Dr Joan Leach, School of English, Media Studies and Art History

A UQ academic is studying the growth in professional science communicators specialising in explaining sometimes complicated research to the public.

Dr Joan Leach, from UQ’s School of English, Media Studies and Art History, said scientists not only have to make sure their research is accurate, but to trust another person to widely communicate it.

Her research has been recognised with an $55,000 UQ Foundation Research Excellence Award.

"An estimated 25,000 people around the world identify themselves as science communicators, with 900 in Australia," Dr Leach said.

"With fewer media outlets having specialised science writers, these communicators hold powerful positions as knowledge brokers for scientists and scientific institutions."

Dr Leach said Australia was a leader in the field of science communication, with the profession emerging from the CSIRO, where public engagement is a key issue.

She said Australian museums and universities were also internationally acclaimed for recognising the importance of communicating science.

"Scientists and governments worry about negative representations of science and that the public will reject science and technology," she said.
"Governments have assumed that if people know more about science and technology they will accept it more.

"The problem is that all the research to date suggests that, at best, this is only partly true. We need a different framework if science communicators are going to do their work properly."

• Dr Joan Leach www.uq.edu.au/uqresearchers/researcher/leachj.html

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