SMoCS
Issue
Science and Management of Contaminated Sites at Huxley College of the Environment
05
Apri l 2014
Newsletter of the Huxley SMoCS Courses
this issue SMoCS I and II 2014 P.1 Did You Tweet SMoCS? P.1 Student Perspectives, It all started with a lunchtime
Communicating Science: In a
meeting with two Ecology Public
Class? P.2
Information Officers. They were The People of SMoCS P.2
explaining to me (Ruth) how
Four Years of SMoCS at PNW-
important it is to reach out to the public with tools like Twitter. I
SETAC P.2
cringed at this thought, but at the same time an idea was born. I’m constantly looking for ways to help the SMoCS science students be better communicators and this
Photo Credit: Amberose Kelley
SMoCS I and II 2014
seemed like a useful and
We finished the 2014 Winter SMoCS classes in late March. Ruth Sofield and 15 forward several months and the science students continued the tradition of Spring 2014 SMoCS class learning about MTCA, remedial includes an assignment to Tweet. technologies, technical writing, and communication techniques with the help Now the students cringed AND moaned when they heard this, but and support of many guest lecturers. The student composition of the Winter class they are good sports and signed continues to change slightly; this year we up for a Twitter account; I did too. had one Chemistry major, twelve students Each student in the lab and finishing the environmental toxicology modeling groups is required to emphasis and three environmental science Tweet twice a week about their students with just a bit of toxicology under projects. If you are interested in their belt. interesting tool to use. Fast
following (and giving feedback),
We stayed in our back-yard for the case study in 2014. The Georgia Pacific (GP) West site, owned by the Port of We are using these hashtags: Bellingham, is a quick bike ride from campus. Brian Gouran, the Port of x The activated carbon lab experiment - #SMoCSAC Bellingham Environmental Site Manager, led a tour of the 74 acre site adjacent to the x The mycroremediation lab experiment Whatcom Waterway. The GP West Site is #SMoCSMyco uplands only, but challenged the students x The bioaccumulation when they developed their mock clean-up modeling project action plans with petroleum hydrocarbons, #SMoCSModel dioxins, furans, polycyclic aromatic x General - #SMoCS hydrocarbons (PAHs), volatile organic compounds, and metals that include The websites that identify the mercury in the groundwater and soil. advantages of tweeting include Another challenge for helping students this becoming a better writer. It year was that the Feasability Study (FS) makes sense – limited words was not complete for the Site yet; although broadcast to (potentially) the we do not let them see the proposed cleanworld; practicing concise up actions in the FS, there are often details presentation of technical that we can feed the students to help them with realistic numbers for their clean-up information to anyone who will listen has to improve these skills, calculations. Tried-and-true though, getting the students on the Site made all the right? Stay tuned to see what we difference in quickly advancing their conclude. (And yes, this is more understanding of the scope and than the tweet limit of 140 complexities of a cleanup like this and characters, but wait to see what I increased their excitement for what they can do in June when this were learning. (After the tour, I heard “that assignment is over!) was cool!”)
In the classroom, our guests included Tim Nord (Strategic Environmental Solutions, LLC), Ben Forson, Dawn Hooper, and Kathy Taylor (Ecology Toxics Cleanup Program), Steve Germiat (Aspect Consulting), Steve Thiele (Stoel Rives, LLP) Clay Patmont (Anchor QEA), and Darrell Phare, Tiffany Waters, and Fran Wilshusen (Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission). In addition to teaching technical content the guests helped students practice obtaining a business card (a mysterious and bewildering action for many prior to this), how to consider body language in small group discussions, and how a roundtable discussion works.
you can find me (RuthSofield)
and the nine tweeting students.
The students were also busy designing and proposing their group projects to be completed in the Spring SMoCS class. The projects that are moving forward in the Spring class include two laboratory studies, one computer modeling project, and three communications/outreach projects. In the lab, one group is investigating how environmental factors influence activated carbon as a remedial technology in sediment, while another is studying ways to enhance mycoremediation in soils. The modeling group is looking at PAH accumulation in Puget Sound mussels. The communications groups have been paired up with Rebekah Green’s environmental journalism students. These projects include two documentaries on emerging remedial technologies and changing regulations that affect MTCA, and a comic book focused on fate and transport of a toxic molecule. These classes would not be the same without your help and support. Thanks for making this a class that guides and excites our next generation of scientists in the world of MTCA.
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Communicating Science: In a Class?
The People of SMoCS:
~ Sara E. Anzalone
Amberose Kelley is the teaching assistant for the 2014 SMoCS classes. She is a senior emphasizing environmental toxicology in the Environmental Science department in Huxley College. She grew up in Tacoma, but has been in Bellingham since 2008.
As undergraduate science students, we are subject to stereotypes associated with our profession of choice. These include ideas about scientists such as a lack of communication skills or being socially inept. However, SMoCS blasts through these stereotypes and has shown us how being a scientist can also mean you understand how to communicate effectively. In SMoCS, we utilized multiple means of communication to portray our projects and other scientific information. Additionally, we learned how to communicate with others in our field, which is a huge asset in the professional world. SMoCS is unique as a science course because of the unexpected communication aspects integrated throughout the required coursework. These include poster sessions, presentations, and discussions with fellow classmates. During these activities, the emphasis has not only been on the technical material, but how well we are communicating it via our communication tool of choice. It became clear that as scientists, we must be able to communicate our work and communicate with stakeholders. SMoCS allowed us to practice the communication techniques every scientist should know how to use, but unfortunately often does not get the chance to learn in the classroom. Another important part of these classes is the exposure to professionals in our field, and learning how to communicate and socialize professionally. In reality, this experience allowed us to be a “step ahead of the game”, because many science students do not get the opportunity to practice with this until after their college career. Since SMoCS is designed to allow practice in this area, we get another skill to add to our list. Additionally, we get the opportunity to meet important professionals we may work with during our future careers and get to tap their brains for important and relevant career advice. Overall, SMoCS not only taught us about MTCA, but is an innovative class that has emphasized scientific communication. In the world we live in today, where communication techniques can be complicated and highly desired among professionals, knowing how to communicate scientific ideas can be crucial. I highly recommend this to any science student seeking vital professional communication experience.
~ Ruth Sofield
Amberose was a student in the 2013 SMoCS classes. Her group’s spring class project was the creation of a comic book focused on the complexities of public involvement in MTCA clean-ups. The comic book led to the creation of The Remediators, a group of mild-mannered scientists with superhero powers who use those powers to clean up sites contaminated by the arch villain Contaminon! Along the way, Amberose learned how to combine visual and narrative presentations to communicate technical ideas. (The comic book is available through the SMoCS website listed at the end of this newsletter). As a graduating senior, Amberose is completing her senior project using lichens as an indicator of air pollution. She also works part time in the Institute for Watershed Studies wet lab in Huxley College. Looking to diversify her skills after graduation, she is headed to Peru this summer as part of the American Science Climber Program where she’ll help scientists studying anthropogenic impacts on high alpine systems. The projects include investigations of climate change on water quality, grazing on plant communities, and may even include helping out with a field guide on the plants in the Huascaran National Park. It promises to be an interesting summer.
Four Years of SMoCS at PNW-SETAC ~ Ruth Sofield The Pacific Northwest Society of Environmental Toxicology (PNWSETAC) conference was held in late April. It was such a treat to realize that current and former students from all four years of SMoCS were at the conference. We were lucky enough to get a picture of almost everyone (9 current students and 8 former students were there). Contact us: Ruth Sofield: 360-650-2181 ruth.sofield@wwu.edu SMoCS Webpage http://faculty.wwu.edu/harperr3/SMoCS.shtml
Newsletter of Huxley College SMoCS, Issue 05, April 2014
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