Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

July 1, 2024

Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

 

Geeking Out With…is a new feature in which we talk to GSAS students about their passions. You can check out past installments here.

Zachary Curtis is a fifth-year PhD student in Physics. His research, in the Bisson Lab, focuses on shapeshifting archaea and how and why they are able to shapeshift. He joined Geeking Out With… to talk about his work with the Science Communications (SciComm) Lab and why he believes clear communication is essential in science.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

What do you do as a SciComm Lab fellow?

We have a number of different duties as fellows. We have one-on-one appointment slots which are open to anyone – undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs – and they can come to us with questions about how to put together a presentation, start a poster, write a personal statement, or anything they’re struggling with. In our meetings, we guide them through the process and help them figure out what they need. We also have a number of different workshops to share general communication knowledge. We cover topics such as poster design, effective figure making for papers and presentations, personal statements, CVs, and lab notebooks – all different skills related to reading, writing, and effectively presenting science.

There are nine fellows, and we come from all different science programs. We also represent different academic stages – there are postdocs, graduate students, people who do more teaching, and people who do more research – so there’s a good distribution.

How did you become involved with the SciComm Lab? Did you attend their programming before you became a fellow yourself?

I got involved in the SciComm Lab about a year ago. It’s definitely something that has always been an interest of mine. There’s an issue in science – a lot of people like to make it very unapproachable and put it on a pedestal, but it’s important to put in the effort to make science easier to understand and more approachable. This work helps me develop my own skills and also lets me help others develop their own skills in communicating their science.

I had attended some of the workshops in the past, which I thought were interesting. I did not do the one-on-one sessions, but, in hindsight, I wish I had taken advantage of them. As a member, I don’t attend much additional programming, but I see more of the other side and talk informally with other fellows. It has been nice having a built-in network of people I know I can go to with questions about my work.

What sparked your interest in clear science communication?

I started to notice the need for science communication towards the end of my undergraduate career because of how much jargon there is. I would be trying to read papers to learn something new, but there would be terminology I was unfamiliar with, and I’d have to go through a never ending spiral of reading other sources. As I started graduate school and going to talks, I would see some where the speaker made no effort to make their work approachable and some where they clearly did make an effort. These two types of experiences were remarkably different. At some talks, I would feel like I had no idea what was going on and felt as if I was just looking at random symbols on a slide, while at others, I felt engaged and a part of the conversation. It makes a big difference when a presenter takes time and effort to make a talk approachable and engaging. This made me want to be more like that second kind of presenter, especially as I interacted with more people who were less experienced in science than I was. I realized how easy it is to completely forget what it’s like being on the other side. The more time you spend with people who have the same level and type of experience as you, the less you think about your jargon, but when you’re with those who are less experienced, you have to put a lot more thought into your communication: what will be understood, who the audience is, and what the level of expertise is. I work in a cell biology lab, so I jump between audiences fairly often. I need to explain very different things to physicists and to cell biologists. Being forced into this position has helped me grow immensely as a communicator.

How does your perspective on communication influence your work as a teaching assistant, where you need to explain concepts to undergraduate students?

I think communication is very important as a TA. A lot of people come into a physics class, especially if they’re not physics majors, thinking “I don’t know math, I don’t know physics, I’m just here to try to survive.” I was a TA for an introductory physics class for non-majors, and there was a palpable change in energy from when students didn’t understand the material to when they did. When I was able to shape my sections to be more approachable, I’d have non-majors getting excited and enthusiastic about what we were learning. Whether I was talking about electromagnetics or simple mechanics or breaking down how math can be used to explain the things they see in everyday life – suddenly, they asked more questions and became more engaged. This was very different from the attitude in classes where people don’t understand what’s going on.

You were a finalist in this year’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition, which is all about communicating your research concisely! How did you find that experience?

This was my first year doing 3MT – I loved it and will probably do it again next year. It’s like a puzzle, trying to figure out how to convey years and years worth of work in a three minute talk. It was a fun exercise to take the map of everything I’ve done and distill it into the integral components that can explain everything and still be simple enough that the whole audience could understand it. There was no time for extra explanations and no time for tangents, so it was a fun challenge that helped me understand what was important in my own project. For the visual component of the slide, you also need to convey what you’re talking about as quickly and simply as possible – the audience needs to register and see it, but it can’t distract from what you’re saying. It’s tempting to cram as much as possible on there and not cut anything, but people can either listen to you or read your slide, so you can’t have too much info. It was fun to think of a quick, simple, captivating visual that’s almost like a hook but that doesn’t distract people from engaging with the talk.

Are there people or resources at Brandeis that have helped you hone your communication skills?

My PI, Alex Bisson, spends a lot of time emphasizing how to put together a strong presentation. It’s been good for me; it was challenging at the beginning, but the more I practice, the more I find ways to improve. Being in a lab environment that encourages clear and effective communication has helped immensely. It’s also been very helpful interacting with my peers. I find talking to people outside your lab is a great exercise in communication – you learn very quickly which parts of your project are confusing to people who don’t look at it every day. These conversations help inform you about the kind of questions you will get when you give a presentation and help you prepare for more formal settings.

When you’re not doing research or helping others communicate their science, what do you like to do?

My most fun hobby is archery. Brandeis has an archery team that everyone is welcome to participate in. They have open hours throughout the semester; I learned about them in my third year and started showing up with no previous experience. They have all the equipment to get started and teach you everything from the ground up. I found it a very meditative way to end my workday, so I kept it up and now I’m on the team. It’s been nice to have a non-work, non-research space on campus to distract myself and keep myself active as well.

What advice do you have for other students exploring their passions?

Try new things. If you hear something that sounds interesting to you, whether it be academic or otherwise, explore it – look it up, see what’s interesting, talk to someone about it. This could be something you hear about in a talk or an activity or group on campus. Check it out! It’s always way easier to stay in your lane and not do anything new, but it’s a lot more fun to branch out and try new things. Some you may like and some you won’t, but it will broaden your horizons and connect you with new people and skills you didn’t know you had.