Culture of Science

“We require a common culture in which science is an essential component.
Otherwise we shall never see the possibilities, either for evil or good.”

~ C.P. Snow

Culture of Science is a forum to explore all sorts of topics, but the primary focus is the interdisciplinary nature of understanding our world. For example, if we aspire to protect biodiversity, we must address social issues. Boosting fisheries requires economics. Tackling our tremendous energy problem involves a great deal of policy. That’s what this blog is all about: people, science, decision-making, and more. It’s where seemingly unrelated fields overlap, boundaries blur, and practical solutions are sought.

For those new to my writing, a bit of background: In graduate school at the University of Maine, I studied very charismatic sea cucumber while working with fishermen and the state government to implant sound management institutions. The following year I served as a legislative science fellow for Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) covering oceans, energy, and environmental policy. Next I moved to Durham, NC, to work on the science-policy nexus at Duke. That’s where I met my husband, David Lowry, who is an extraordinary evolutionary plant geneticist (I may be biased, but it’s also true). Now we’re both at the University of Texas at Austin where I’m a research scientist at the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy in The Webber Energy Group.

Somewhere along the way I started blogging, which eventually taught me a lot about writing. In 2009, Chris Mooney and I co-authored Unscientific America about the growing divide between science and the American public. The Science of Kissing came out earlier this year, which explores a near universal behavior through a variety of lenses from anthropology to neuroscience. And in the coming weeks, I’ll begin my science column at Bloomberg View. (For more information, you can read a full bio on my website).

In other words, I don’t quite fit into any traditional academic category, but reside in the space between science, policy, and culture. It’s from this vantage point that I develop ideas, and some of these make their way into the blogosphere where I’ve been contributing for five years. This blog has existed in some form at Scienceblogs, Discover, and Wired, but in 2011 I decided to host it independently.

I hope you’ll join me on this journey..