Brian Trench co-edits major international work on Science Communication

Brian Trench co-edits major international
work on Science Communication

DCU communications lecturer Brian Trench is the co-editor of a book published this month that has been welcomed as likely to become the standard international reference in its field.

The Handbook of Public Communication of Science and Technology, co-edited with Massimiano Bucchi, of University of Trento, Italy, is published by Routledge in their international handbook series. It contains chapters from 20 leading analysts and educators in science communication, representing nine countries and as many different disciplines.

According to Prof Bruce Lewenstein, of Cornell University, USA, a pioneer in science communication studies, the handbook "will be the standard text and research starting point for years to come".

The handbook presents critical reviews of the state of the art in popular science books, science journalism, science centres, science in film, health communication, science PR, environmental communication and several more areas.

Brian Trench contributes a chapter on impacts of the Internet in which he argues that Internet communication may be "turning science communication inside-out" because so much of what used to be restricted to science professionals is now accessible to others through open access publishing and other web-based publishing forms.

The handbook will be the subject of a panel presentation at next month's international conference on public communication of science and technology
(PCST-10) in Malmo and Copenhagen. Brian Trench is chair of the conference committee for this event.