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GSA SCIENCE COMMUNICATION FELLOW REPORT
Incorporating New Media into

Geoscience Communication

As a creative outlet throughout much of I was able to write press releases that highlighted a broad range
my undergraduate and graduate studies, I of research topics including environmental justice in dam removal,
spent a lot of my free time making educa- updates from the Perseverance rover on Mars, glacial advances in
tional geology content on sites like Tumblr Greenland, and new trilobite fossil discoveries. Writing each press
and YouTube. Whether a blog post on an release tested my translational and communication skills, as each
awesome feature I got to see on a class field branch and discipline within the geosciences has their own specific
trip or a video detailing the geologic setting jargon and lingo. As a geoscience communicator, you need to be
of the Walt Disney World Resort, I loved able to understand and navigate the science itself, but also know
sharing my excitement for and knowledge of how to translate it from the scientific jargon that makes it inacces-
Emily Zawacki the geosciences with others. sible for many people to language that can easily be understood.
During the GSA 2019 annual meeting in As my background in science communication has largely been
Phoenix, Arizona, USA, I was fortunate enough to participate in rooted in new media and social media platforms, I created accom-
GSA’s Science Communication Internship Program, where we panying ~90-second TikTok videos for six of the press releases I
interviewed two presenters and compiled a summary of their work wrote. While TikTok still largely has the stigma of being a “dance
suitable for non-technical audiences. I created two pieces, one app” for Gen Z, in reality, TikTok is home to an abundance of edu-
written piece on ancient oases in the Sahara Desert that was pub- cational content and has an extremely large and diverse audience
lished on GSA’s Speaking of Geoscience blog and a video on earth base. By making corresponding TikTok videos, the geoscience
fissures that was posted to GSA’s YouTube channel. With this research could be directly shared with an even broader audience.
experience, I was able to start to see how I could translate my As well, I created a TikTok video during GSA Connects 2021 in
hobby for science communication into a possible career path. Portland, Oregon, USA, to highlight and show what it’s like to
Toward the end of completing my Ph.D. in geology, it became attend a scientific conference, because that experience is unfamil-
more clear that my passions were less in pursuing my own research iar to many outside the scientific research community.
questions and more so in sharing and communicating geoscience Creating geoscience videos on TikTok allows science communi-
research and discoveries with others. I was beyond elated when I cators to be presented in an approachable and relatable way, which
was selected as the 2021–2022 Science Communication Fellow for is helpful in improving the public perception of science and com-
GSA. I have been presenting my own research at GSA meetings for bating scientific misunderstanding and misinformation. By incor-
the better part of a decade, and it was a thrill and an honor to work porating new media into geoscience communication, I hope to
with an organization that is central in the careers of so many geosci- increase the accessibility and visibility of the geosciences. The
entists like myself. geosciences still remain one of the least diverse STEM fields, but
During my 10-month tenure as the Science Communication capitalizing on communication through new media provides a
Fellow, my role has been to develop monthly press releases featur- means to bring in and inspire a new wave of geoscientists.
ing new, newsworthy research from GSA’s premier journals and The GSA Science Communication Fellowship has afforded me
GSA Connects. Developing a press release first involved scanning the opportunity to hone my skills as a professional science com-
hundreds of abstracts and working with GSA’s communications municator, mixing traditional writing with multimedia products.
staff to identify ones that were exceptionally notable and would It has been a pleasure to work with Justin Samuel, as well as
intrigue the public. I then interviewed the research scientists and Christa Stratton and the rest of the GSA staff, and I look forward
worked to translate their research into plain language, emphasiz- to seeing the work that the next Fellow contributes.
ing the broad implications of their research.

22 GSA TODAY | August 2022