The Story Collider presents: stories from UCONN scientists
This October, in Hartford, join us for an evening of true, personal stories about intellectual humility in science, in partnership with the University of Connecticut's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Public Discourse Project.
Hosted by Erin Barker and Zack Stovall. Doors open at 6:30 pm. Show begins at 7 pm. Tickets are now on sale at the link below!
Stories by:
Kevin R. Burgio is a US Air Force veteran, first-generation college student, and currently a postdoctoral researcher in Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut. He is collaborating with researchers from a variety of disciplines to create effective science communication training. When not working on science communication, his research focuses on using an integrative approach to understanding the ecology, biogeography, and extinction of parrot communities. His ultimate goal is to bridge the divide between ecological theory and on-the-ground conservation in order to make the best possible decisions not just for now, but for the future as well. He also advocates for inclusiveness in science and you can follow him on Twitter @KRBurgio.
Sridhar Duggirala is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering Department at University of Connecticut. His focus is in making software systems behave correctly, whenever possible. Occasionally, he dabbles in story writing and poetry.
Sarah Hird is an Assistant Professor in Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut. Her primary research interest is in how the microbiome has interacted with avian evolution. What role have microbes played in bird diversification and does this role differ from other major branches on the tree of life? She is also interested in how we can diversify and democratize the STEM fields and Academia. Dr. Hird holds a Master’s degree from the University of Idaho and a PhD from Louisiana State University. She was a Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of California Davis.
John Redden is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Neurobiology. His research focuses on understanding the molecular basis of cardiovascular diseases. He teaches human anatomy and physiology to pre-health majors, as well as a course in plain language science communication. Through his teaching, he pursues his other passions – improving science literacy among the general public, and building engaging, inclusive, and equitable STEM classrooms. He’s a first generation student with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacology and toxicology, and a Ph.D. in biomedical science. He currently serves as an education mentor for the HHMI/National Academies Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching, and is the lead author of Anatomy and Physiology in Context. John is originally from Buffalo, New York, the land of chicken wings, always winter, and generally nice people. He now lives in Connecticut with three dogs, three cats, and (thankfully), a robot vacuum cleaner. You can find him on twitter @reddenjm tweeting about science, highered, scifi, and diversity issues.
Margaret Rubega is a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut. She has spent her career studying a diverse array of birds, with a consistent interest in answering the questions: How Does That Work? and How Does it Matter? She started her career getting crapped on in a tern colony, then studied a bird that's famous for going in circles. Those formative experiences probably explain a lot about her subsequent career. She's always been especially interested in feeding in birds --- the way they're built, the mechanics, the food -- because a bird that isn't fed is a bird that's dead. As the Connecticut State Ornithologist, she's had to counsel a lot of homeowners about whether woodpeckers are eating their houses (they aren't), and talk to a lot of journalists. Hoping to get better at it, via the log-in-your-own-eye method, she has taught science communication and writing classes along with biology classes for the last 10 years. She currently leads an National Science Foundation-funded research group studying methods of training graduate science students to talk and write for non-scientists. You can find her on Twitter @profrubega chatting about birds with students and others in her #birdclass.