An Alumni's Perspective - MaiLei
by MaiLei Meyers
After returning from a semester off in the fall of 2017, I was eager to jump into work more related to my double majors in Strategic Communication and Film. Little did I know, I would stumble into an incredible opportunity writing about…science?
As someone with a track record of slugging through science coursework, getting paid to write about it had just the right challenge factor to pique my interest. From first interviews to fifth drafts and everything in between, I’ve learned so much. Here are my top three takeaways:
1. Science writing
After taking years of writing intensive courses in the journalism and film departments, I figured science writing would be almost easier because of its technical parameters. I was wrong. Science writing is more than just explaining things. Science Communication Lab writers take complex concepts and interview content from researchers and turn them into stories that hopefully everyone wants to read. I often found myself struggling to switch gears from describing things in a promotional, sometimes extraneous way to just the basics without oversimplifying everything. Learning how to write concisely and to prioritize information are two things I would not be as well-versed in without my experiences here.
2. Collaboration
The Science Communication Lab values collaboration as a t its core principle. Our staff fluctuated by semester, but one thing remained the same: graphic designers and writers teaming up. We understand the power of many individuals contributing their strengths and improving their weak spots together. For example, I worked with designer Megan Smith, on how to best communicate the complexities of new agricultural research for Twitter imagery. I worked on the copy and fact checked how we were telling the story. Megan created the imagery sets and made multiple panels for post distribution. This project was streamlined due to our collaboration and full of invaluable ideas we brought to life as a pair.
3. Storytelling
While working in the Science Communication Lab, I discovered how I best understood storytelling. I would often find myself writing long winded stories and letting the particularities of explaining science get in my way. After developing standard feature stories for most of my time as a writer, I was able to try my hand at storytelling through a visual outlet called “story maps.” Creating a logical story map with concise copy came naturally to me compared to the processes I had gone through on earlier projects. Though it only took approaching a project from a different angle, the basics of crafting a story remained the same.
After returning from a semester off in the fall of 2017, I was eager to jump into work more related to my double majors in Strategic Communication and Film. Little did I know, I would stumble into an incredible opportunity writing about…science?
As someone with a track record of slugging through science coursework, getting paid to write about it had just the right challenge factor to pique my interest. From first interviews to fifth drafts and everything in between, I’ve learned so much. Here are my top three takeaways:
1. Science writing
After taking years of writing intensive courses in the journalism and film departments, I figured science writing would be almost easier because of its technical parameters. I was wrong. Science writing is more than just explaining things. Science Communication Lab writers take complex concepts and interview content from researchers and turn them into stories that hopefully everyone wants to read. I often found myself struggling to switch gears from describing things in a promotional, sometimes extraneous way to just the basics without oversimplifying everything. Learning how to write concisely and to prioritize information are two things I would not be as well-versed in without my experiences here.
2. Collaboration
The Science Communication Lab values collaboration as a t its core principle. Our staff fluctuated by semester, but one thing remained the same: graphic designers and writers teaming up. We understand the power of many individuals contributing their strengths and improving their weak spots together. For example, I worked with designer Megan Smith, on how to best communicate the complexities of new agricultural research for Twitter imagery. I worked on the copy and fact checked how we were telling the story. Megan created the imagery sets and made multiple panels for post distribution. This project was streamlined due to our collaboration and full of invaluable ideas we brought to life as a pair.
3. Storytelling
While working in the Science Communication Lab, I discovered how I best understood storytelling. I would often find myself writing long winded stories and letting the particularities of explaining science get in my way. After developing standard feature stories for most of my time as a writer, I was able to try my hand at storytelling through a visual outlet called “story maps.” Creating a logical story map with concise copy came naturally to me compared to the processes I had gone through on earlier projects. Though it only took approaching a project from a different angle, the basics of crafting a story remained the same.
Biochar Project
In October 2017, researcher UMN BioTechnology Institute Sebastian Behrens and his team published new information in addition to their work involving a biotechnology development called "biochar." I collaborated with design student Megan Smith in creating media material representing the group's findings.
Sample Tweets
Saving the earth through fertilizer? #MnDrive biochar research could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Newer isn’t better. #MnDrive researchers in @umncse are using biochar for sustainable agriculture at a lower cost.
Healthy soil = safer water. #MnDrive researchers are incorporating #biochars for better farmland.
#Biochar for healthy soil and happy plants? #MnDrive researchers are discovering new uses of this old fertilizer.
Newer isn’t better. #MnDrive researchers in @umncse are using biochar for sustainable agriculture at a lower cost.
Healthy soil = safer water. #MnDrive researchers are incorporating #biochars for better farmland.
#Biochar for healthy soil and happy plants? #MnDrive researchers are discovering new uses of this old fertilizer.
The Plant Microbe Match
The first story I was assigned to write was about BioTechnology Institute lead, Mike Sadowsky, and his research on cleaning up arsenic-contaminated soil. I pitched my story angle, interviewed him and produced the accompanying sidebar. You can visit its featured webpage here.
University of Minnesota researchers pair plants with microbes to remove arsenic from
contaminated soils
by MaiLei Meyers
The contamination of soil with heavy metals like arsenic is a lasting legacy of the industrial age. In fact, the World Health Organization has identified arsenic as one of 10 chemicals of major concern. Minnesota, like other industrial states, had its fair share of arsenic-contaminated land, including the South Minneapolis Contamination Superfund and Perham Arsenic Superfund sites. Cleanup efforts traditionally involve the removal of contaminated soil and its long-term storage in a designated landfill. University of Minnesota scientists Michael Sadowsky and Cara Santelli are working on a sustainable alternative using hyperaccumulator plants that remove toxic metals from soil and incorporate them into plant tissue.
“You can harvest and burn plants to collect the metal from their contents. In environmental clean-up, it’s called phytoremediation,” explains Michael Sadowsky, Director of the University of Minnesota’s BioTechnology Institute and an expert on plant-microbe interactions. Santelli, his partner on the project, is a geomicrobiologist in the Department of Earth Sciences. Together, they plan to augment the natural uptake of toxic metal using a class of soil microbe called rhizobacteria, which form symbiotic relationships with plants.
The research began in the greenhouse with a study of two plants capable of accumulating metals at a different rate. Using soil from EPA Superfund sites, the labs will measure the amount of metal absorbed by the plants when paired with microbes capable of immobilizing toxic metals in the soil or making them more accessible for natural uptake.
With that knowledge in hand, Santelli and Sadowsky will move on to local contaminated sites and test their findings in the field.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Agriculture granted access to Superfund sites during the pilot project funded with a seed grant from the MnDRIVE Environment initiative. The UMN team has partnered with Geosyntec, a national consulting firm with expertise in environmental engineering and the cleanup of contaminated metals. Geosyntec will assist in scaling successful field trials.
Seed Funding
Projects like Sadowsky’s current phytoremediation research could help increase visibility for seed funding programs like MnDrive. “Without seed funding, the ability to generate foundational data for federal funding is limited,” says Sadowsky, who also serves as Co-Director of MnDRIVE’s bioremediation initiative.
In addition to seed funding, MnDRIVE promotes collaboration with local industry and government agencies. “We’re providing research that can help drive Minnesota’s economy and protect its environmental legacy. Since its inception five years ago, MnDRIVE has played a crucial role in developing new technologies and promoting collaboration between research institutions, industry, and government.”
contaminated soils
by MaiLei Meyers
The contamination of soil with heavy metals like arsenic is a lasting legacy of the industrial age. In fact, the World Health Organization has identified arsenic as one of 10 chemicals of major concern. Minnesota, like other industrial states, had its fair share of arsenic-contaminated land, including the South Minneapolis Contamination Superfund and Perham Arsenic Superfund sites. Cleanup efforts traditionally involve the removal of contaminated soil and its long-term storage in a designated landfill. University of Minnesota scientists Michael Sadowsky and Cara Santelli are working on a sustainable alternative using hyperaccumulator plants that remove toxic metals from soil and incorporate them into plant tissue.
“You can harvest and burn plants to collect the metal from their contents. In environmental clean-up, it’s called phytoremediation,” explains Michael Sadowsky, Director of the University of Minnesota’s BioTechnology Institute and an expert on plant-microbe interactions. Santelli, his partner on the project, is a geomicrobiologist in the Department of Earth Sciences. Together, they plan to augment the natural uptake of toxic metal using a class of soil microbe called rhizobacteria, which form symbiotic relationships with plants.
The research began in the greenhouse with a study of two plants capable of accumulating metals at a different rate. Using soil from EPA Superfund sites, the labs will measure the amount of metal absorbed by the plants when paired with microbes capable of immobilizing toxic metals in the soil or making them more accessible for natural uptake.
With that knowledge in hand, Santelli and Sadowsky will move on to local contaminated sites and test their findings in the field.
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Department of Agriculture granted access to Superfund sites during the pilot project funded with a seed grant from the MnDRIVE Environment initiative. The UMN team has partnered with Geosyntec, a national consulting firm with expertise in environmental engineering and the cleanup of contaminated metals. Geosyntec will assist in scaling successful field trials.
Seed Funding
Projects like Sadowsky’s current phytoremediation research could help increase visibility for seed funding programs like MnDrive. “Without seed funding, the ability to generate foundational data for federal funding is limited,” says Sadowsky, who also serves as Co-Director of MnDRIVE’s bioremediation initiative.
In addition to seed funding, MnDRIVE promotes collaboration with local industry and government agencies. “We’re providing research that can help drive Minnesota’s economy and protect its environmental legacy. Since its inception five years ago, MnDRIVE has played a crucial role in developing new technologies and promoting collaboration between research institutions, industry, and government.”
Image Credit
Header: Mikaela Armstrong for the BioTechnology Institute
Blog Post Image: Mikaela Armstrong for the BioTechnology Institute
Biochar Designs: Megan Smith for the BioTechnology Institute
Header: Mikaela Armstrong for the BioTechnology Institute
Blog Post Image: Mikaela Armstrong for the BioTechnology Institute
Biochar Designs: Megan Smith for the BioTechnology Institute