ComSciCon-Flagship Workshop 2023

Apply

The application for the 2023 flagship workshop can be found here. The deadline for the application was March 19, 2023 at 23:59 EST. A list of this year’s attendees can be found here.

The workshop will be in-person, hosted by Emerson College, and we cover all costs related to travel and housing.

A description of how we review applications can be found here.

Eligibility

Attendance at ComSciCon is limited to current (or recently graduated) graduate students in residence at US or Canadian institutions. International students who study at US and Canadian institutions are gladly welcomed. Recent graduates must have graduated no earlier than December 2022.

ComSciCon applications are competitive and we encourage applicants to prepare their responses with care.

Application, registration, and attendance at the workshop is free of charge for accepted applicants. Attendees to ComSciCon are required to complete pre-workshop requirements, and to attend the entire 3-day workshop.

We encourage women, minorities (minoritized identities), and members of the LGBTQIA+ communities to apply. ComSciCon is committed to diversity and equity, and encourages all people to apply to the conference. Accommodations can be provided upon request for people with disabilities. We will provide opportunities to request specific accommodations after the selection process for attendees is complete.

Pre-workshop Requirements

ComSciCon’s Flagship Workshop is a highly interactive and cooperative event. For instance, several of the sessions include group workshopping of already-developed science communication pieces.

All accepted attendees to ComSciCon 2023 are expected to complete the following in advance of attending the workshop. Keep checking back for additional details of each requirement. 

Create-A-Thon

Through the “Create-A-Thon”, ComSciCon attendees develop science communication pieces and workshop them extensively with fellow attendees and science communication experts. Many of these pieces are later published in major science communication outlets. We will be accepting additional submission formats this year (video, comic, podcast, other) in addition to written submissions.

Poster (Optional)

Poster sessions are an ideal way to share a science communication endeavour you’re involved with, and they are great opportunities to network and collaborate with other attendees. Many fantastic new projects and initiatives have sprouted from discussions begun at previous ComSciCon poster sessions.

Note that these posters should NOT be on your scientific research. They should be on a project, initiative, or organisation involving science outreach, advocacy, education, etc.

You can see examples of successful abstracts from 2016’s program here: http://comscicon.com/files/comscicon/files/comscicon2016_poster_abstracts.pdf.

Accepted abstracts will be notified by Monday June 12, 2023. Please note that there are no charges or fees for submitting or presenting a poster.

If your abstract is accepted, you will be given further instructions. You can present in any format/way you think is best (whether that is through videos, a traditional one-slide poster, multiple slides, or something completely different).

We encourage all ComSciCon 2023 attendees to apply for a poster slot!

Evaluation Surveys

ComSciCon is interested in learning more about how best to improve science communication training. We evaluate our performance through surveys before, immediately following, and 6-months after the workshop. 

Details : The pre-workshop survey will be available upon acceptance to ComSciCon 2023.

Program

Full PDF program

Schedule

Thursday (July 20th) 

8:30 – 9:00 am	Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 am	Welcome to ComSciCon Flagship 2023
9:30 – 11:30 am	Creative StorytellingKatie Slivensky, Sade Abiodun, Emily Costa
11:30 – 11:45 am	Break
11:45 am – 12:15 pm	Pop talks
12:15 – 1:15 pm	Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 pm	Making Moves through Alternative MediaAbbey Morris, Reyhaneh Maktoufi, Sebastian Rowe
2:45 – 3:15 pm	Break
3:15 – 5:15 pm	Data VisualizationSteven Geofrey
5:15 – 6:30 pm	Tangled Bank Studios Sponsored Panel & Video Showing:The Importance of Hope in SciCommRobin Nabi, Alex Duckles, Sara McAnulty
7:00-9:30	Sponsored Happy Hour and Banquet Dinner

Friday (July 21st )

8:30 – 9:00 am	Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 am	Pop Talks
9:30 – 11:00 am	Inclusivity in SciCommZakiya Whatley, Abbey Morris
11:00 – 11:15 am	Break
11:15 am – 12:15 pm	Poster Session I
12:15 – 1:15 pm	Lunch
1:15 – 2:15 pm	Poster Session II
2:15 – 4:15 pm	Create-a-Thon (Expert Review)
4:15 – 4:45 pm	Break
4:45 – 6:15 pm	K-12 SessionAllison Williams, Katherine Ziska, Ashley Huderson, Emily Pease
6:15 pm	Pizza Dinner

Saturday (July 22nd) 

8:30 – 9:00 am	Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 am	ComSciCon Info Session:How to Get Involved with Your Local Chapter
9:30 – 10:00 am	Pop Talks
10:00 – 11:30 am	Keynote LectureFrom the Cosmos to Colonoscopies: A Journey in Science JournalismNicholas St. Fleur
11:30 am – 12:30 pm	Create-a-Thon (Peer to Peer)
12:30 – 1:30 pm	Lunch
1:30 – 2:00 pm	Conclusion

Venue and Accommodation

The ComSciCon23 Flagship Workshop will be hosted at Emerson College in Boston, MA, July 20-22, 2023.

The primary event venue will be the Bill Bordy Theater (216 Tremont Street). Additional break-out spaces will be in the Little Building (80 Boylston St).

Organizing Committee

Program Commitee

Lauren Girouard-Hallam
PhD Student, Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville

Nicolas Scrutton Alvarado
PhD Candidate, Neurobiology, Northwestern University

Julie Fornaciari
Julie Fornaciari (she/her) recently graduated from University of California, Berkeley in chemical engineeringwith a focus on electrochemical…

Elena YH Lin
PhD Student, Biomedical Sciences, UC San Diego

Meredith Schmehl
Meredith Schmehl is a neuroscientist, science communicator, and science policy advocate.
meredithschmehl.com

Skyler Ware
Skyler Ware is a PhD candidate in chemistry at Caltech, where her research focuses on developing electrolytes for next-generation batteries, energy storage,…

Ralph White III
PhD Candidate, Pharmacology, University of Minnesota Medical School
Ralph White III (he/his/him) is a 6th year PhD candidate in the department of Pharmacology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

Logistics Committee

Lauren Girouard-Hallam
PhD Student, Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Louisville
Lauren Girouard-Hallam, MA, MS, (she/her) is a fourth year doctoral candidate at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. S

Olga Borodina
Olga is a Ph.D. student in Astronomy at Harvard University.
https://olgaborodina.github.io

Ana Carneiro
I am a fifth year Chemical Engineering PhD student at UC Berkeley in the Schaffer lab.

Ashley Hayden Monahan
Ashley is an avid science communicator and visualizer. Classically trained in art for over a decade, she made her transition to the sciences over six years ago…

Maryam Hussaini
Maryam is an Astronomy graduate student at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian

Nadia Lana
PhD Student, Cognitive Science of Language, McMaster University
Nadia is a second year PhD student in the Cognitive Science of Language program at McMaster University. Her MSc research explored effects of linguistic…

Gwenyth Lu
Gwenyth is a graduate student in Cognitive Science of Language at McMaster University.

Taissa Lytchenko
I started my higher education at Truckee Meadows Community College and finished my Bachelor’s in Psychology in May 2017, at the University of Nevada, Reno….

Victoria Russell
Outreach Coordinator, Center for Synthetic Organic Electrochemistry

Manasvi Verma
PhD Candidate, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Harvard University
https://manasviverma.notion.site

Code of Conduct

ComSciCon is committed to providing a safe, hospitable, and productive environment for everyone present, regardless of race or ethnicity, religion, ability, socioeconomic status, age, physical appearance, economic or professional status, country of origin, sex, gender or gender expression, or sexuality. A conference where people feel uncomfortable or threatened is not  productive, nor tolerable. Accordingly, ComSciCon prohibits intimidating, threatening, or harassing conduct during our conference and is committed to creating and maintaining a safe environment for everyone during the workshop. This policy applies to speakers, organizers, expert reviewers, and attendees, and by participating in ComSciCon, you agree to adhere to this policy.

ComSciCon expects that participants will:

• Be considerate and respectful to all community members.
• Refrain from demeaning, discriminatory, or harassing behavior, materials, and speech (more below).
• Speak up if they observe anything at an event that conflicts with this Code of Conduct. If you are being harassed or feel uncomfortable, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the ComSciCon organizing team immediately.

Unacceptable behavior from any community member will not be tolerated. Unacceptable behavior includes, but is not limited to:

• Intimidating, harassing, abusive, discriminatory, derogatory, or demeaning speech, materials, or conduct by any Participants of the event and related event activities. Many event venues are shared with members of the public; please be respectful to all patrons of these locations.
• Violence, threats of violence, or violent language directed against another person.
• Failure to obey any rules or regulations of the event venue.

Harassment of participants will not be tolerated in any form. Harassment includes:

• Offensive verbal or written comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age, religion, national origin, affinity group, etc.
• Viewing or sharing sexual images in public spaces.
• Deliberate or perceived intimidation, stalking, or following.
• Harassing or non consensual photography or recording.
• Sustained disruption of talks or other events.
• Inappropriate physical contact.
• Unwelcome sexual attention.
• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior.

Participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately. If a participant engages in harassing behavior, ComSciCon organizers will take any action they deem appropriate, ranging from a verbal warning to expulsion from the conference, to contacting local authorities.

ComSciCon organizers may take action to address any behavior disrupting the conference or making the environment hostile for any participants. We expect participants to follow these rules at all conference events and ComSciCon-related social activities.

If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the conference staff immediately at the designated confidential address: comscicon22-coc@comscicon.org. Organizers will be available to assist anyone experiencing unacceptable behaviour and will work to help you feel safe for the duration of the event. All reports will be held as confidential by ComSciCon event organizers.

We value your attendance, and want to make the conference experience as educational, productive, and fun as possible. 

COVID-19 Policy

Vaccination
All ComSciCon attendees, organizers, speakers and panelists must be current with COVID-19 vaccines or receive an approved medical or religious exemption in order to participate in the ComSciCon 2023 Flagship workshop. People who wish to receive an exemption should contact the organizing staff. A list of accepted COVID-19 vaccines can be found in the CDC guidelines. All participants are furthermore expected to follow all Emerson College policies.

Testing
All participants are required to take a Covid test within 48 hours before entering the workshop venue and dormitories for the first time. Participants will be asked to attest that they have received a negative result. ComSciCon will provide these tests to participants.

Masks
All participants are required to wear a N95, KN95, or FFp2 mask at all times when indoors. ComSciCon will provide KN95 masks to participants upon arrival.

Reporting symptoms
If at any time during the workshop, participants develop symptoms of COVID-19, they should isolate and get tested. The organizing staff will have additional rapid tests available for this occasion.

In case of a positive test
If a participant tests positive, they should isolate and inform an organizer as soon as possible. If a participant is experiencing symptoms and/or has tested positive, they will be given the option to attend ComSciCon workshop activities via Zoom.

Eating & drinking
Participants are encouraged to take their food and drink outdoors. If meals must be consumed indoors (e.g. in the event of bad weather), all windows will be opened and participants will be asked to only remove their masks when actively eating or drinking.