fellow In the last month, coronavirus has rapidly rewritten the rules for how we engage with each other. Science communicators play a crucial role as they investigate, clarify and contextualize incoming data. Communicating complex concepts is a standard challenge that researchers, journalists, physicians, and […]

The Comm Lab is offering virtual services as of March 16

March 17, 2020 Looking for communication support while you’re working from home? The Communication Lab is still available to help: As of March 16, all of our Communication Labs have switched to online appointments for the MIT/Broad communities. Sign up as usual under your Comm Lab’s “Make an Appointment” page – we are using the same appointment sign-up […]

BE Communication Fellow Alumni Spotlight: Scott Olesen

August 23, 2019 Dr. Scott Olesen was one of the founding cohort of Biological Engineering Communication Fellows, who joined when the Lab was established in 2013. He was a BE PhD student in Prof. Eric Alm’s lab and developed quantitative and statistical methods for microbial ecology and clinical trial design. Scott graduated with his PhD in 2016 and […]

Two Communication Fellows report back from ComSciCon 2018

August 2, 2018 Written by Lisa Volpatti, Chemical Engineering Communication Fellow, with contributions from Josh Peters, Biological Engineering Communication Fellow “Science is chocolate. Science is not broccoli. We don’t need to trick people into liking it,” insists Liz Neeley, Executive Director of The Story Collider and keynote speaker for ComSciCon 2018. Over two jam-packed days in downtown Boston, graduate students […]

Follow the Comm Lab on Twitter

April 5, 2018 For science communication and STEM professional development events, articles, and resources, follow @MITCommLab ! #announcements