ESA’s 2nd annual Science Cafe Prize — take your science out of the box
Have a science story you want to tell? Send in your pitch for our public pub talk at the Ecological Society’s 99th Annual Meeting this summer
Apply here
Contest deadline: Friday, 30 May 2014
De Vere’s Irish Pub, 217 E Street, Davis, CA 95616
At this year’s Annual Meeting in Sacramento, California, ESA is partnering with Professor of Chemistry Jared Shaw and the UC Davis Science Café series to present an informal public lecture (a “Science Café”) at de Vere’s Pub, in nearby Davis, California. De Vere’s is, according to local sources, a nice pub “with a proper ‘pub’ feel” and decent taps.
Davis is about 15 miles from the Sacramento Convention Center. (Why Davis: we decided to partner with an existing series rather than try advertise a stand-alone event. That series exists in Davis.) ESA will provide transportation for the speaker.
To choose a speaker, we are reprising our successful 2013 pitch contest.
Science Cafés typically have an informal atmosphere and often put you within arms-reach of your audience. You can expect an audience that is interested, but not necessarily knowledgeable about ecology. They often arrive ready to ask questions, but you can ask them questions, too! Discussion is a goal. Props and activities involving the audience usually go over well. And, if you wish, you can give your presentation with beverage in hand.
Same Data, Different Century. 2013 runner-up Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie photobombed herself in among some of her favorite 19th century naturalist ‘collaborators’ for her 2013 Science Cafe entry. Read her pitch here.
How to enter:
The contest has two parts.
- a 250-word pitch introducing your topic and expressing why the subject is important to you.
- an image that evokes your topic. Cartoons, collages, photographs, and screenshots of raw data are all eligible imagery (as long as you have permission to use them). We hope you surprise us.
Detailed instructions are on the contest page.
Download a pdf copy of the ESA2014 Café Prize instructions.
Soil erosion….or not. Lisa Schulte Moore won the inaugural ESA2013 Science Cafe Prize with her vision for change in modern agriculture based on ecological knowledge and experimentation. Read her pitch here. Photo, Dave Williams.
Resources:
- Lisa Schulte Moore’s winning entry for the 2013 Science Café
- What’s a Science Café, you ask?
Read Lisa’s essay, “Why I did a Science Café,” and learn about the movement and why you, too, might want to become an ambassador for science. - Caitlin McDonough MacKenzie’s excellent (and quite different) second place entry for 2013.
Award:
The winner of the 2014 Science Café Prize will present a one hour, interactive public lecture at de Vere’s Pub at 5:30 pm on Wednesday, August 13th, as a special guest of the monthly Davis Science Café. ESA will feature the winning pitch and honorable mentions here on Ecotone and on our homepage in the run up to the August meeting. ESA communications staff will stand the winner a beverage of choice at de Vere’s.
Eligibility:
You must be actively engaged in ecological research, registered for the ESA 2014 Annual Meeting, and be available to speak at the Davis Science Café from 5:00-7:00 pm on the evening of Wednesday, August 13th. You must be of legal drinking age.
Ecologists at all career stages are encouraged to apply.