Research

Science communication panel to discuss climate change

A panel discussion on October 28 will explore climate change and science communication. Credit: Brenna Buck / Penn StateCreative Commons

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A panel discussion on climate change and science communication will feature four Penn State researchers: Iliana Baums, Kristina Douglass, Michael Mann and Jessica Myrick. The online event, titled Communicating Climate in a Complex World, is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 28. The event is free and open to the public, but attendees must register.

The Penn State panelists will speak with David Malakoff, the deputy news editor of Science, and Nancy Baron, director of science outreach for COMPASS and panel moderator. They will discuss climate change and share their experiences of communicating climate messages to the media and other audiences.

Iliana Baums, professor of biology in the Eberly College of Science, studies marine evolution and ecology to guide coral reef conservation efforts. She investigates stress responses and population structure of cold water and warm water corals to understand their ability to adapt or acclimatize to environmental change. She develops tools for and advises managers and practitioners on coral conservation strategies. Baums is also the director of the Center for Marine Science and Technology at Penn State and a faculty scholar medal recipient.

Kristina Douglass is the Joyce and Doug Sherwin Early Career Professor in the Rock Ethics Institute and assistant professor of anthropology and African studies in the College of the Liberal Arts. She is an archaeologist who investigates human-environment interaction and the dynamic relationship between communities and their environment over time. In particular, Douglass focuses on culture change and continuity, subsistence strategies and mobility in contexts of resource scarcity, plant and animal extinctions and unpredictable climatic conditions. She is also a faculty member of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.

Michael Mann is a distinguished professor of atmospheric science in the College of Earth and Mineral Science. Mann is among the most recognized climate scientists in the world as an expert on climate modeling and human-caused climate change. He researches the long-term behavior of the climate system and its relationship with possible external influences of climate and the response of geophysical and ecological systems to climate variability and climate change scenarios. He has with joint appointments in the Department of Geosciences and the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute and is director of the Penn State Earth System Science Center.

Jessica Myrick, associate professor of media studies in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, studies the science of science communication. Her research examines the role of different emotions in shaping audience responses to health, science and environmental messages, including the role of popular culture media in shaping our attitudes and behaviors related to health, science, and the environment. She is part of the Bellisario College’s Science Communication Program and a faculty member of the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.

Communicating Climate in a Complex World is supported by the Institutes of Energy and the Environment as a part of its Science Communication program.

Last Updated October 12, 2020

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