Good for you, Mike! I’m looking forward to diving in (pun intended) and I applaud your willingness to share the wonders of science to broad audiences.
It is so important to the science community, and… I would expect nothing less of a marine biologist named “Gil.” :-) I’ll also share this announcement on our center’s Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/MichStateCSIS Best, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sue Nichols Assistant Director/Strategic communications Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability Michigan State University (517) 432-0206 CSIS homepage CSIS on Facebook @suegnic On Dec 7, 2015, at 12:49 PM, Mike Gil <[email protected]> wrote: > Dear colleagues, > > I just launched a mass science communication campaign, centered on my new > YouTube series "Confessions of a Marine Biologist". In my videos, I use humor > and storytelling (of real, sometimes ridiculous, events from the field) to > humanize science and show a diverse audience that science is vital, > enthralling and accessible to all. If you think my efforts are worth while, > please share my videos with students, colleagues, and friends and subscribe > to my channel -- maybe, together, we can inspire some people. > > My story: > I hated science as a kid--I found the scientific facts that I was forced to > regurgitate in school both boring and unrelatable. Growing up in a suburb > outside of Houston, Texas, I was removed from the real world of science. But > then, by chance, I found myself living on Lizard Island, Australia, spending > my summer studying the ecology of coral reefs. I thought "this is science?!". > > I've been doing science for 10 years now, and I just completed my PhD at the > University of Florida, studying the impacts of human activities on coral > reefs. I want my work, and environmental science in general, to influence the > actions of the public, to lead to a sustainable future. But I've come to the > realization that science is not enough -- many people, like those in my > conservative hometown (and like myself, previously), feel indifferent or even > negative toward science. These are the same people that love wild animals but > have not been exposed to the connection that science facilitates conservation > of these animals. > > Perhaps it is due to the countless dollars devoted by lobbyists to undermine > environmental science, or it is due to the countless number of distractions > every person now faces in the golden age of social media, but in my > estimation the process of science, in all of its utility and objective glory, > is kept secret from the public. It's time to get the secret out... > > Thus, we need mass science communication through art and entertainment to > show the 'non-choir' that science is not only non-political and immensely > useful (i.e., vital to our future), but it is awesome and accessible to > anyone, from any background. > > Help me build appreciation for science by sharing my videos and subscribing > to my YouTube channel. Read more about my efforts at my campaign website: > http://SciAll.org. > > All the best, > > Mike Gil, PhD > Department of Biology > University of Florida > Tel: (832) 377-MGIL (6445) > Email: [email protected] > Website (professional): http://mikegil.com/ > Website (outreach): http://sciall.org > Instagram: @sciallorg > Twitter: @sciallorg > YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/sciallorg > > "...And the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and > know the place for the first time." > -T.S. Eliot
