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Rapid Ripple Bugs — The Bhamla Lab

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · 21d

As a researcher, @stevenstrogatz.com sees #math everywhere — around us and inside us. 👀 ♾️

Read about his love of #mathematics, where it shows up in his everyday life, and what sparked his efforts to communicate about it: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/08... #scicomm

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SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Sep 8

Ripple bugs are aquatic insects about the size of a grain of rice, and it turns out that they can surf! 🦟🏄

A recent discovery by team @bhamlalab.bsky.social ‬found that these insects harness tiny fans to surf streams and glide across fast-flowing water.

More at: bhamla.gatech.edu/project-blog...

How insects harness tIny fans to surf turbulent streams

bhamla.gatech.edu

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Reposted by SciComm Excellence

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine @nationalacademies.org · Aug 28

2023 @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org winner Steven Strogatz sees #math everywhere, around us and inside us.

Read about his love of #mathematics, where it shows up in his everyday life, and what sparked his #ScienceCommunication efforts in our new interview: buff.ly/YBsXz4Z

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SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Aug 26

From hip-hop inspired podcasts to science comics, new media storytelling can make complex topics in science not only accessible, but unforgettable.

Award-winning sci-commers discuss how creative storytelling across mediums can engage different audiences.

Watch here: youtu.be/Sff1WpZnkm8 #scicomm

Using New Media to Tell Science Stories

Local Journalism: Where Change Begins in Our Communities

Reposted by SciComm Excellence

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine @nationalacademies.org · Aug 22

In a new interview, we asked 2024 @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org winner @andyluttrell.bsky.social about #SocialScience, what sparked his #ScienceCommunication efforts, and lessons from his Opinion Science podcast.

Read: buff.ly/DmpCDZx

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SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Aug 21

@andyluttrell.bsky.social is a social psychologist studying people’s opinions and how they change.

We asked Andy about social science, what sparked his efforts to communicate about it, and lessons from his podcast, Opinion Science.

Read the full interview: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/08...

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SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Aug 14

From clean water to air pollution, local journalism connects people to the issues that shape their lives.

@ycabreraoc.bsky.social and Fredrick Mugira reflect on the importance of local journalism and covering local issues like pollution and public health.

Watch here: youtu.be/Pgol5CuWIeg #scicomm

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 23

@zacksavitsky.bsky.social writes stories about our evolving understanding of the universe and our place within it. 🪐

His reporting across multiple continents follows researchers seeking answers to humanity's deepest questions. He shared a few of his #BTS moments with us. #scicomm

Photographing a biologist in the Atacama Desert digging for microbes in the dirt. He travelled to Chile for this story in Quanta magazine about the origins of life on Earth and stayed in a research log cabin alone with the spiders and stars.

Inside the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory with NASA scientists as they (intentionally) smashed their spacecraft into an asteroid named Dimorphos Zack was covering this story about NASA's DART mission for Science magazine. Pictured here with Robin George Andrews, a science journalist who recently wrote a book about asteroid-deflection (which featured a chapter about them sneaking into this private event).

Entering a clean room at the Vienna University of Technology to watch physicists forge ultra-pure, hair-thin samples of mysterious metals for a feature in Science magazine.

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 22

@migueldobrich.bsky.social is a journalist, educator, and digital entrepreneur based in Uruguay. He's also the CEO and Editor-in-chief of Amenaza Roboto, a science and technology news website that hosts Uruguay's only data and climate journalism vertical. He shared a few of his #BTS moments with us.

In the field, collaborating with drone pilots from the Aerospace Remote Sensing Service of the Uruguayan Air Force (SSRA) and geologists from the Technological University of Uruguay (UTEC).

The moment he was informed that he won an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communication while working in Greece.

Sharing Amenaza Roboto’s open data methodology with data journalists from The Asahi Shimbun in Tokyo.

At the iMEdD International Journalism Forum 2024, Athens, Greece, sharing the open-data methodology he uses with journalists from all over the world.

Doctor, Storyteller, Explorer: The Incredible Journey of Sapna Parikh

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 21

@sapnaparikh.bsky.social is an award-winning journalist, artist, environmentalist, and visual storyteller with an incredible journey into #scicomm. 🎤📸

Learn more about Sapna and her path to science communication: youtu.be/35iwptmGCY4 #explorer #medicine #journalism

Communicating Science for Better Health Outcomes: Meeting Communities Where They Are

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 18

To build healthier communities, scientists and science communicators have to meet people where they are.

#scicomm award winners Calvin Mackie, Janina Jeff, and Elijah Yetter-Bowman share why communication is the cornerstone of better health outcomes.

Watch here: youtu.be/vL0U_o9WY7E #publichealth

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 14

Applications are open for the New Voices Program 2026–2028 cohort!

Join a network of mid-career STEM leaders at the @nationalacademies.org tackling national and global challenges.

📅 Application Deadline: September 3, 2025
🔗 Learn more: www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/new...

#NewVoices #scipol

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 14

Check out @andyluttrell.bsky.social's interview with fellow #scicomm awardee @alexdainis.bsky.social for his SciComm Summer series of the Opinion Science podcast!

Andy Luttrell @andyluttrell.bsky.social · Jul 14

This week on #SciCommSummer, @alexdainis.bsky.social shares how she avoided picking between her passions for science & filmmaking, making great online science videos.

Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/3pIH...
Web: opinionsciencepodcast.com/episode/alex...

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SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 10

Are you a grad student or early-career STEM professional interested in learning about careers in science policy?

Apply today for the 2026 #MirzayanFellowship at @nationalacademies.org, held March 2 – May 22, 2026!

Learn more and apply by August 20, 2025: mirzayanfellow.nas.edu

How The Physical Sciences Shape Your Everyday Life

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 9

⚛️ The physical sciences are part of everything we experience — from the forces that let us walk upright to the energy that powers our phones.

@stevenstrogatz.com, @bhamlalab.bsky.social, and Janina Jeff discuss how the physical sciences shape our daily lives.

Watch here: youtu.be/sKeNfJTMb-Y

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 8

Fredrick Mugira is the founder of Water Journalists Africa, a group that brings together journalists in 50 African countries to report on water conservation. He has reported on water, climate change, and wildlife for over 18 years, and he shared a few of his #BTS moments with us. 📸 🛶 #scicomm

Fishers in the River Nile. Fredrick concentrates on storytelling about waterways such as the River Nile, the longest river in the world.

Fredrick investigating the effects of plastic waste on water bodies in Africa.

From a project focused on the beauty of lichens. Through photography in various environments, Fredrick isolates the lichens by removing their backgrounds, visually transforming them into delicate, flower-like structures. This project aims to underscore the importance of lichens for maintaining biodiversity, ecosystem health, and potential human benefits.

Reporting on plastic pollution in River Rwizi in Mbarara.

🌱 Science belongs everywhere — starting in your own neighborhood

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jul 3

🌱 Science belongs everywhere, and one of the best places to bring it to life is in your own neighborhood.

Xavier Cortada, Calvin Mackie, @ycabreraoc.bsky.social‬, and Eli Yetter-Bowman discuss how #scicomm engagement starts by listening and meeting communities where they are.

youtu.be/8BciEwKZd6E

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Reposted by SciComm Excellence

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine @nationalacademies.org · Jul 3

The main work of the National Academies is conducted through our rigorous study process, but we are also committed to engaging the public through programs like our @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org and @labx.org.

Learn about our engagement activities: buff.ly/JqNzLi0

Making Math Fun and Fabulous with Drag Queen Kyne Santos

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jun 27

2024 award winner @onlinekyne.bsky.social is a drag queen and math communicator who makes educational videos on social media about math, science, history, and drag. 👑 ♾️

Watch here to learn more about Kyne and the hidden intersections of math and drag: youtu.be/ttMdJvG-P54 #scicomm #math

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jun 26

@alecluhn.bsky.social ‬, a climate journalist who’s covered everything from wildfires, droughts, and oil spills to melting glaciers and a polar bear “invasion,” shares a few of his #BTS moments! 🧊🥾

Learn more about Alec: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel... #scicomm #journalism #climate

Riding a Soviet-made helicopter to report on indigenous reindeer herders in the Russian Arctic

Posing with a 10,000-year-old woolly mammoth head that was preserved in permafrost. As the permafrost thaws, people in Siberia are illegally hunting mammoth tusks to sell to Chinese ivory carvers

Packrafting 100 miles down the Salmon River with scientists to figure out why Alaskan rivers are turning orange and acidic

Taking a snowmobile to get to where researchers are trying to artificially thicken sea ice in the Northwest Passage in Canada

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jun 18

As a gifted science communicator, Grace Huckins — a lecturer and award-winning science writer — covers neuroscience, AI, chronic illness, and other topics at the intersection of science, philosophy, and society.

Learn more: www.nationalacademies.org/news/2025/06... #scicomm #neuroscience #AI

SciComm Excellence @scicommexcellence.nationalacademies.org · Jun 11

@rudymolinek.bsky.social, a geologist, science journalist, and audio producer shares a few of his #BTS moments producing the podcast "Under Our Feet!" 👣 🪨

Learn more about Rudy: www.nationalacademies.org/awards/excel... #scicomm #podcast #geology

Giving a public talk on the geologic and glacial history of the Lake Superior region, while on a ridge overlooking the lake and some outstanding fall colors

Behind-the-scenes of Rudy’s set-up to record an episode of Tiny Matters with Sam Jones, a fellow scicomm awards winner (appropriating what will very soon become Rudy’s baby’s room and changing table!)

Visiting Blanche the gorilla at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History for a story about museum taxidermy in Smithsonian Magazine