The value of constraints is often overlooked and, today, we delve into the pros and cons with someone who followed his passion for astronomy despite the constraints of his visual impairment. Dr. Nicolas Bonne is an astronomer leading the Tactile Universe Public Engagement Project and is the Public Engagement and Outreach Fellow at the University of Portsmouth in the UK. In this episode, we learn how Dr. Bonne’s route to acquiring his Ph.D. inspired his focus on developing tactile astronomy-related resources to help blind and vision-impaired people engage with current topics. We discuss the translation aspect of communicating science, how visually impaired people learn, and the undeniable benefits of the availability of tactile resources. Tune in for another inspiring science conversation, spanning everything from communicating science through sound to the intrinsic role poetry and beauty play in our understanding of the universe.

Key Points From This Episode:

• The pros and cons of constraints.
• The Tactile Universe project Dr. Nicolas Bonne is currently working on.
• The defining moment that led Dr. Bonne to pursue astronomy.
• His journey of getting his astronomy Ph.D. with the constraints of his vision impairment.
• Examples of how he worked around the constraints.
• How blind or visually impaired people learn.
• How he got into the tactile communication of visual ideas.
• The impact the availability of tactile resources can have on visually impaired people.
• How Dr. Bonne relearned how to ask for help.
• The translation aspect of communicating science.
• How to discern between helpful and hindering constraints.
• The value of partnership.
• How Dr. Bonne’s difference affected his engagement with science.
• The incorporation of sound to communicate the science and detection of gravitational waves.
• The importance of tweaking analogies for visually impaired people.
• The role of beauty in science communications.
• Why poetry is so valuable to science.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Designing Science Conversation

Dr. Nicolas Bonne on Twitter

Tactile Universe

Falling Walls Foundation

SpacetimeLabs

Dust & Company

Nic DiPalma Creative

Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication

Fred Dust on Twitter

Nic DiPalma on Twitter

Arguably humanity’s greatest question in the realms of science, philosophy, and religion, is, “Are we alone in the universe?” Our guest today has committed his life to the investigation of the possibility of life and intelligence beyond Earth. Bill Diamond is the President and CEO of the SETI Institute and, in this episode, he takes us behind the scenes of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. We learn about technological signatures and the definitive sign of life that the discovery of a techno signature would imply. Bill explains the Drake Equation and the way it informs the research conducted by the SETI Institute, and fills us in on the true purpose of the SETI endeavor. We discuss the question of evidence when searching for something that might well be beyond the human imagination, and how AI is being used to detect otherwise undetectable evidence. Tune in for everything from the importance of multidisciplinary science and funding basic research to citizen science programs, UFOs, and more.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Fred Dust explains the notion of script spotting and the role of patterns in communication.
• Introducing Bill Diamond, President and CEO of the SETI Institute.
• A brief history of the SETI (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) endeavor.
• The purpose of the SETI Institute and the notion it’s founded on.
• What the Drake Equation is and why it’s a central part of SETI’s operations.
• Why the SETI Institute studies life on Earth in its search for extraterrestrial life.
• The wide range of potentially discoverable techno signatures.
• The true purpose of the SETI endeavor.
• The importance of basic scientific research.
• The origin of Silicon Valley.
• NASA’s three fundamental science questions.
• The unlikelihood that we are alone in the universe.
• The question of evidence in the mission to detect unknown life forms.
• How AI is being used to detect evidence that might otherwise go undetected.
• Why and how the SETI Institute embraces multidisciplinary science.
• Why the institute doesn’t concern itself with unidentified aerial phenomena.
• SETI’s partnership with the Girl Scouts.
• Existing and upcoming citizen science programs.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Designing Science Conversation

Bill Diamond

SETI Institute

SETI Institute on Instagram

CAMS

SpacetimeLabs

Dust & Company

Nic DiPalma Creative

Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication

Fred Dust on Twitter

Nic DiPalma on Twitter

There is nothing as equally unsettling and necessary as change, particularly in the world we live in today. Joining us to discuss the welcome changes in the fields of science and innovation, is the Director of Innovation at Howard University and member of the National Faculty of the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps program, Dr. Grant Warner. Dr. Warner opens up the conversation about failure as a signifier of change and shares his view on the mindset shift required in the academic world regarding failure. He provides insight into the military’s approach to innovation, explaining why it’s important to differentiate experimentation from institution. We touch on everything from helpful critique and human-centered pitches, to why we should be more concerned with the pathway problem, rather than the pipeline problem when it comes to facilitating black and brown scientists. Tune in to discover what it is that prevents us from seeing change and how we can become more astute in recognizing its imminence and significance.

Key Points From This Episode:

• Why change is the most pivotal piece of a conversation, prior to creation.
• Dr. Grant Warner’s origin story.
• How failure signifies change.
• Dr. Warner’s favorite failure.
• Helpful ways to give critique.
• Significant changes in the field of innovation in academia.
• The mindset shift required in the academic world around failure.
• The importance of differentiating experimentation from institution.
• The military’s approach to innovation.
• What prevents us from seeing change.
• How to recognize the imminence and significance of change.
• Customer pitches versus investor pitches.
• How pitches can change to be more human-centered.
• The pathway (as opposed to the pipeline) problem for black and brown scientists.
• The third reconstruction following the dual pandemic.

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Designing Science Conversation

Dr. Grant Warner

Dr. Grant Warner on LinkedIn

NSF’s Innovation Corps

SpacetimeLabs

Dust & Company

Nic DiPalma Creative

Making Conversation: Seven Essential Elements of Meaningful Communication

Fred Dust on Twitter

Nic DiPalma on Twitter