Past Conferences


Highlights

Highlights included:

    • Ann Christiano from the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, talking about The Science of What Makes Us Care About Science
    • New York Times bestselling author Sam Kean on Spoons and Thumbs: Funny, Spooky, Poignant, and Completely True Science Stories
    • National Public Radio correspondent and author Richard Harris on his new book Rigor Mortis: Sloppy Science Leading to Unrealistic Results
    • Brooke Thayer, consultant at Education Advisory Board, shared the board’s report on Telling the Story of Research: Tactics for Communicating the Value of University Research
    • Miriam Kramer, senior science editor at Mashable, shared Sneaky Science: Making You Eat Your Veggies While You Think You’re Having a Cookie
    • The conference continued its popular “Fire Hose” series of short talks from URMA members on topics such as Remaking Your Visual Identity; Reader Surveys; 360-Degree Video; Annual Reports; Managing Large Gift Announcements; and How to Start a Science Pub with No Budget.
    • The “Nuts and Bolts” session addressed Marketing Tools and Social Media Strategy; and Paid Ad Campaigns for Research.

 

Conference Agenda

View Conference Agenda (pdf).

 

Monday, July 16

6:00 pm to 10:00 pm

    • Registration for Field Trip Attendees at URMA Hospitality Suite, Hilton Room 319

Tuesday, July 17

9:00 am to 5:00 pm

    • Field Trip to Oak Ridge National Lab

6 pm to 10 pm

    • Registration for Conference Attendees at URMA Hospitality Suite, Hilton Room 319

Wednesday, July 18

9:00 am

    • Registration and Morning Refreshments at Strong Hall Atrium

9:30 am

    • Opening Ceremonies at Strong Hall Room 101

9:45 am

    • The Science of What Makes Us Care About Science: Ann Christiano, University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

10:45 am

    • Break

11:00 am

    • Spoons and Thumbs: Funny, Spooky, Poignant, and Completely True Science Stories: Sam Kean, New York Times bestselling author

12:00 pm

    • Lunch

1:15 pm

    • Fire Hose – Short Presentations by URMA Members
      • Remaking Your Visual Identity: Catherine Zandonella, Princeton University
      • Symmetry Reader Survey: Kathryn Jepsen, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory
      • 360-Degree Video Project: Rachel Coker, Binghamton University
      • Annual Reports: Joe Kays, University of Florida
      • The $100M Deal: Noel Rubinton, Brown University
      • Audience Research with QuadBoard: John Toon, Georgia Tech
      • How to Start a Science Pub with No Budget: Lewis Taylor, University of Oregon

2:15 pm

    • Break

2:30 pm

    • Collaborating on the Subatomic Smackdown: Kathryn Jepsen, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Kristen Coyne, National High Magnetic Field Laboratory

3:30 pm

    • Break

3:45 pm

    • Rigor Mortis: Sloppy Science Leading to Unrealistic Results: Richard Harris, National Public Radio correspondent and author

5:00 pm

    • Reception

6:00 pm

    • Optional Book Club with Richard Harris

Thursday, July 19

9:00 am

    • Morning Refreshments

9:15 am

    • Telling the Story of Research: Tactics for Communicating the Value of University Research: Brooke Thayer, consultant at EAB

10:15 am

    • Break

10:30 am

    • Sneaky Science: Making You Eat Your Veggies While You Think You’re Having a Cookie: Miriam Kramer, senior science editor at Mashable

11:45 am

    • Lunch

1:00 pm

    • Second Annual URMA Film Festival

2:30 pm to 5:00 pm

    • Campus Lab Tours
      • Fab Lab
      • Health Innovation Technology and Simulation (HITS) Lab
      • SynDaver Lab and EcoCAR3
      • Planetarium

Friday, July 20

9:00 am

    • Morning Refreshments

9:15 am

    • Small Group Tours of the JIAM Facility

9:45 am

    • Nuts & Bolts – A Moderated Discussion of Communication Challenges and Solutions
      • Deb Bright: Marketing Tools and Social Media Strategy
      • Laura Perry: How Would You Handle This?
      • Beth Potier: Paid Ad Campaigns for Research

10:45 am

    • Break

11:00 am

    • Group Photo

11:15 am

    • URMA Business Meeting

11:45 am

    • Conference Adjourns


Highlights

Highlights included:

    • David Corcoran, long-time Science Times editor at the New York Times and now Associate Director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT and senior editor of its new, unconventional Undark online science magazine
    • Meera Subramanian, science writer/journalist, author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis; writer for The New Yorker and other magazines; and current Knight Science Fellow at MIT
    • Kenneth Miller, Brown University biologist and a leading science advocate. Miller is author of two books, one on how faith can coexist with science, and another on the battle between evolution and intelligent design
    • Conference topics included data visualization, the role of political activism in the research world today (including where research communicators fit in), and social media.
    • The conference continued its popular “Fire Hose” series of short talks from URMA members, and introduced a new feature, “Nuts and Bolts,” a freewheeling session aimed at sharing and solving some of the thorniest challenges that plague research communicators.
Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 1

8:30 am

    • Bus departs from Hampton Inn for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Lunch at Woods Hole

5 pm (approximate): Return to Hampton Inn

    • Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:15pm:

    • Leave Hampton Inn by hotel bus or other taxi/rideshare transport for optional trip to Ladd Observatory (1.5 miles from hotel)

8:30-9:45pm:

    • Tour the museum at Ladd Observatory (built in 1891). Take in the view through the main telescope and others to see sights including Jupiter and Saturn. If cloudy, the tour of museum will be held but there will be no viewing.

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

    • Meet old friends and make new ones.

 

Wednesday, August 2


9 am:

    • Conference welcome from Noel Rubinton of Brown University

9:15 - 10:30 am: Research Communication in the Time of Trump and Political Activism

    • In these unpredictable and hyper-partisan times, figuring out communication strategy and tactics is newly complicated and needs new approaches. Panelists are Geoffrey Supran, joint Harvard-MIT postdoc and environmental activist; Megan Ranney, Brown University emergency physician and researcher, who focuses on the intersection between digital health and injury prevention, and is a firearm injury prevention activist; and Timmons Roberts, Brown sociology professor affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and an environmental activist.

10:45am - Noon: Are There Two Sides to Every Issue?

    • Our presenter is Ken Miller, a senior Brown University biologist and leading science advocate who has participated in many debates about evolution and intelligent design.

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 - 3:15 pm: Using Data Well

    • With far greater access to data and much increased interest in its use, communicators face the challenge, and opportunity, of using it well. Panelists are four data experts: Neil Sarkar, director of the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics; Lucia Monge, operations and engagement coordinator of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nature Lab; Rafael Attias, senior critic, RISD; and Tom Sgouros, manager of the Brown University Virtual Reality Lab.

3:30 - 4:45 pm: Undark and Beyond

    • David Corcoran talks about his work in communicating about science, first in journalism as the longtime editor of Science Times at the New York Times and now as associate director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and senior editor of the unconventional online magazine Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.

5 - 7 pm: Conference Reception

    • At the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM). Includes drinks and appetizers.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8 - 11 pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

Thursday, August 3
9 - 9:30am: URMA Survey: The State of Our Art

    • URMA conducted a groundbreaking, comprehensive survey of its membership this year to get a better sense of best practices and industry practices. Catherine Zandonella of Princeton and Michelle Johnson University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who designed the survey with Louise Walsh of the University of Cambridge, will present the results.

9:30 - 10:15 am: Fire Hose Sessions

    • Presentations of 5 minutes (or less) from URMA members, on topics that include starting a new magazine, making a Facebook Live video, and creating a digital campaign.

10:30 - 11:45 am: The Power of Narrative Writing

    • Meera Subramanian, who is an award-winning journalist, former Knight Science fellow at MIT, and author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis, speaks about how narrative writing can make a crucial difference in translating science and other research-based subjects.

11:45 - 12:15pm (optional): Poster session of Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lunch on own on Thayer Street (near Film Festival site), restaurant suggestions to be provided

1 - 2:30 pm: URMA Research Film Festival

2:30 - 4:45 pm: Research lab visits

    • All tours will leave from the Avon Cinema lobby with a guide, at conclusion of film program
    • Each tour will involve at least two different sites in sequence. The pairings:
      • A tour of the Warren Alpert Medical School, along with a Superfund lab that focuses on complex environmental contaminant issues and a toxicology lab.
        • Two neuroscience labs: Karla Kaun’s uses the fruit fly to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms of reward, including in alcohol addiction. Chris Moore’s lab studies neocortical dynamics. Limited space available.
      • A visit to two gems at the Rhode Island School of Design (which shares College Hill with Brown). The RISD Nature Lab offers authentic natural history specimens to work from, and also fosters creative inquiry into design, ecology, and climate change through high-end microscopes, high-speed cameras, and other advanced imaging systems. The RISD Museum is a principal art museum for southeastern New England with an acclaimed collection and curatorial and research staff, and the tour will have a focus on academic research and interpretive strategies.
        • David Borton’s engineering/brain science lab, through BrainGate and other projects, is designing and deploying neurotechnology to better understand the nervous system and improve human lives. The YURT Virtual Reality Lab is a state-of-the-art theater used for research across disciplines. Limited space available.
    • A separate communication to come soon will give more details on sites and explain how you can give your preferences.

5:30 - 6:30 pm (optional): URMA Book Club discussion

    • When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, moderated by Laura Miller of UCLA. Light refreshments provided. We’ll be joined by some faculty members of Brown’s First Readings selection committee.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:30pm (optional): Group trip to the Boombox karaoke lounge downtown at Dean Hotel 

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn 

Friday, August 4

9 - 10 am: Lighting Fires

    • Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, an award-winning fire sculpture installation on the three rivers in downtown Providence. Since its start in 1994, WaterFire has been seen by millions of people in Providence, and has been credited with being a major force behind Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire has also been installed around the United States and Europe. Evans will talk about the creative process, research, and communication. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Brown. (Note: the next WaterFire is tomorrow, August 5).

10:15 - 11:30 am: Nuts and Bolts

    • Discussion of research communications issues, including continuing discussion of of URMA’s membership survey, with emcee John Toon of Georgia Tech.

11:30am-Noon: URMA business meeting

    • With URMA President Joe Kays of University of Florida presiding. 

Noon: Adjourn

Box lunch to be provided at Faculty Club; eat there or take it with you.

Summaries

Highlights

Highlights included:

    • David Corcoran, long-time Science Times editor at the New York Times and now Associate Director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT and senior editor of its new, unconventional Undark online science magazine
    • Meera Subramanian, science writer/journalist, author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis; writer for The New Yorker and other magazines; and current Knight Science Fellow at MIT
    • Kenneth Miller, Brown University biologist and a leading science advocate. Miller is author of two books, one on how faith can coexist with science, and another on the battle between evolution and intelligent design
    • Conference topics included data visualization, the role of political activism in the research world today (including where research communicators fit in), and social media.
    • The conference continued its popular “Fire Hose” series of short talks from URMA members, and introduced a new feature, “Nuts and Bolts,” a freewheeling session aimed at sharing and solving some of the thorniest challenges that plague research communicators.
Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 1

8:30 am

    • Bus departs from Hampton Inn for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Lunch at Woods Hole

5 pm (approximate): Return to Hampton Inn

    • Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:15pm:

    • Leave Hampton Inn by hotel bus or other taxi/rideshare transport for optional trip to Ladd Observatory (1.5 miles from hotel)

8:30-9:45pm:

    • Tour the museum at Ladd Observatory (built in 1891). Take in the view through the main telescope and others to see sights including Jupiter and Saturn. If cloudy, the tour of museum will be held but there will be no viewing.

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

    • Meet old friends and make new ones.

 

Wednesday, August 2


9 am:

    • Conference welcome from Noel Rubinton of Brown University

9:15 - 10:30 am: Research Communication in the Time of Trump and Political Activism

    • In these unpredictable and hyper-partisan times, figuring out communication strategy and tactics is newly complicated and needs new approaches. Panelists are Geoffrey Supran, joint Harvard-MIT postdoc and environmental activist; Megan Ranney, Brown University emergency physician and researcher, who focuses on the intersection between digital health and injury prevention, and is a firearm injury prevention activist; and Timmons Roberts, Brown sociology professor affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and an environmental activist.

10:45am - Noon: Are There Two Sides to Every Issue?

    • Our presenter is Ken Miller, a senior Brown University biologist and leading science advocate who has participated in many debates about evolution and intelligent design.

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 - 3:15 pm: Using Data Well

    • With far greater access to data and much increased interest in its use, communicators face the challenge, and opportunity, of using it well. Panelists are four data experts: Neil Sarkar, director of the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics; Lucia Monge, operations and engagement coordinator of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nature Lab; Rafael Attias, senior critic, RISD; and Tom Sgouros, manager of the Brown University Virtual Reality Lab.

3:30 - 4:45 pm: Undark and Beyond

    • David Corcoran talks about his work in communicating about science, first in journalism as the longtime editor of Science Times at the New York Times and now as associate director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and senior editor of the unconventional online magazine Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.

5 - 7 pm: Conference Reception

    • At the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM). Includes drinks and appetizers.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8 - 11 pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

Thursday, August 3
9 - 9:30am: URMA Survey: The State of Our Art

    • URMA conducted a groundbreaking, comprehensive survey of its membership this year to get a better sense of best practices and industry practices. Catherine Zandonella of Princeton and Michelle Johnson University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who designed the survey with Louise Walsh of the University of Cambridge, will present the results.

9:30 - 10:15 am: Fire Hose Sessions

    • Presentations of 5 minutes (or less) from URMA members, on topics that include starting a new magazine, making a Facebook Live video, and creating a digital campaign.

10:30 - 11:45 am: The Power of Narrative Writing

    • Meera Subramanian, who is an award-winning journalist, former Knight Science fellow at MIT, and author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis, speaks about how narrative writing can make a crucial difference in translating science and other research-based subjects.

11:45 - 12:15pm (optional): Poster session of Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lunch on own on Thayer Street (near Film Festival site), restaurant suggestions to be provided

1 - 2:30 pm: URMA Research Film Festival

2:30 - 4:45 pm: Research lab visits

    • All tours will leave from the Avon Cinema lobby with a guide, at conclusion of film program
    • Each tour will involve at least two different sites in sequence. The pairings:
      • A tour of the Warren Alpert Medical School, along with a Superfund lab that focuses on complex environmental contaminant issues and a toxicology lab.
        • Two neuroscience labs: Karla Kaun’s uses the fruit fly to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms of reward, including in alcohol addiction. Chris Moore’s lab studies neocortical dynamics. Limited space available.
      • A visit to two gems at the Rhode Island School of Design (which shares College Hill with Brown). The RISD Nature Lab offers authentic natural history specimens to work from, and also fosters creative inquiry into design, ecology, and climate change through high-end microscopes, high-speed cameras, and other advanced imaging systems. The RISD Museum is a principal art museum for southeastern New England with an acclaimed collection and curatorial and research staff, and the tour will have a focus on academic research and interpretive strategies.
        • David Borton’s engineering/brain science lab, through BrainGate and other projects, is designing and deploying neurotechnology to better understand the nervous system and improve human lives. The YURT Virtual Reality Lab is a state-of-the-art theater used for research across disciplines. Limited space available.
    • A separate communication to come soon will give more details on sites and explain how you can give your preferences.

5:30 - 6:30 pm (optional): URMA Book Club discussion

    • When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, moderated by Laura Miller of UCLA. Light refreshments provided. We’ll be joined by some faculty members of Brown’s First Readings selection committee.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:30pm (optional): Group trip to the Boombox karaoke lounge downtown at Dean Hotel 

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn 

Friday, August 4

9 - 10 am: Lighting Fires

    • Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, an award-winning fire sculpture installation on the three rivers in downtown Providence. Since its start in 1994, WaterFire has been seen by millions of people in Providence, and has been credited with being a major force behind Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire has also been installed around the United States and Europe. Evans will talk about the creative process, research, and communication. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Brown. (Note: the next WaterFire is tomorrow, August 5).

10:15 - 11:30 am: Nuts and Bolts

    • Discussion of research communications issues, including continuing discussion of of URMA’s membership survey, with emcee John Toon of Georgia Tech.

11:30am-Noon: URMA business meeting

    • With URMA President Joe Kays of University of Florida presiding. 

Noon: Adjourn

Box lunch to be provided at Faculty Club; eat there or take it with you.

Summaries

Highlights

Highlights included:

    • David Corcoran, long-time Science Times editor at the New York Times and now Associate Director of the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT and senior editor of its new, unconventional Undark online science magazine
    • Meera Subramanian, science writer/journalist, author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis; writer for The New Yorker and other magazines; and current Knight Science Fellow at MIT
    • Kenneth Miller, Brown University biologist and a leading science advocate. Miller is author of two books, one on how faith can coexist with science, and another on the battle between evolution and intelligent design
    • Conference topics included data visualization, the role of political activism in the research world today (including where research communicators fit in), and social media.
    • The conference continued its popular “Fire Hose” series of short talks from URMA members, and introduced a new feature, “Nuts and Bolts,” a freewheeling session aimed at sharing and solving some of the thorniest challenges that plague research communicators.
Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 1

8:30 am

    • Bus departs from Hampton Inn for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Lunch at Woods Hole

5 pm (approximate): Return to Hampton Inn

    • Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:15pm:

    • Leave Hampton Inn by hotel bus or other taxi/rideshare transport for optional trip to Ladd Observatory (1.5 miles from hotel)

8:30-9:45pm:

    • Tour the museum at Ladd Observatory (built in 1891). Take in the view through the main telescope and others to see sights including Jupiter and Saturn. If cloudy, the tour of museum will be held but there will be no viewing.

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

    • Meet old friends and make new ones.

 

Wednesday, August 2


9 am:

    • Conference welcome from Noel Rubinton of Brown University

9:15 - 10:30 am: Research Communication in the Time of Trump and Political Activism

    • In these unpredictable and hyper-partisan times, figuring out communication strategy and tactics is newly complicated and needs new approaches. Panelists are Geoffrey Supran, joint Harvard-MIT postdoc and environmental activist; Megan Ranney, Brown University emergency physician and researcher, who focuses on the intersection between digital health and injury prevention, and is a firearm injury prevention activist; and Timmons Roberts, Brown sociology professor affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and an environmental activist.

10:45am - Noon: Are There Two Sides to Every Issue?

    • Our presenter is Ken Miller, a senior Brown University biologist and leading science advocate who has participated in many debates about evolution and intelligent design.

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 - 3:15 pm: Using Data Well

    • With far greater access to data and much increased interest in its use, communicators face the challenge, and opportunity, of using it well. Panelists are four data experts: Neil Sarkar, director of the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics; Lucia Monge, operations and engagement coordinator of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nature Lab; Rafael Attias, senior critic, RISD; and Tom Sgouros, manager of the Brown University Virtual Reality Lab.

3:30 - 4:45 pm: Undark and Beyond

    • David Corcoran talks about his work in communicating about science, first in journalism as the longtime editor of Science Times at the New York Times and now as associate director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and senior editor of the unconventional online magazine Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.

5 - 7 pm: Conference Reception

    • At the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM). Includes drinks and appetizers.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8 - 11 pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

Thursday, August 3
9 - 9:30am: URMA Survey: The State of Our Art

    • URMA conducted a groundbreaking, comprehensive survey of its membership this year to get a better sense of best practices and industry practices. Catherine Zandonella of Princeton and Michelle Johnson University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who designed the survey with Louise Walsh of the University of Cambridge, will present the results.

9:30 - 10:15 am: Fire Hose Sessions

    • Presentations of 5 minutes (or less) from URMA members, on topics that include starting a new magazine, making a Facebook Live video, and creating a digital campaign.

10:30 - 11:45 am: The Power of Narrative Writing

    • Meera Subramanian, who is an award-winning journalist, former Knight Science fellow at MIT, and author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis, speaks about how narrative writing can make a crucial difference in translating science and other research-based subjects.

11:45 - 12:15pm (optional): Poster session of Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lunch on own on Thayer Street (near Film Festival site), restaurant suggestions to be provided

1 - 2:30 pm: URMA Research Film Festival

2:30 - 4:45 pm: Research lab visits

    • All tours will leave from the Avon Cinema lobby with a guide, at conclusion of film program
    • Each tour will involve at least two different sites in sequence. The pairings:
      • A tour of the Warren Alpert Medical School, along with a Superfund lab that focuses on complex environmental contaminant issues and a toxicology lab.
        • Two neuroscience labs: Karla Kaun’s uses the fruit fly to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms of reward, including in alcohol addiction. Chris Moore’s lab studies neocortical dynamics. Limited space available.
      • A visit to two gems at the Rhode Island School of Design (which shares College Hill with Brown). The RISD Nature Lab offers authentic natural history specimens to work from, and also fosters creative inquiry into design, ecology, and climate change through high-end microscopes, high-speed cameras, and other advanced imaging systems. The RISD Museum is a principal art museum for southeastern New England with an acclaimed collection and curatorial and research staff, and the tour will have a focus on academic research and interpretive strategies.
        • David Borton’s engineering/brain science lab, through BrainGate and other projects, is designing and deploying neurotechnology to better understand the nervous system and improve human lives. The YURT Virtual Reality Lab is a state-of-the-art theater used for research across disciplines. Limited space available.
    • A separate communication to come soon will give more details on sites and explain how you can give your preferences.

5:30 - 6:30 pm (optional): URMA Book Club discussion

    • When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, moderated by Laura Miller of UCLA. Light refreshments provided. We’ll be joined by some faculty members of Brown’s First Readings selection committee.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:30pm (optional): Group trip to the Boombox karaoke lounge downtown at Dean Hotel 

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn 

Friday, August 4

9 - 10 am: Lighting Fires

    • Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, an award-winning fire sculpture installation on the three rivers in downtown Providence. Since its start in 1994, WaterFire has been seen by millions of people in Providence, and has been credited with being a major force behind Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire has also been installed around the United States and Europe. Evans will talk about the creative process, research, and communication. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Brown. (Note: the next WaterFire is tomorrow, August 5).

10:15 - 11:30 am: Nuts and Bolts

    • Discussion of research communications issues, including continuing discussion of of URMA’s membership survey, with emcee John Toon of Georgia Tech.

11:30am-Noon: URMA business meeting

    • With URMA President Joe Kays of University of Florida presiding. 

Noon: Adjourn

Box lunch to be provided at Faculty Club; eat there or take it with you.


Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 1

8:30 am

    • Bus departs from Hampton Inn for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Lunch at Woods Hole

5 pm (approximate): Return to Hampton Inn

    • Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:15pm:

    • Leave Hampton Inn by hotel bus or other taxi/rideshare transport for optional trip to Ladd Observatory (1.5 miles from hotel)

8:30-9:45pm:

    • Tour the museum at Ladd Observatory (built in 1891). Take in the view through the main telescope and others to see sights including Jupiter and Saturn. If cloudy, the tour of museum will be held but there will be no viewing.

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

    • Meet old friends and make new ones.

 

Wednesday, August 2


9 am:

    • Conference welcome from Noel Rubinton of Brown University

9:15 - 10:30 am: Research Communication in the Time of Trump and Political Activism

    • In these unpredictable and hyper-partisan times, figuring out communication strategy and tactics is newly complicated and needs new approaches. Panelists are Geoffrey Supran, joint Harvard-MIT postdoc and environmental activist; Megan Ranney, Brown University emergency physician and researcher, who focuses on the intersection between digital health and injury prevention, and is a firearm injury prevention activist; and Timmons Roberts, Brown sociology professor affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and an environmental activist.

10:45am - Noon: Are There Two Sides to Every Issue?

    • Our presenter is Ken Miller, a senior Brown University biologist and leading science advocate who has participated in many debates about evolution and intelligent design.

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 - 3:15 pm: Using Data Well

    • With far greater access to data and much increased interest in its use, communicators face the challenge, and opportunity, of using it well. Panelists are four data experts: Neil Sarkar, director of the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics; Lucia Monge, operations and engagement coordinator of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nature Lab; Rafael Attias, senior critic, RISD; and Tom Sgouros, manager of the Brown University Virtual Reality Lab.

3:30 - 4:45 pm: Undark and Beyond

    • David Corcoran talks about his work in communicating about science, first in journalism as the longtime editor of Science Times at the New York Times and now as associate director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and senior editor of the unconventional online magazine Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.

5 - 7 pm: Conference Reception

    • At the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM). Includes drinks and appetizers.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8 - 11 pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

Thursday, August 3
9 - 9:30am: URMA Survey: The State of Our Art

    • URMA conducted a groundbreaking, comprehensive survey of its membership this year to get a better sense of best practices and industry practices. Catherine Zandonella of Princeton and Michelle Johnson University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who designed the survey with Louise Walsh of the University of Cambridge, will present the results.

9:30 - 10:15 am: Fire Hose Sessions

    • Presentations of 5 minutes (or less) from URMA members, on topics that include starting a new magazine, making a Facebook Live video, and creating a digital campaign.

10:30 - 11:45 am: The Power of Narrative Writing

    • Meera Subramanian, who is an award-winning journalist, former Knight Science fellow at MIT, and author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis, speaks about how narrative writing can make a crucial difference in translating science and other research-based subjects.

11:45 - 12:15pm (optional): Poster session of Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lunch on own on Thayer Street (near Film Festival site), restaurant suggestions to be provided

1 - 2:30 pm: URMA Research Film Festival

2:30 - 4:45 pm: Research lab visits

    • All tours will leave from the Avon Cinema lobby with a guide, at conclusion of film program
    • Each tour will involve at least two different sites in sequence. The pairings:
      • A tour of the Warren Alpert Medical School, along with a Superfund lab that focuses on complex environmental contaminant issues and a toxicology lab.
        • Two neuroscience labs: Karla Kaun’s uses the fruit fly to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms of reward, including in alcohol addiction. Chris Moore’s lab studies neocortical dynamics. Limited space available.
      • A visit to two gems at the Rhode Island School of Design (which shares College Hill with Brown). The RISD Nature Lab offers authentic natural history specimens to work from, and also fosters creative inquiry into design, ecology, and climate change through high-end microscopes, high-speed cameras, and other advanced imaging systems. The RISD Museum is a principal art museum for southeastern New England with an acclaimed collection and curatorial and research staff, and the tour will have a focus on academic research and interpretive strategies.
        • David Borton’s engineering/brain science lab, through BrainGate and other projects, is designing and deploying neurotechnology to better understand the nervous system and improve human lives. The YURT Virtual Reality Lab is a state-of-the-art theater used for research across disciplines. Limited space available.
    • A separate communication to come soon will give more details on sites and explain how you can give your preferences.

5:30 - 6:30 pm (optional): URMA Book Club discussion

    • When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, moderated by Laura Miller of UCLA. Light refreshments provided. We’ll be joined by some faculty members of Brown’s First Readings selection committee.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:30pm (optional): Group trip to the Boombox karaoke lounge downtown at Dean Hotel 

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn 

Friday, August 4

9 - 10 am: Lighting Fires

    • Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, an award-winning fire sculpture installation on the three rivers in downtown Providence. Since its start in 1994, WaterFire has been seen by millions of people in Providence, and has been credited with being a major force behind Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire has also been installed around the United States and Europe. Evans will talk about the creative process, research, and communication. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Brown. (Note: the next WaterFire is tomorrow, August 5).

10:15 - 11:30 am: Nuts and Bolts

    • Discussion of research communications issues, including continuing discussion of of URMA’s membership survey, with emcee John Toon of Georgia Tech.

11:30am-Noon: URMA business meeting

    • With URMA President Joe Kays of University of Florida presiding. 

Noon: Adjourn

Box lunch to be provided at Faculty Club; eat there or take it with you.


Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 1

8:30 am

    • Bus departs from Hampton Inn for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Lunch at Woods Hole

5 pm (approximate): Return to Hampton Inn

    • Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:15pm:

    • Leave Hampton Inn by hotel bus or other taxi/rideshare transport for optional trip to Ladd Observatory (1.5 miles from hotel)

8:30-9:45pm:

    • Tour the museum at Ladd Observatory (built in 1891). Take in the view through the main telescope and others to see sights including Jupiter and Saturn. If cloudy, the tour of museum will be held but there will be no viewing.

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

    • Meet old friends and make new ones.

 

Wednesday, August 2


9 am:

    • Conference welcome from Noel Rubinton of Brown University

9:15 - 10:30 am: Research Communication in the Time of Trump and Political Activism

    • In these unpredictable and hyper-partisan times, figuring out communication strategy and tactics is newly complicated and needs new approaches. Panelists are Geoffrey Supran, joint Harvard-MIT postdoc and environmental activist; Megan Ranney, Brown University emergency physician and researcher, who focuses on the intersection between digital health and injury prevention, and is a firearm injury prevention activist; and Timmons Roberts, Brown sociology professor affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and an environmental activist.

10:45am - Noon: Are There Two Sides to Every Issue?

    • Our presenter is Ken Miller, a senior Brown University biologist and leading science advocate who has participated in many debates about evolution and intelligent design.

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 - 3:15 pm: Using Data Well

    • With far greater access to data and much increased interest in its use, communicators face the challenge, and opportunity, of using it well. Panelists are four data experts: Neil Sarkar, director of the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics; Lucia Monge, operations and engagement coordinator of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nature Lab; Rafael Attias, senior critic, RISD; and Tom Sgouros, manager of the Brown University Virtual Reality Lab.

3:30 - 4:45 pm: Undark and Beyond

    • David Corcoran talks about his work in communicating about science, first in journalism as the longtime editor of Science Times at the New York Times and now as associate director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and senior editor of the unconventional online magazine Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.

5 - 7 pm: Conference Reception

    • At the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM). Includes drinks and appetizers.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8 - 11 pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

Thursday, August 3
9 - 9:30am: URMA Survey: The State of Our Art

    • URMA conducted a groundbreaking, comprehensive survey of its membership this year to get a better sense of best practices and industry practices. Catherine Zandonella of Princeton and Michelle Johnson University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who designed the survey with Louise Walsh of the University of Cambridge, will present the results.

9:30 - 10:15 am: Fire Hose Sessions

    • Presentations of 5 minutes (or less) from URMA members, on topics that include starting a new magazine, making a Facebook Live video, and creating a digital campaign.

10:30 - 11:45 am: The Power of Narrative Writing

    • Meera Subramanian, who is an award-winning journalist, former Knight Science fellow at MIT, and author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis, speaks about how narrative writing can make a crucial difference in translating science and other research-based subjects.

11:45 - 12:15pm (optional): Poster session of Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lunch on own on Thayer Street (near Film Festival site), restaurant suggestions to be provided

1 - 2:30 pm: URMA Research Film Festival

2:30 - 4:45 pm: Research lab visits

    • All tours will leave from the Avon Cinema lobby with a guide, at conclusion of film program
    • Each tour will involve at least two different sites in sequence. The pairings:
      • A tour of the Warren Alpert Medical School, along with a Superfund lab that focuses on complex environmental contaminant issues and a toxicology lab.
        • Two neuroscience labs: Karla Kaun’s uses the fruit fly to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms of reward, including in alcohol addiction. Chris Moore’s lab studies neocortical dynamics. Limited space available.
      • A visit to two gems at the Rhode Island School of Design (which shares College Hill with Brown). The RISD Nature Lab offers authentic natural history specimens to work from, and also fosters creative inquiry into design, ecology, and climate change through high-end microscopes, high-speed cameras, and other advanced imaging systems. The RISD Museum is a principal art museum for southeastern New England with an acclaimed collection and curatorial and research staff, and the tour will have a focus on academic research and interpretive strategies.
        • David Borton’s engineering/brain science lab, through BrainGate and other projects, is designing and deploying neurotechnology to better understand the nervous system and improve human lives. The YURT Virtual Reality Lab is a state-of-the-art theater used for research across disciplines. Limited space available.
    • A separate communication to come soon will give more details on sites and explain how you can give your preferences.

5:30 - 6:30 pm (optional): URMA Book Club discussion

    • When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, moderated by Laura Miller of UCLA. Light refreshments provided. We’ll be joined by some faculty members of Brown’s First Readings selection committee.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:30pm (optional): Group trip to the Boombox karaoke lounge downtown at Dean Hotel 

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn 

Friday, August 4

9 - 10 am: Lighting Fires

    • Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, an award-winning fire sculpture installation on the three rivers in downtown Providence. Since its start in 1994, WaterFire has been seen by millions of people in Providence, and has been credited with being a major force behind Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire has also been installed around the United States and Europe. Evans will talk about the creative process, research, and communication. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Brown. (Note: the next WaterFire is tomorrow, August 5).

10:15 - 11:30 am: Nuts and Bolts

    • Discussion of research communications issues, including continuing discussion of of URMA’s membership survey, with emcee John Toon of Georgia Tech.

11:30am-Noon: URMA business meeting

    • With URMA President Joe Kays of University of Florida presiding. 

Noon: Adjourn

Box lunch to be provided at Faculty Club; eat there or take it with you.


Conference Agenda

Tuesday, August 1

8:30 am

    • Bus departs from Hampton Inn for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
    • Lunch at Woods Hole

5 pm (approximate): Return to Hampton Inn

    • Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:15pm:

    • Leave Hampton Inn by hotel bus or other taxi/rideshare transport for optional trip to Ladd Observatory (1.5 miles from hotel)

8:30-9:45pm:

    • Tour the museum at Ladd Observatory (built in 1891). Take in the view through the main telescope and others to see sights including Jupiter and Saturn. If cloudy, the tour of museum will be held but there will be no viewing.

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

    • Meet old friends and make new ones.

 

Wednesday, August 2


9 am:

    • Conference welcome from Noel Rubinton of Brown University

9:15 - 10:30 am: Research Communication in the Time of Trump and Political Activism

    • In these unpredictable and hyper-partisan times, figuring out communication strategy and tactics is newly complicated and needs new approaches. Panelists are Geoffrey Supran, joint Harvard-MIT postdoc and environmental activist; Megan Ranney, Brown University emergency physician and researcher, who focuses on the intersection between digital health and injury prevention, and is a firearm injury prevention activist; and Timmons Roberts, Brown sociology professor affiliated with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, and an environmental activist.

10:45am - Noon: Are There Two Sides to Every Issue?

    • Our presenter is Ken Miller, a senior Brown University biologist and leading science advocate who has participated in many debates about evolution and intelligent design.

12:15 - 1:15 pm: Lunch

1:30 - 3:15 pm: Using Data Well

    • With far greater access to data and much increased interest in its use, communicators face the challenge, and opportunity, of using it well. Panelists are four data experts: Neil Sarkar, director of the Brown Center for Biomedical Informatics; Lucia Monge, operations and engagement coordinator of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Nature Lab; Rafael Attias, senior critic, RISD; and Tom Sgouros, manager of the Brown University Virtual Reality Lab.

3:30 - 4:45 pm: Undark and Beyond

    • David Corcoran talks about his work in communicating about science, first in journalism as the longtime editor of Science Times at the New York Times and now as associate director of the Knight Science Journalism program at MIT and senior editor of the unconventional online magazine Undark: Truth, Beauty, Science.

5 - 7 pm: Conference Reception

    • At the Institute for Computational and Experimental Research in Mathematics (ICERM). Includes drinks and appetizers.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8 - 11 pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn

Thursday, August 3
9 - 9:30am: URMA Survey: The State of Our Art

    • URMA conducted a groundbreaking, comprehensive survey of its membership this year to get a better sense of best practices and industry practices. Catherine Zandonella of Princeton and Michelle Johnson University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, who designed the survey with Louise Walsh of the University of Cambridge, will present the results.

9:30 - 10:15 am: Fire Hose Sessions

    • Presentations of 5 minutes (or less) from URMA members, on topics that include starting a new magazine, making a Facebook Live video, and creating a digital campaign.

10:30 - 11:45 am: The Power of Narrative Writing

    • Meera Subramanian, who is an award-winning journalist, former Knight Science fellow at MIT, and author of A River Runs Again: India’s Natural World in Crisis, speaks about how narrative writing can make a crucial difference in translating science and other research-based subjects.

11:45 - 12:15pm (optional): Poster session of Brown Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium

Lunch on own on Thayer Street (near Film Festival site), restaurant suggestions to be provided

1 - 2:30 pm: URMA Research Film Festival

2:30 - 4:45 pm: Research lab visits

    • All tours will leave from the Avon Cinema lobby with a guide, at conclusion of film program
    • Each tour will involve at least two different sites in sequence. The pairings:
      • A tour of the Warren Alpert Medical School, along with a Superfund lab that focuses on complex environmental contaminant issues and a toxicology lab.
        • Two neuroscience labs: Karla Kaun’s uses the fruit fly to understand the neural and molecular mechanisms of reward, including in alcohol addiction. Chris Moore’s lab studies neocortical dynamics. Limited space available.
      • A visit to two gems at the Rhode Island School of Design (which shares College Hill with Brown). The RISD Nature Lab offers authentic natural history specimens to work from, and also fosters creative inquiry into design, ecology, and climate change through high-end microscopes, high-speed cameras, and other advanced imaging systems. The RISD Museum is a principal art museum for southeastern New England with an acclaimed collection and curatorial and research staff, and the tour will have a focus on academic research and interpretive strategies.
        • David Borton’s engineering/brain science lab, through BrainGate and other projects, is designing and deploying neurotechnology to better understand the nervous system and improve human lives. The YURT Virtual Reality Lab is a state-of-the-art theater used for research across disciplines. Limited space available.
    • A separate communication to come soon will give more details on sites and explain how you can give your preferences.

5:30 - 6:30 pm (optional): URMA Book Club discussion

    • When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi, moderated by Laura Miller of UCLA. Light refreshments provided. We’ll be joined by some faculty members of Brown’s First Readings selection committee.

Dinner on own, restaurant suggestions to be provided

8:30pm (optional): Group trip to the Boombox karaoke lounge downtown at Dean Hotel 

8-11pm: Hospitality room at Hampton Inn 

Friday, August 4

9 - 10 am: Lighting Fires

    • Barnaby Evans is the creator of WaterFire, an award-winning fire sculpture installation on the three rivers in downtown Providence. Since its start in 1994, WaterFire has been seen by millions of people in Providence, and has been credited with being a major force behind Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire has also been installed around the United States and Europe. Evans will talk about the creative process, research, and communication. He received his bachelor’s degree in biology and environmental science from Brown. (Note: the next WaterFire is tomorrow, August 5).

10:15 - 11:30 am: Nuts and Bolts

    • Discussion of research communications issues, including continuing discussion of of URMA’s membership survey, with emcee John Toon of Georgia Tech.

11:30am-Noon: URMA business meeting

    • With URMA President Joe Kays of University of Florida presiding. 

Noon: Adjourn

Box lunch to be provided at Faculty Club; eat there or take it with you.