In my daily conversations and official presentations, I work hard to make the world of science accessible to others through careful storytelling, analogies, and vivid graphics. Below are some examples of my work. Check out my blog for more accessible science reads!
Crafting the perfect research narrative
I spent the first 4 years of my Ph.D. training for the Hilliard Symposium by learning to talk about my science with everyone from musicians to business students. With some crucial feedback and guidance from professors and peer competitors, I carefully designed a 15-minute presentation on my graphene biosensor research and won 1st place at the 2021 virtual symposium.
In memorium
Julia and Hans Weertman were professors of Materials Science and Engineering at Northwestern University. They were an academic power couple and left an incredible legacy of scientific and personal achievement. Both passed away in 2018, and I had the honor of co-writing an article for the MRS Bulletin covering their remembrance symposium at Northwestern University.
Visualizing biosensor research
I summarized my research on printed graphene biosensors in an infographic-inspired poster. This poster won first place in the Bio category at the 2020 AVS Twitter Poster competition.
Sharing science with the press
Talking to journalists requires a clear message and few fun sound bites. I practiced my own science communication skills and helped train the next generation of journalists by participating in a mock press conference at the Medill School of Journalism.
Sunrise Over Lake Michigan
Who says science can’t be aesthetic? While taking pictures of printed graphene through a scanning electron microscope, I stumbled upon this incredible view. I performed a little colorizing in Photoshop and voila – sunrise over Lake Michigan! A winner of the 2019 NUance Art of Science competition.
Sonal V. Rangnekar 