EEB names two PhD students as the inaugural digital media fellows

Two PhD students - Katrina Culbertson and Beth Gerstner - have been chosen to be the inaugural EEB Digital Fellows.

The year-long experience will be a combination of training and creating and is a recognition of academia’s growing interest in science communication, said EEB Director Elise Zipkin.

“EEB is about broadening horizons and exploring new fields,” Zipkin said. “We’re excited to be able to offer a program that both gives fellows a chance to learn exciting new skills, and also creates room for them to put those new skills to work to share with everyone.”

Culbertson is mentored by Carolyn Malmstrom in plant biology in the College of Natural Science. Gerstner is in fisheries and wildlife in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources mentored by Phoebe Zarnetske. Each will receive a $3,000 stipend.

The EEB Digital Fellows Program provides an opportunity for two graduate students to gain a deep understanding of the value of digital media for communicating and sharing scientific research for a wide range of audiences during the academic year. With support and training from mentors Daniel Trego and Sue Nichols, the EEB fellows will co-run EEB’s website and Twitter feed and produce a story project on research within EEB.

Fellows will participate in the College of Arts and Letters (CAL) Digital Fellow introductory workshop during the fall semester where they will develop an understanding of what is a digital presence and how to intentionally develop one to meet specific goals. During the spring semester the fellows will create a story designed to communicate an EEB research project using their chosen media (writing, photography, video).