Welcome reception
- Time:
- Friday, November 1st, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm
- Location:
- Florida Museum of Natural History
The reception is a short walk from the hotel.
Check-in
- Time:
- Friday, November 1st, 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm
- Location:
- Hilton University of Florida Conference Center
UF Health Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute
- Time:
- Friday, November 1st, 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
- Location:
- Meet in hotel lobby; tours leave on the hour at 1 pm, 2 pm & 3 pm
D2) Starting new publications
- Time:
- Saturday, November 2nd, 3:45 pm to 5:00 pm
- Location:
- Century Ballroom C
- Speaker(s):
- David HarrisFounding editor-in-chief of Symmetry magazine, founder of the news/features/opinion section of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Bobbie JohnsonBobbie Johnson, co-founder of Matter magazine
- Catherine OwsikFounding editor-in-chief of Nerve magazine
- Evelyn StraussFounding co-editor of the Science of Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGE KE), founding executive director of Scientists Without Borders, and founding executive editor of the Multiple Sclerosis Discovery Forum
- Moderator(s):
- David HarrisFounding editor-in-chief of Symmetry magazine, founder of the news/features/opinion section of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- Organizer(s):
- David HarrisFounding editor-in-chief of Symmetry magazine, founder of the news/features/opinion section of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Even in the current climate, more magazines are starting each year than are closing and some new ventures are doing quite well. But what is involved in starting your own publication? What are some of the things you need to consider? In this Q&A session, panelists will describe what challenges they faced in beginning publications and how they surmounted them. There will be time for the panelists to give reactions to pitches for new publications and point out what they see as the challenges those proposals face. This session will be more suited for more experienced journalists, editors, PIOs and the newer but ambitious entrants into digital journalism.
C3) Show me the money
- Time:
- Saturday, November 2nd, 1:45 pm to 3:00 pm
- Location:
- Century Ballroom B
- Speaker(s):
- Charles Q. ChoiFreelance journalist
- Virginia HughesFreelance journalist
- Melinda Wenner MoyerFreelance journalist
- Moderator(s):
- Rose EvelethFreelance journalist
- Rachel NuwerFreelance journalist
- Organizer(s):
- Rose EvelethFreelance journalist
- Rachel NuwerFreelance journalist
Money. We want it. We need it. But when it comes up in conversation, everybody bows their heads and gets quiet. How much do people make? How do you ask for more? How do you find out who pays what? How little is too little? When do you work for free? Can you even make it as a freelance science journalist? Part tutorial, part ethnography, this session aims to get people actually talking about the bottom line. With insights from successful freelancers, and the results of our Show Me the Money 2013 Survey, this is the conversation about money you wish people were having.
D4) Rising above the noise: Using statistics-based reporting
- Time:
- Saturday, November 2nd, 3:45 pm to 5:00 pm
- Location:
- Century Ballroom A
- Speaker(s):
- Hilda BastianBlogger & editor, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at the National Institutes of Health
- Evelyn LambMathematician & writer, Scientific American
- Regina NuzzoFreelance journalist & associate professor of statistics, Gallaudet University
- John Allen PaulosAuthor & mathematics professor, Temple University
- Moderator(s):
- Kathleen RavenFreelance journalist, Reuters Health
- Organizer(s):
- Kathleen RavenFreelance journalist, Reuters Health
Science writers must produce written, audio or visual stories that capture and hold the attention of a reader/listener/viewer. With so much information just one “swipe” away, editors and consumers are demanding stories that stay fresh and relevant long after the initial post. The one-word solution to such predicaments? Statistics. In this session, science writers with deep backgrounds in mathematics will provide key takeaways attendees can use immediately to help their stories rise above the noise. The takeaways will include: necessary vocabulary for talking about statistics, a framework for understanding how numbers can be manipulated, a checklist to ensure quality data, and, not least, examples of stories built solidly with statistics. Statistics is not a “catch-phrase” for serious journalism. It is key for better reporting and better story-telling.
Awards Gala
- Time:
- Saturday, November 2nd, 6:30 pm to 10:00 pm
- Location:
- Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida (a short walk from the hotel; shuttle available)
Help us celebrate the winners of this year's Science in Society awards, the Victor Cohn Prize for Excellence in Medical Science Reporting, and the Evert Clark/Seth Payne award for Young Journalists. The awards will begin promptly at 7:00 in the theatre of the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art. Immediately following the ceremony, around 8:00, a buffet dinner will be served and the Museum will be open for exploration. A cash bar will be available throughout the evening. All attendees are invited to attend the gala at no cost. Dress is smart business casual.
A4) Online and offline tools for mastering your workflow
- Time:
- Saturday, November 2nd, 9:15 am to 10:30 am
- Location:
- Dogwood
- Speaker(s):
- Christie AschwandenManaging editor, The Open Notebook; freelance journalist
- Lee HotzScience writer, The Wall Street Journal; Distinguished Writer in Residence, NYU
- Maryn McKenna Author; contributing editor, Scientific American; blogger, wired.com
- Moderator(s):
- Seth MnookinCo-director, MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing; author and freelance journalist
- Organizer(s):
- Seth MnookinCo-director, MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing; author and freelance journalist
Science writers today have to juggle more projects (and more types of projects) than ever before. This panel will discuss a number of tools that can be used to create a fully integrated workflow. The goal of this panel is not to present audience members with one specific approach but to introduce them to various approaches that they may fashion into one that works best for them. We’ll be talking about PDF and database management, writing and outlining software, cloud-based note taking, and old-fashioned pen-and-ink tools.
This session will be live tweeted.
Crashing markets, power blackouts and sudden death: The physics of a networked world
- Time:
- Sunday, November 3rd, 9:30 am to 10:30 am
- Location:
- Century Ballroom B
- Speaker(s):
- H. Eugene StanleyWilliam Fairfield Warren distinguished professor; professor of physics, chemistry, biomedical engineering, and physiology; director, Center for Polymer Studies, Boston University
Massive power outages, global financial crashes and sudden death in the elderly are all startling and befuddling events. To Gene Stanley, they're unavoidable shocks in an interconnected world, where interdependencies between networks create dangerous vulnerabilities. Stanley and his colleagues have uncovered new laws that show why everyday fluctuations in one network can trigger abrupt failures across coupled networks. They've found that the rapid switching typical of financial networks produces features analogous to phase transitions in physics. Furthermore, market moves that economists call "rare events" turn out to have the same statistical properties as everyday fluctuations. Recently, the group has applied these principles to Google query data and found early warning signs of market changes.
For more information, see the CASW website.
Bursts of color on the tree of life: The turbulent evolution of flowers
- Time:
- Monday, November 4th, 3:45 pm to 4:30 pm
- Location:
- Century Ballroom A
- Speaker(s):
- Pam SoltisDistinguished professor; curator of molecular systematics and evolutionary genetics, University of Florida; Florida Museum of Natural History
- Doug SoltisDistinguished professor, Department of Biology, University of Florida
Even if your name is Rose or Daisy, to an evolutionary geneticist you’re a pale imitation of a flower. Flowering plants frequently go through whole-genome doubling and other radical events rare in the animal kingdom. The fossil and phylogenetic record of plants is full of bursts of speciation and radiation and turbulent periods of rapid evolutionary experimentation. As a result, a number of today’s crops and flowering species have large and remarkable toolkits allowing surprising adaptations. Doug and Pam Soltis are sequencing the complete genome of the oldest known flowering plant, Amborella, and have created synthetic tetraploids to observe genome dynamics in the lab. Combining phylogenetic information with herbarium records and ecological models, they are also collaborating to predict the adaptation of Florida’s flora to climate change.
For more information, see the CASW website.
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