Communications Workshop Inspires Scientific Publication

 

 
Mandar Dewoolkar, PhD, PE, FASCE, a Professor and Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Vermont and member of the BREE Ecological Systems Team, recently published a study examining the depiction and portrayal of engineers and engineering in US broadcast network television evening news. The study, "Portrayal of Engineers and Engineering in US Broadcast Network Television Evening News Media," was published in the Journal of Civil Engineering Education. Inspired by the Alan Alda Communicating Science Workshop that Dr. Dewoolkar attended, the research appears to be the first of its kind where portrayal and depiction of engineers and engineering in television news media was analyzed.
 
Vermont EPSCoR hosts an annual Communicating Science Workshop with the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stonybrook University. The workshops use group writing and improvisational training exercises to strengthen communication skills that assist scientists in conveying their research to broad audiences. Dr. Dewoolkar collaborated with Shakuntala Rao, PhD, a Professor in the Department of Communications at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Plattsburgh on the study. The analysis presented in the paper reveals a near absence of engineers and engineering in the news media analyzed. To see the paper, please visit https://ascelibrary.org/doi/10.1061/%28ASCE%29EI.2643-9115.0000040.
 
For more information about the Alan Alda Communicating Science Workshop, visit https://aldacenter.org/professional-development/index.php.