Commentary on events and politics surrounding science. All opinions are my own.
For Branch Magazine’s The Open Climate Issue (20m audio essay, transcript below) We were told that the Internet would “de-materialise” society and decrease energy use. Instead the opposite is true: the internet has quickly become one of the most carbon intensive information processing systems. The solution isn’t as simple as relying less on the internet or…
A summer fellowship at theLSI prepares Michigan under grads for the next leg of their STEM journey. This piece was written for UMich’s 2022 magazine. Read the full thing here! Jacquelyn Roberts knows firsthand the power of authentic research opportunities for young scientists. “It only takes a single experience to start building your research career,”…
Recently, I was asked to write a piece describing the “beauty of the Metaverse,” the augmented world through virtual reality. It’s arguably the next chapter of the internet and promises a new way to socialize and communicate with people around the world in a unique digital sphere. It’s made to be boundless, persistent, and immersive….
A year into the pandemic, much more is known about the coronavirus. In any study, especially scientific ones, it takes time to collect data, it takes time to collect samples, it takes time to run experiments, and it takes time to find the right and diverse sample size to have meaningful and representative data. However,…
“Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious. And however difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It matters that you don’t just give up.”…
Disney’s Fantasia as a Model for Science Communication Browsing the radio for tunes, the classical station that’s always playing is likely skipped. Even taking the broader meaning of this genre of music, the calculated rise and fall of complex and layered melodies of symphonies created throughout the centuries often times do not carry through the…
After the inauguration of president Trump, peaceful protest rallies were planned namely the March for Women to support women’s rights and the continuation of funding going to women’s health, and the March for Science to promote the role of scientific research in government policy. As a female scientist, it might surprise you to hear that…
Individuals against Recent Legislation Recent blackouts of government organizations like the Environmental Protection Agency by President Trump have lead to the rise of unofficial, yet well supported, agencies. This uprising against legislative decisions suggests a movement toward the rise of private organizations run by passionate individuals. Keywords: privatization, science funding, politics, environment, individualism. Photo by…
In my research of open access tools, I came across this feature called the Open Access Button. It is a web browser extension that, when you feed it a url of a paywalled article, it will try to find it for free somewhere else. This process is totally legal, since the papers were republished or…
The emergence — and explosion — of media has lead to an impressive amount of content being shared. While this has lead to some amazing things, with not only news traveling globally in nanoseconds but also open source initiatives, it has had some unforeseen and very unfortunate consequences in the realm of science. Namely, the…
