James Cook University | ConservationBytes.com

Bill Laurance wins Heineken Prize

16 03 2012

I’ve just learnt some fantastic news about my good friend and colleague, Professor Bill Laurance of James Cook University.

Bill has the distinction of being named this year’s recipient of the most-prestigious Heineken Prize for Environmental Sciences. Probably only second in prestige to the Crafoord Prize, the Heineken Prize has sent many recipients in the fields of medicine, biochemistry and biophysics on to win Nobel Prizes.

While there is still no Nobel category in ecology, conservation or the environment (there bloody well should be, in my not-so-humble opinion), this is a huge recognition of Bill’s amazing scientific track record, environmental portfolio, advocacy and expertise.

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Tags: Bill Laurance, biodiversity, Crafoord Prize, environment, Heineken Prize, James Cook University, Nobel Prize
Categories : conservation

Supercharge your science: Blogito ergo sum

22 09 2010

Alas, I didn’t make up that wonderful expression (can anyone tell me who did?), but it was a very appropriate title for the presentation I gave today at the Supercharge Your Science workshop held at the JCU Cairns campus. For those of you who have never read any Descartes (I will forgive you – boring as philosophy gets), it comes from his well-known Cogito ergo sum (I think therefore I am/exist) statement. Someone cleverly adapted it to blogging.

So this post really just focuses on my component of the 5-presentation workshop extravaganza. Bill Laurance gave his two popular Interacting with the media and How to write a paper presentations (podcasted here), Mike Seyfang gave a great look at the current and future applications of social media to science, Jennifer Lappin showed how her organisation, the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, really blitzed the world with top-notch media engagement, and I gave my advice on science blogging (why, what, how, do, don’t, where). The full webinar is reproduced below via Slideshare.

Where taking the show on the road and will be giving the workshop again in Townsville on Friday. I dare say too that we’ll be giving it at many other venues in Australia and perhaps overseas over the coming months. The interest seems massive.

Don’t forget to follow and engage using the associated Twitter hashtag #4ss.

CJA Bradshaw

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Tags: blog, James Cook University, Jennifer Lappin, journalism, media, Mike Seyfang, publication, René Descartes, science communication, scientific writing, social media, William Laurance
Categories : Australia, blog, conservation, journalism, media, science communication, scientific publishing, scientific writing, The University of Adelaide

Supercharge Your Science

10 09 2010

In a little under two weeks I’ll be co-running a workshop of the same name at James Cook University at both the Cairns and Townsville campuses.

With me will be super-scientist, media-guru and anti-deforestation advocate, Distinguished Professor Bill Laurance (who you might remember came to Adelaide earlier this year and gave some great talk), ex-Microsoft man and social media guru (and self-entitled ‘geezer’), Mike Seyfang, and the Media Coordinator for the Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, Jennifer Lappin.

Should be heaps of fun (and hopefully highly educational). Basically we’ll be preaching to aspiring and well-established researchers in many areas about how they can maximise the impact of their scientific research, in terms of media, education, outreach and policy.

I’ll be talking about science blogging (and blogging science!), other social media uses in science, and some of my personal experiences with ConservationBytes.com. I haven’t yet finalised my presentation, but I think it’ll be insightful.

Here’s the official blurb for the 1-day workshop: Read the rest of this entry »