Letizia Diamante, a science communicator from Graphene Flagship, is here with us to talk about science promotion and graphene obviously.
I wanted to ask you a question about being a science writer. What do you do for your career?
I work as a science communicator for the Graphene Flagship. My main goal is to engage a wide range of audiences by highlighting interesting research and innovation outcomes produced by our scientific consortium. I interview leading scientists regularly, but I also ensure that lesser-known researchers, as well as early career researchers, receive recognition. That’s part of the Diversity in Graphene initiative that I coordinate.
It also includes a mentoring scheme, career days and so on. It is also a way to create diverse role models in science and technology for the future generation. Talking about the next generation, I’m also passionate about promoting science to children, and I write science books for them and organize activities for science festivals and schools.
Okay, so basically, you’re crazy about science promotion.
Yeah, somehow my work and my hobbies overlap, so I don’t finish work at 5pm.
I can totally relate to it, my boss and I exchange messages for the whole weekend. Crazy, isn’t it?
Yes! I think when you have this type of love for science and science communications, it is really hard to stop. For example, I really like writing about science for children and took time to do it during the lockdown. The result is a colourful, 180 page gamebook (similar to a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book) that takes readers on an adventure through the experiment areas and particle accelerators at CERN. The reader can choose to play the role of a researcher, a student or a tourist. The book features science-themed quizzes and games, and aims to combine adventure and science to create a fun and playful reading experience. It’s available in English and Italian and will be available in Bulgarian soon. I hope it will be available in Polish one day.