3.3 Prepare and present, orally and in writing, to scientists in other disciplines and audiences outside the sciences.
Translating scientific writing to those outside of the discipline or to those in other disciplines can be hard at times. Having to convert the terms you are used to and understand well into ways that most people can understand takes practice. At Longwood, I have had several experiences where I was able to practice this.
Death by Deodorant: Hidden Carcinogens in Cosmetics?
In sophomore seminar, I had to translate a literature review into a general audience paper. This had to be easily understood by anyone interested in reading it. I also presented this topic to my class in a presentation. Both of these forms of sharing information required me to ensure than anyone, no matter what their discipline was, could understand.
Analysis of heavy metal concentration and physicochemical parameters in honey
In my chemistry major, I have to present projects completely unrelated to biology. Although I am a double major, my interests lie more within the biology realm. In my chemical problem solving class, I had to present a talk about atomic absorption spectroscopy and anodic stripping voltammetry. I presented this as a biologist, providing a lot of biological background on my topic before delving into the chemistry. I think this both helped me communicate better, and it also made the presentation more interesting to the chemists.
Taming the Groundcherry: With Crispr, a Fussy Fruit Inches Toward the Supermarket
In my senior biology seminar class, I had to find a New York Times article to present to the class. My task was to read the article and the actual literature it was based on, then convert this into a ten-minute talk that anyone could understand. I talked about the fruit, groundcherries, being genetically modified by CRISPR. For those familiar, CRISPR is a very complex topic. I explained it in simple terms so that anyone could understand it easily. I did this by using analogies to help relate this very niche topic to things everyone can relate to and understand. This was a very fun project and gave me good practice speaking to a general audience.