Graduate education at the University of Wisconsin–Madison
The Wisconsin Initiative for Science Literacy (WISL) Award for Communicating PhD Research to the Public offers awards to doctoral candidates who submit a PhD thesis chapter that describes their research to non-science audiences. With additional funding from the Graduate School, all PhD students in the biological and physical sciences will be eligible to receive the award beginning in the 2019-20 academic year.
The AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows program has trained hundreds of scientists in the craft of clear science communication, and alumni have gone on to become leading researchers, science journalists and policymakers. For the program’s 45th year in the summer of 2019, the University of Wisconsin–Madison will support a graduate student from the university who is accepted to the program.
Erika K. Carlson thrives on the sense of wonder that comes along with learning about the universe.
The self-described science nerd is fascinated with the wild and weird phenomena scientists are exploring in physics and astronomy, and she wants to share them with the world.
“I’ve loved the fact that as a science student and as a graduate student researcher, my job has basically been to learn about cool science things full-time,” Carlson said. “I want as many people as possible to get to experience this, at least a little bit.”