Scientists, Journalists Team Up In UF/NASA Communications Alliance

September 16, 1998

GAINESVILLE —Think a manned trip to Mars is a great idea but tracking the migration patterns of monarch butterflies is a colossal waste of time and money? Everyone’s entitled to their own view, but some opinions may be misinformed.

NASA and the University of Florida are trying to remedy that problem with a new program aimed at improving how scientists and journalists communicate with each other and the public about the benefits of scientific research.

“Many are concerned that people will have less of a voice about things that impact their lives if they are unaware of choices or current findings,” said Debbie Treise, associate professor of advertising at UF and the lead researcher in the UF/NASA alliance.

UF’s College of Journalism and Communication is working with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center’s Space Sciences Laboratory in Huntsville, Ala., to develop ways to advance scientific knowledge among the general public.

Treise said scientists will talk to each other, but they have a social responsibility to advance communication beyond peer groups and that duty is being neglected.

“This partnership is about research and learning how people outside the peer community receive and use scientific information,” said John Horack, director of science communications at the Space Sciences Laboratory at Marshall. “For 30 years we’ve been great at advancing the state of knowledge, and it’s time we do just as good a job communicating those advancements and their importance to the national interest.”

The UF/NASA partnership, funded by a two-year grant from NASA, allowed Treise to conduct a survey of the National Association of Science Writers. The survey’s 510 respondents felt the biggest concern for science communication was the lack of science literacy and a low overall interest in science among students in all levels of school and the general public, Treise said.

By fall 1999, the College of Journalism and Communication plans to offer a specialization in science and health communications within its existing master’s of communications degree, said John Wright, assistant dean of graduate studies at the college.

“The UF master’s specialization is not just for journalists but for scientists as well,” said Treise. The acceptance of scientists into the program makes it unique among similar programs at other universities. She said one focus will be on national and state policy issues surrounding science communication. The program hopes to produce scientists, public affairs officers, public information officers and journalists who are savvy in science and communications.

The alliance also has created a science communication workgroup of 12 people across the country who are involved in the sciences and media. The group meets about four times a year, most recently in June, to discuss science communication and how to disseminate information to others.

“NASA scientists have a primary responsibility to not only advance the state of knowledge, but also to communicate that advancement to many different audiences,” said Horack. “If all we do is acquire knowledge and it sits on the shelf of a library, we haven’t done our job.”