By Felicia Spencer
Are cows afraid of the dark? Are bees OK with weed killer? Do mothers really know best?
These are only a few of the research topics that were explained as 30 Virginia Tech graduate students compete for $500 in professional development funding in this year’s Nutshell Games.
For the seventh year, the annual event will task students with presenting their research projects using everyday language and a prop in just 90 seconds. A panel of seven judges from the university and surrounding community will evaluate their presentations and award five winners. All participants receive a participation certificate and professional-quality video recording of their talk.
The Nutshell Games are one of the signature events of the Center for Communicating Science. In its sixth year, the center provides experiential learning opportunities for researchers to communicate their work in clear, concise, everyday language to audiences outside their specialties. Patty Raun, director of the center, uses the tools of the theater to help participants discover ways to connect authentically with their audiences.
“My goal for all of the work of the center is to cultivate empathy, broaden perspectives, and strengthen collaboration to bridge the divides that keep us from understanding one another,” Raun said.
Raun and Carrie Kroehler, associate director of the center, teach graduate courses and facilitate workshops throughout the year to help professionals learn to listen deeply, interact personally and responsively, and express themselves vividly.
This year’s Nutshell Games were a part of ComSciCon-Virginia Tech 2023 from Feb. 6-9. A virtual science communication conference for graduate students, ComSciCon is open to all faculty, students, and community members and includes workshops and a keynote speaker.
“ComSciCon is organized by graduate students for graduate students and others,” said Kroehler. “We thought it would be meaningful to highlight the research and communication skills of Virginia Tech’s graduate students by scheduling the Nutshell Games to coincide with other ComSciCon-Virginia Tech 2023 events.”
