Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science
{{Short description|Organization to teach scientists to communicate with the public}}
{{Infobox organisation
| formation = {{start date and age|2009}}
| image = Melville Library.jpg
| caption = The Center is based at Stony Brook University's Melville Library
| formerly = Center for Communicating Science
| named_after = Alan Alda
| headquarters = Stony Brook, New York, U.S.
| key_people = Lauren Lindenfeld (director)
| parent_organization = School of Communication and Journalism at Stony Brook University
| website = {{URL|https://aldacenter.org/}}
}}
The Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science is a cross-disciplinary organization founded in 2009 within Stony Brook University's School of Communication and Journalism, in Stony Brook, New York.[https://aldacenter.org/ Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science] Its current director is Laura Lindenfeld. Its goal is to help scientists learn to communicate more effectively with the public, including policymakers, students, funders and the media. It was inspired by Alan Alda, the actor, writer and science advocate, in whose honor it was renamed in 2013, and is supported by Brookhaven National Laboratory and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.{{cite web|title=It was a SM*A*S*H of Science|url=http://sbpress.com/2010/10/it-was-a-s-mash-of-science/|work=October 1, 2010|date=2 October 2010 |publisher=Stony Brook Press|accessdate=4 March 2012}}
Programs
All Alda Center programs are based on the Alda Method, a form of communication training that blends improvisational theater exercises and message-design strategies. The Method helps scientists and researchers connect more directly with listeners and respond more spontaneously to their needs.{{cite news |last=Basken |first=Paul |url=http://chronicle.com/article/Alan-Alda-the-Actor-Is/138673/ |title=Actor Is Honored for Using Improv to Help Scientists Communicate |work=The Chronicle of Higher Education |date=2013-04-30 |accessdate=2015-09-02 }} By 2020 there had been 15,000 attendees at these improv workshops.{{Cite news |last=McCarthy |first=Ellen |date=2020-03-25 |title=Your Attention, Please |pages=C6 |work=The Leader-Post}}
In 2012, Alda and the Center issued the "Flame Challenge",{{cite web|url=http://flamechallenge.org/|title=Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science™|work=flamechallenge.org|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120906021547/http://flamechallenge.org/|archive-date= 2012-09-06}}{{Cite web |last=Mooney |first=Paul D. |date=2022-08-07 |title=The Flame Challenge {{!}} Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science |url=https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/alda-center/thelink/posts/The_Flame_Challenge.php |access-date=2022-08-21 |website=www.stonybrook.edu |language=en}}{{Citation |title=What is a Flame |first=Ben|last=Ames|url=https://vimeo.com/40271657 |language=en |access-date=2022-08-21}} asking scientists to come up with the best explanation for a flame for an intended audience of 11-year-olds.{{cite web|last=Parry|first=Wynne|title=Alan Alda seeking curious 11-year-old scientists|url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/46609095|date=2012-03-02|publisher=NBC News|accessdate=2012-03-04}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}{{cite web | url = https://www.npr.org/2012/03/23/149231680/alan-alda-asks-scientists-what-is-a-flame | title = Alan Alda Asks Scientists "What Is A Flame?" | accessdate = 2012-03-27 | date = 2012-03-23 | work = Science Friday | publisher = NPR}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Portal|Journalism|Science|United States}}
- {{official website}}
Category:Stony Brook University
Category:Brookhaven National Laboratory