Do you really want to know what your genes say; diamonds in science; and who is your science hero?

Here are my mid-week picks from National Science Week.

Today

• Who is your science hero and what does a maths choir sound like? – Melbourne, VIC
• Intelligent robotics: the rise of ease or the rise of the machines? – Curtin University, WA
• The League of Remarkable Women: discussion and exhibition – Acton, ACT
• Can ethics and psychology help with communicating climate change? A view from Princeton’s Melissa Lane – University of Sydney, NSW
• Milking tarantulas and getting retweeted by Obama: should scientists have to entertain as well as inform? – Dutton Park, QLD

Tomorrow

• Should science be sexy? With snake venom guru Bryan Grieg Fry and global change expert Ove Hoegh-Guldberg – South Brisbane, QLD
• Is fruit making you fat? – Mowbray, TAS
• Why diamonds are a scientist’s best friend – Adelaide, SA
• Let’s debate your prostate, with Bernie Hobbs and experts – Hobart, TAS
• Think before you leap: do you really want to know what your genes say? With Stanford University’s Kelly Ormond – Darlinghurst, NSW
• Skins, skeletons, birds and eggs: Australian National Wildlife Collection – Canberra, ACT

There’s more on all of these below.

And next Wednesday…

We’ll be announcing the winners of the 2015 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes. There’s finalists in every state – get in touch if you’d like to interview any of them. More below.

Kind regards,
Niall

Talking climate change with wine growers, and discovering the secret to seeing inside the human body

The winners of the 2015 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes will be announced on Wednesday 26 August.

The 49 finalists, from every state, have:

• Invented a low-temperature, low-pressure hydrogen storage that can power a motorised bicycle over 120km on a single, small canister, producing only water as a by-product. (Sydney)
• Discovered the secret to viewing processes within a patient’s living tissues: nanocrystals with precise, in-built timers that may allow real-time disease diagnosis. (Sydney and Adelaide)
• Engaged wine growers, foresters and farmers from Cape York to Canberra in on-the-farm research to see the effects of climate change on crop growth and quality. (Melbourne)

You can review all 49 finalists at australianmuseum.net.au/2015-finalists-eureka along with a short video for each entry.

It’s the Oscars of Australian science – no one knows if they’ve won until the envelope is opened on the night, but get in touch if you’d like to talk to any of the finalists before the award night.

Who is your science hero and what does a maths choir sound like? – Melbourne, VIC

Five scientists from different fields will tell the remarkable stories of the heroes of their field. They tell the tales of the tragedies and triumphs of the men and women who made science their passion and left legacies of ground-breaking discoveries that inspire the scientists of today.

Hear from astrophysicist Dr Katie Mack, theoretical particle physicist and all-round nice guy Dr Chris Lassig, pathologist and medical advisor for Doctor Blake Mysteries Dr Clare Hampson, neuroscience researcher and book worm Dr George Aranda and obstetrician Dr Teresa MacDonald.

The event will also feature a choir of mathematicians from the University of Melbourne and the stories illustrated with projections from Robert Jordan, whose work featured in the Gertrude Street Projection Festival. Live in the atmospheric location of St Michael’s Uniting Church.

Katie Mack, Chris Lassig, George Aranda and Clare Hampson are available for media interviews (but don’t get Clare started on Eurovision).

Wednesday 19 August Event details

Enquiries: Natalie Bedini, natalie@thelaborastory.com or 0420 908 096

Intelligent robotics: the rise of ease or the rise of the machines? – Curtin University, WA

Dr Raymond Sheh (Intelligent Robots Group) talks about how advances in intelligent robotics have brought with them considerable advantages as well as new challenges.
Raymond will lead the audience on a journey of Computer Science in Intelligent Robotics, through a series of vignettes that cover the recent past, current state and future challenges of this fascinating area.

The lecture will also cover the current work of the Intelligent Robots Group, including some initiatives that bring the research challenges of Intelligent Robots to high schools and the community.

Robots have been steadily moving into industry, research, emergency response and healthcare over the last few decades. In our daily lives, robotic toys, pets and vacuum cleaners, join robotic systems embedded in modern cars and smart buildings.

Thursday 20  August Event details

Dr Raymond Sheh is available for media interviews

Contact: Joanne Peckitt , j.peckitt@curtin.edu.au, 08 9266 4241 or 0401 103 373

The League of Remarkable Women: discussion and exhibition – Acton, ACT

A public discussion panel will meet on the 19th of August as part of the “League of Remarkable Women in Australian Science” exhibition, to give the public an opportunity to discuss what it means to be a woman in science in 2015.

Our panel of scientists, both men and women, will talk about their own experiences and discuss initiatives that could support better diversity and gender balance in research.

The forum will be chaired by Prof. Brian Schmidt and the Hon. Karen Andrews MP. Panellists include Prof John Evans (ANU), Dr Megan Hemming (CSIRO), Prof Elanor Huntington (ANU), Dr Sophie Lewis (ANU) and Dr Craig Wood (CSIRO).

Wednesday 19 August Event details

Enquiries: Anne-Sophie Dielen, Anne-Sophie.Dielen@anu.edu.au or 02 6125 4602

Can ethics and psychology help with communicating climate change? A view from Princeton’s Melissa Lane – University of Sydney, NSW

The field of climate change communication (CCC) has recently emerged to address the gap between scientific knowledge of climate change and public motivation to respond. Psychologists in this field have offered helpful strategies for improving the effectiveness of CCC, but their research tends to neglect the ethics of CCC.

Professor Melissa Lane, Professor of Politics from Princeton University explores communication within an ethical relationship between speaker and auditor, emphasising the agency and judgment of auditors, and highlighting ways to build trust. She describes how Aristotle offers an art of rhetoric that can help climate scientists communicate both ethically and effectively, and that more generally provides insights as to the relationship between expertise and democracy.

Wednesday 19 August Event details

Enquiries: sydney.ideas@sydney.edu.au or 02 9351 2943

Milking tarantulas and getting retweeted by Obama: should scientists have to entertain as well as inform? – Dutton Park, QLD

How difficult is it to communicate science and engage with the public in an era of mass entertainment? Is the public genuinely interested in science or just looking for a ‘show’; and does it matter so long as they stay interested?

In a “Talking [about] Science” event for National Science Week 2015, these questions and more will be tackled by our panel of experienced science communicators, with Emeritus Professor Peter Andrews AO as facilitator.

• Dr Maggie Hardy, Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, is passionate about bringing science to the public, as well as being a researcher in insecticide discovery with particular emphasis on compounds that could be used for biosecurity and in sustainable agriculture. Maggie also knows how to milk tarantulas.
• John Cook, Climate Communication Research Fellow for the Global Change Institute, has been studying the psychology of how to debunk science myths; and is the founder of ‘Skeptical Science’ website. John has also been retweeted by President Obama.
• Diana Zanfirache, PhD Candidate in Neurobiology at the School of Biomedical Sciences, juggles studies with her roles as a Young Science Ambassador for the Wonder of Science program, and CSIRO Scientists in Schools program, working with students around Queensland.
• Dr Geoff Garrett AO, Queensland Chief Scientist. Along with his many senior roles in science and academia, Geoff is a long-time, passionate advocate of good science communication. He is Queensland’s science ambassador and co-author of “Herding Cats – Being advice to aspiring academic and research leaders”.

Wednesday 19 August Event details

Enquiries: Gabrielle van Willigen, QldScience@qld.gov.au or 07 3170 5758

Should science be sexy? With snake venom guru Bryan Grieg Fry and global change expert Ove Hoegh-Guldberg – South Brisbane, QLD