The May/June 2013 issue of The Saturday Evening Post features a Q&A with renowned actor Alan Alda, discussing his work as a visiting professor at Stony Brook and founder of the University’s Center for Communicating Science (renamed the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science on April 24 at the Stars of Stony Brook Gala, where Alda was guest of honor). The Center is the first of its kind in the country, and its purpose is to train scientists to communicate more effectively with the public.
The article also talks about Alda’s creation of the Flame Challenge, an international contest that he began last year, in which scientists are challenged to explain complex concepts to 11-year-old children. He will present this year’s Flame Challenge winner at the 2013 World Science Festival, which will be held from May 29 to June 2 in New York City.
When Alda was asked how he became a visiting professor at Stony Brook, he responded, “So, in my travels, whenever I was at a university where they taught science, I would ask, did they think it would be possible to train scientists as communicators while they are training them as scientists? The only place in the country that really picked up on the idea was Stony Brook.”
Read the full article here.
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