Thursday, Nov 14, 2013, 16:00
OSGA/E6
R. Wengenmayr
Abstract:
Human culture is based on communication. Those who do not communicate do not
exist in public perception. For sciences, communication with the society on a
popular level is therefore vital. First, important scientific results are most
relevant for our view of the world, since human beings are asking fundamental
questions about the world. This created science, so scientists have the pleasure
to give some deep answers – and to rise new, fascinating questions. But sciences
have also an obligation to communicate, since they want tax payers and others to
fund them. For a successful communication with a broad public, sciences, in particular
natural sciences, have to overcome two major barriers. One barrier is the complexity
and abstractness of scientific results. The other barrier is a highly specialized
expert’s language. This talk will deal with some basic techniques to improve
communication on a popular level.
Roland Wengenmayr studied physics in Darmstadt, Germany. He worked seven years
as a book and journals editor/manager at Wiley-VCH. Since 2001, he is a freelance
scientific journalist and editor of the German physics magazine “Physik in unserer
Zeit”. As a journalist, his topics include physics and related sciences, climate
research and meteorology, renewable energy and general energy conversion and storage
technologies. He writes for leading newspapers, including the Sunday issue of NZZ,
Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Der Tagesspiegel, and others. He also is
frequently contributing longer stories to MaxPlanckForschung/ MaxPlanckResearch, the
quarterly magazine of the German Max-Planck-Society. He produces brochures about science
and technology for a broad public, and co-edited some books. Sometimes, he is asked to
comment e.g. energy topics in the German TV channel phoenix.