Achievement

We turned a significant corner with the Science Communication Center this year. Our evaluation data indicated that we needed a revamp of the program in order to achieve our desired objectives. The center was reorganized to offer monthly workshops with each semester having a specific communications theme. The fall theme was popular science writing and the spring theme was media relations. In the fall, students wrote popular science articles under the direction of faculty and students from the School of Journalism. One of these has been published on LiveScience, another is slated as a newspaper editorial, and a third is likely to be published in PC Gamer Magazine. In the spring, trainees developed short "elevator" talks about their projects and then were interviewed for UT TV for the UT Spotlight programs. Both these experiences are great outreach activities and valuable practice and feedback for effective communication skills.