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2020–2021 GSA SCIENCE COMMUNICATION FELLOWSHIP WRAP-UP

Communicating about the

Geosciences during a Pandemic

Becca Dzombak, science writer; Ph.D., hidden magma bodies and why we get earthquakes. Speaking with
Earth & Environmental Sciences that range of geologists was enjoyable, and I felt like I came away
from each interview having learned something new. Interviewing
When COVID-19 shut down offices back in early-career geoscientists who were eager to share their work was
March of 2020, I was gearing up for my final particularly rewarding, as I found their energy and excitement about
year of graduate school and weighing my their science to be contagious.
options about what to do next. The pandemic The GSA 2020 Connects Online meeting provided an opportu-
threw a wrench into all my plans. As I packed nity for me to highlight issues around diversity, equity, and inclu-
up my desk and turned off the lights in the lab, sion in the geosciences, in addition to covering some of the excel-
I had no idea what the next year would bring. lent research presented there and working with the previous
Four months later, I was elated to hear that I had been selected Fellows. I contributed two reported blog pieces, one on Indigenous
as the Science Communication Fellow for the Geological Society perspectives in geoscience education and one on queer inclusivity
of America. As a geology graduate student, I had already received in geology, both of which were extremely rewarding to write. The
GSA grants that sent me to collect ancient soils and modern bio- geosciences remain (in many ways) one of the least diverse fields,
logical soil crusts in the southwestern U.S., and half of my pint but I have been gratified to see important conversations around
glasses sport logos from years of attending GSA meetings. Over inclusion and accessibility continue over the past year.
the previous year or so, I had dipped a toe into science writing, I was also able to highlight diverse, early-career voices in geo-
feeling pulled to connect my research world with the public. Now, sciences by helping GSA research grant recipients craft their own
as the Science Communication Fellow, I had an opportunity to science stories. I worked with the GSA research grants team to
work on the media side of geology. solicit interested awardees, then met with them one-on-one to dis-
Bringing two of my passions—communications and geology— cuss their research and find compelling narratives. As many of us
together in this fellowship has been such a gratifying and founda- have become accustomed to collaborating remotely, the back-and-
tional experience. Because I was still a graduate student, I bal- forth process of editing was smooth. I found myself looking for-
anced my time between finishing my research and diving into ward to those meetings and editing sessions more and more as I
the world of science writing. In choosing what to cover in a press got to know the authors. A few of these have been posted to GSA’s
release, I’d pore over lists of abstracts, highlighting a few I thought Speaking of Geoscience blog so far, and keep your eyes peeled for
would be newsworthy—which would I want to read about in the a few more in the months to come!
news? Working with Justin Samuel and Christa Stratton to hone Serving as the 2020–2021 Science Communication Fellow has
those instincts and find compelling angles was like putting given me the room to grow as a science writer during a challeng-
together a puzzle: satisfying for the final pieces to fall into place ing year—both because of the pandemic and because the last year
and see how it all came together. in a Ph.D. is always tough. I am coming away from this experience
I reveled in exploring topics outside the narrow niche of my dis- with more skills and confidence than I had one year ago, and I
sertation research. In ten months, I covered everything from micro- cannot recommend the fellowship highly enough for anyone who
plastics in karst and the risks of per-/polyfluoroalkyl substances to cares about the public face geology shows the world.

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22 GSA Today | August 2021