I’ve been recognized at conferences because I tweet about science. Now this passion is her driving motivation as a new Ph.D.įor the past two months, Sarah has been visiting universities all over the country, encouraging scientists to become involved in science communication while also charging university leaders to emphasize the importance of science communication across the university. The rest is history! Sarah cultivated this passion in grad school through Skype a Scientist and other science communication initiatives. After getting the public excited about her lab’s squid research, Sarah realized that she enjoyed science communication and that she was good at it. Perhaps surprisingly, these passions complement each other well, as evidenced by her lab’s successful crowdfunding campaign to raise money for research.

Sarah’s two main passions are squids and science communication. During her visit she explained the mission of Skype a Scientist, emphasizing the importance of science communication. Recently, as part of her #squidsacrossamerica speaking tour, Sarah visited the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). One way she does this is by tweeting popular squid memes while also educating people about squid science. Sarah aims to bridge this gap not only through Skype a Scientist but also through Twitter. Further, since people are unaware of scientists’ daily activities, it can be difficult for people to relate to scientists. Very few of these findings are covered by the media so the public is usually unaware of the majority of scientific research. When scientists make new discoveries, they publish their findings in scientific journals. Sarah started Skype a Scientist during graduate school when she observed a disconnect between what scientists study and what the public knows. Skype a Scientist matches scientists with classrooms around the world so scientists can share their work and inspire the next generation of scientists. Today she is showing off different kinds of squid to a Polish classroom through the Skype a Scientist program she founded. Smiles light up the room and the kids give Sarah their full attention. Sarah McAnulty waves to a classroom in Poland.

On the screen, you can barely make out the shape of a person but slowly the large pixels become smaller and more clear. A group of excited children gather around a computer screen while their teacher hushes their incessant chatter.

Skype a scientist