The SciCom Interviews

By the graduate students of the
Science Communication Program
University of California, Santa Cruz

Editor: Robert Irion
Web production: Davide Castelvechi and
Andrea Michels
All interviews © 2009 by their authors

 

 

The SciCom Interviews AAAS 2008

Steve Benner, synthetic biologist
An iconoclastic scientist muses on the definition of "life" and how it can help us recognize aliens when we find them

Daniel Blumstein, conservation biologist
From the heights of the Rockies to the corridors of Washington, D.C., a marmot provocateur asks: How can we stay safe?

Marie Coppola, linguistic psychologist
The native user of sign language studies the inventive gestures of deaf Nicaraguan children to help decipher how the mind acquires language

Paul Davies, theoretical physicist
The noted author talks about the search for “alien” life on Earth, the origin of the universe, and taking science to the people

Robert Hearn, computer scientist
An artificial intelligence researcher discusses games computers can or can't play, and his goal to write software that thinks

Jeremy Jackson, marine ecologist
A notorious pessimist paints a dire picture of the future ocean, but offers reasons for hope based on citizenship and a new administration

Lisa Parr, comparative biologist
A chimpanzee enthusiast analyzes the facial expressions of our closest living relative and talks about why we’re not so different after all

Amy Street, clinical psychologist
A Veterans Affairs therapist studies posttraumatic stress disorder in the armed forces' growing female population

Ed Wasserman, comparative psychologist
As he explores how animals think, a cognitive crusader wants to bring the most arrogant species down a notch or two