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Suze Kundu: from public speaking to stand-up comedy

The crossroads in Mark Miodownik鈥檚 career came in 1999 when as a young researcher he gave a talk at a materials science conference in Boston. 鈥淎fterwards a senior scientist said he thought I was doing good work but that I ought to stop making it sound so interesting,鈥� recalls Miodownik. 鈥淗e seriously said that and it changed my career path 鈥� I decided to do the exact opposite.鈥�

The rest is scientific history. Miodownik began communicating the excitement he felt for materials science to a broader audience. Since then, he has given numerous public lectures, made several TV series about materials science and gave the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures in 2010. He is widely credited with giving a new lease of life to the public perception of materials science.

Miodownik is an aspirational example for the new generation of young scientists for whom science communication is an increasingly important skill. Many young researchers are experimenting with novel forms of communication to bring scientific research to a broader audience. They鈥檙e using blogging, youtubing, tweeting and scientific social media such as Mendeley. That鈥檚 in addition to traditional channels such as public speaking.

These forms of communication are having an increasingly important impact on the way the public engages with science. And they are also changing the way scientists themselves work.

To encourage and reward this activity, the scientific publisher Elsevier is running a competition to find the next generation of outstanding scientific communicators and honour one of them with a new prize.

The competition is part of Elsevier鈥檚 worldwide programme to support young scientists through the most challenging parts of their careers. The new prize is called the Researcher鈥檚 Choice Communication Award 2015 and Elsevier is looking for nominations for anyone who fits the bill (see Competition: Calling science communicators, for how to enter).

There is no shortage of young scientists who fit the bill. When Vicky Forster received her PhD from Newcastle University in 2012, she tweeted a message announcing the award. 鈥淒ear Cancer I beat you aged 8, and today i got my PhD in cancer research. Take that.鈥� The message was warmly greeted by friends and colleagues and quickly became viral, being retweeted more than 12,000 times.

Vicky is a leukaemia survivor. And it is no coincidence that today she is a cancer researcher studying the way genetic mutations can cause cancer and why cancer drugs can cause severe side effects in some people but not in others. 鈥淚n an odd way, my leukaemia experience gives me an insight into research. I can talk about my experience in a scientific way, which makes the science more accessible,鈥� she says.

Vicky鈥檚 science communication activities are formidable. She writes a blog for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, the UK鈥檚 biggest blood cancer charity. It is a useful platform for discussion and information sharing. She has taken part in several Skeptics in the Pub events, chatting in bars to all comers about alternative cancer treatments.

In July last year, she gave a TEDx talk about one of her heroes, Janet Rowley, who helped develop the first targeted cancer treatment. And then in August she spent a month on the science desk at The Times writing more than 25 articles on a broad range of science topics. 鈥淭hey threw me in at the deep end and it was brilliant,鈥� she says. 鈥淚f I can stay in research and write occasionally, that would be perfect.鈥�

Of course, Vicky isn鈥檛 the only young scientist taking up the baton. Suze Kundu received her PhD from University College London (UCL) in 2012 having studied artificial photosynthesis, focusing on capturing sunlight using nanocrystalline titanium dioxide. During that time and since, Suze has been swept up in a science communication whirlwind. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a strange journey I鈥檝e taken,鈥� she says.

Her first experience of academic public speaking was terrifying. She recalls presenting her work at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Anaheim, California, and gripping the podium so tightly that her knuckles turned white. 鈥淚 remember calculating where I鈥檇 fall if I fainted and whether I鈥檇 hurt anyone in the process.鈥�

To combat this fear, she signed up for a competition at UCL called Tell Us Your Thesis, where students talk about their work in just a few minutes. 鈥淭hat gave me some confidence. It was a good way to face my fear,鈥� she says.

Since then she鈥檚 done scientific stand-up comedy, completed a science policy fellowship at the Houses of Parliament, given chemistry lectures about how to mix drinks and worked as a researcher for the BBC programme Wonders of Life.

Suze has become so involved in teaching that in 2012 she became a teaching fellow at Imperial College London. 鈥淣ot everybody enjoys teaching but I seem to be OK at it. I鈥檓 qualified to do it and I love it too,鈥� she says. Her advice for others who also fear speaking in public? 鈥淭he best thing is to face the fear,鈥� she says. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the worst that can happen?鈥�

Rowena Fletcher-Wood says there are other advantages to writing. She has authored several blogs since she started her PhD in chemistry at the University of Birmingham in 2011. 鈥淚鈥檓 a serial writer,鈥� she says. The positive feedback she鈥檚 had from this work gave her the confidence to write a science play, which she put on at the University of Birmingham with funding from the Royal Society of Chemistry.

That鈥檚 opened up a number of opportunities, including an audition to do some acting for a murder mystery company. She hopes to get her PhD in the next few months and has a good idea of what she wants next. 鈥淚鈥檇 like to move full time into science communication,鈥� she says.

One theme common to all these people is how widely useful the skills are. Rowena says it is important to learn how to communicate complex ideas not just to the public but also to colleagues in other disciplines. 鈥淭hat has an impact on multidisciplinary research,鈥� she says.

These forms of communication are changing the way scientists work. Vicky points to how she can get tips about how to do assays or grow cells by tweeting questions. 鈥淚n the past, you鈥檇 have to find out if anybody in the department knows somebody who can help, then email them and wait for an answer that might arrive a few days later鈥�if you鈥檙e lucky,鈥� she says. 鈥淎 tweet can get you an answer in minutes.鈥�

For Miodownik, the importance of science communication is clear. 鈥淵ou never really understand your subject until you have to communicate it. I鈥檓 a better teacher and a better scientist as a result.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 a better teacher and a better scientist as a result of my communication work鈥�

The bottom line is that communication is becoming a core skill for a new generation of young scientists. If you know anybody who excels at this, enter them for the Researcher鈥檚 Choice Communication Award 2015 through . What鈥檚 the worst that can happen?

This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淵ou never really understand your subject until you have to communicate it鈥︹��