Science communicators in a knowledge economy: wise guys or wise people?   Science in the Pub Number 64 With panelists Brian Trench, Tim Littlejohn and Eugenie Lumbers Compered by Alf Conlon and Paul Willis Tuesday, September 25th 2001, 6:30pm Harlequin Inn, 152 Harris Street, Pyrmont, Sydney Science in the Pub questions what it takes to make a 'knowledge economy'. What role has science and technology education played in nations such as Ireland and Finland, whose economies have sky-rocketed in recent times? To pose Peter Quiddington's questions (ASC List: GROWWWWL, 16 August 2001): 'And why do we as science communicators persist with the BIG LIE that hard science (and its close mates) is the underlying driver of economic prosperity and human wellbeing when the data overwhelmingly suggests otherwise?' Is it a 'big lie'? Has science communication any role to play in the establishment of a knowledge economy? These issues and many more will be addressed by our panellists Brian Trench, Lecturer in Science Communication at Dublin City University and Journalist; Professor Eugenie Lumbers, Scientia Professor, School of Physiology and Pharmacology, UNSW, and Dr Tim Littlejohn, Adjunct Professor at the University of Sydney and Adjunct Associate Professor, at the UNSW; he is also founder of bioinformatics companies Entigen Pty Ltd and BioLateral Pty Ltd. Comperes Dr Paul Willis, ABC Catalyst and Alf Conlon, SciPub compere for our CERN session, will ensure a lively discussion. Tonight's session has been commissioned especially for 2001 A Science Odyssey: Chance for Change. Preference will be given to conference delegates if the venue fills up. Brian Trench's current major preoccupation is communicating science and technology, and helping others do it. Brian feels that 'Ireland has aspirations to become one of the leading nations in the world in terms of science and technology, and public communication of science and technology is recognised as an important part of that.' He is involved in running a Masters degree in Science Communication at Dublin City University and is a member of the Irish Council for Science Technology and Innovation which advises the Government. Brian also works with our Society, Technology and Media (STeM) research centre at the university and with European Union programs. Brian had a high profile at the recent conference on the Public Communication of Scieince and Technology in Geneva, which a number of ASC’ers were at. He was on the Scientific Committee, chaired a panel on science communication teaching and learning, gave a presentation on the way scientists view public communication and was the MC for the first edition of Science in the Pub held outside Australia. His lively style was a great hit and we very much welcome him to Australia, especially for his role as panellist in the ASC Conference session of Science in the Pub. Eugenie Lumbers studied medicine at the University of Adelaide. After her internship she began a research career studying an enzyme system involved in the control of blood pressure and present in high levels in the pregnant uterus. She was awarded an NHMRC C.J.Martin scholarship to study the physiology of the foetus at Oxford University. Eugenie returned to Australia and took up a position at the University of New South Wales in the School of Physiology and Pharmacology. She set up a research program in developmental physiology and currently is studying the foetal origins of adult disease. Eugenie Lumbers was awarded a D.Sc in 1986 and a personal chair in 1988. In 1998 she became one of the six inaugural Scientia Professors of the UNSW. She has worked for the Australian Research Council, the National Health and Medical Research Council and the National Heart Foundation. Tim Littlejohn is the Founder of bioinformatics companies Entigen Pty Ltd and BioLateral Pty Ltd. Tim considers himself to be 'trilingual', speaking the languages of business, science and information technology. He acquired this linguistic ability through a Ph.D. and post-doctoral research in molecular genetics; assignments with international IT consultants Andersen Consulting (Accenture); as director of informatics at the Canadian Genome Program and as head of the Australian National bioinformatics facility ANGIS prior to forming Entigen and now BioLateral. Bioinformatics is the new science of using computers to analyse biological data. His knowledge of the global nature of science and the bioinformatics marketplace has stood him in good stead to lead commercial bioinformatics R&D effort, having worked in the USA and Canada and having active business and scientific collaborations in North America, Europe, Asia and Africa. He works regularly with scientists in the industry, holding an adjunct Associate Professor position at the University of Sydney and at University of NSW in recognition of this position. Étrue to the tradition of Science in the Pub, Brian, Eugenie and Tim have written their abstracts in verse. From Brian É A poet once asked Where knowledge lay in information. We used to ask How lay folks could get information on knowledge. Wise guys see knowledge as speaking. Wise people see wisdom in listening. Can knowledge and wisdom lie in pubs? Eugenie É An infant, snot covered, Shovels sand in its mouth, This is discovery. A child bends its head, and views A green leaf bearing a furry Caterpillar, That spits and stings, This is discovery. A school boy, hair in eyes, Pops hydrogen in a test-tube, And makes a boomerang from 2 rulers This is discovery. A graduate discovers tinman in a fruit fly, And a human heart grows, This is discovery. A post-doc makes a brain glow green As it expresses A jellyfish gene, This is discovery. Stargazers hunt for stars Sending signals Pluto is no longer a planet This is discovery. At the observable limits of the universe A message is heard And we are discovered. É and TimÉ My life created by chemical deception, Carried out by sperm-led conception, A billion years of vagrant selection, So into the world I came. Born to parents of science and invention, Of genes yesÑand nurture intervention, Shaped a life of science affection, And a greater quest. But science was not full satisfaction, Technology became infatuation, I then swapped beaker for workstation, And organic to silicon went. Life's journey needed more disruption, As gene and computer, in joint flirtation, Lead to study of life through computation, In bioinformatics bliss. The next life turn, in sheer exaltation, Put to myself for consideration. Could I build business in this vocation, Become a bio-entrepreneur? To be "bio-Bill-Gates" is now my ambition, To commercialise smart innovation, Create wealth, jobsÑall for the nation. Is this science's next frontier? Science in the Pub™ is the Eureka Award winning initiative of the Australian Science Communicators (NSW). Regular sessions are generally staged from 7-9pm on the last Wednesday of every even month (February - October) at the Harlequin Inn, 152 Harris Street, Pyrmont in Sydney.   Admission costs $5 worth of raffle tickets, your chance to win one of many excellent prizes! We can organise Science in YOUR Pub anywhere in Australia, or the world, when commissioned! Please contact Robyn Stutchbury, phone: 02 9427 6747; fax: 02 9427 6767; email: Robyn Stutchbury on rstutch@bigpond.net.au.  Visit our website at http://www.scienceinthepub.com/. Future Science in the Pub sessions (see the website for full details):
Science in the Pub™, © 2000. Stutchbury, R, Burton, M.