Spotlight: Jason Major

I have been a science communicator for 25 years specialising in media/communications, public engagement and science communication research. I have eclectic research interests in the theory and practice of science communication and their application to engage targeted audiences with science and complex socio-cultural issues, and how knowledge is produced, shared and validated.

Your research problem and ultimate goal
The research problem of most interest relevance to my COE-CSI role is to understand the impact of our media and public engagement. Our outreach objectives are still being refined, but broadly my goal here is to inform, to facilitate and engage audiences in a critical dialogue, and get people thinking critically about CSI science and its applications.

Key challenges?
The challenge is to find rigorous ways to measure or assess this impact without detracting from the engagement experience of your audience.

What gets me out of bed in the morning?

Young children mostly, but I do love the whole creative story telling process and engaging in that critical dialogue about science. The researcher in me loves understanding why people interpret science differently and how that might affect the direction of science.

Favourite thing to do on the weekend?
Getting out of the city – mostly to my farm where there are sheep, trees and lots of wildlife. It is where I unwind and just stare at the mountains and kangaroos. The sunrise is also what gets me out of bed (early) when I am there.