A publication by Oregon Sea Grant in 2008 entitled "Hold That Thought!: Questioning five common assumptions about communicating with the public" by Joe Cone presents as one of the myths "Science communication is an art". Integration and Application Network (IAN) staff often introduce science communication principles and examples by using the title "Zen and the Art of Science Communication" which does infer that there is an art to science communication.

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A group of concerned former politicians, scientists and riverkeepers converged on federal agencies in Washington, D.C. to discuss Chesapeake Bay restoration. This loosely associated group has been convened by Gerald Winegrad, a former Maryland state senator from Annapolis, and currently totals 38 people. The group includes two former Maryland governors, a former U.S. senator, former U.S. congressman.

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A team from the Integration and Application Network traveled to Colonial National Historical Park on March 10-11 to initiate a Natural Resources Condition Assessment process over the next 18-24 months. The visit included a meeting with park personnel at the Yorktown Battlefield Visitors Center, followed by a tour of the entire park on the first day, and on the second day, we held a mini-symposium at the Virginia Commonwealth University's Rice Center on the James River.

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This week is the sixth anniversary of when the Integration and Application Network first posted its symbol library on its newly created website. This free, downloadable symbol library has been providing users with symbols crafted by IAN science communicators for use in constructing conceptual diagrams.

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I am a member of Nutrients Anonymous or NA; a fellowship of waterbodies who share their experiences, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others. Nutrients Anonymous is not allied with any denomination, politics, organization or institution. The primary purpose of the Chesapeake Bay chapter of Nutrients Anonymous is to restore Chesapeake Bay.

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Environmental monitoring is extremely expensive with recurring costs. In addition to supporting a field effort, the analytical costs of processing samples and the data entry, quality assurance and analyses incurs costs. Even if the labor intensive field sampling is reduced through remote sensors and automated sampling, the task of processing the data is not diminished.

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Single digit temperatures, predictions of snow, and a six-inch blanket of the white stuff already on the ground seemed like a chilly proposition to Emily Nauman and me, Joanna Woerner, both Maryland Easternshorers who are acclimated to mild winters. However, as IAN Science Communicators we were eager to brave old man winter in order to present a Communicating Science Effectively course at the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine.

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The IAN and Eco-Check crew pulled out out their brushes and rollers and gave the Annapolis Synthesis Center a once-over and some TLC. Light beige tones and warm brown accents give the ASC a whole new look for a new year. Kudos to Ken Barton for organizing the effort, to Chris Conner, Connie Musgrove and Ben Fertig for the prepwork, and to all the gang at Eco-Check and IAN for the group effort. Good job!

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Bill Dennison is one of the keynote speakers at the 4th European Conference on Coastal Lagoon Research: Research and Management for the Conservation of Coastal Lagoon Ecosystems, South - North comparisons which aims to strengthen the scientific network specialized in the study of coastal lagoon ecosystems. The conference to be held in December is being hosted by the University of Montpellier.

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MEES graduate and NASA astronaut, Richard Arnold, will be the guest of honor at the MEES Colloquium on Thursday Nov. 12th at the Banneker-Douglass Museum. Born in Cheverly and raised in Bowie, Maryland, Richard Arnold earned his M.S. from the MEES program in 1992 under the guidance of Dr. Bill Dennison.

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