Category Archives: Bruno Takahashi

Knight Center collaboration with University of Rhode Island seeks to bring more diverse voices to science communication

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Dr. Bruno Takahashi, research lead for the SciComm Identities Project. Photo by Phoebe Neel

A recent partnership between Michigan State’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute, and URI’s Science and Story Lab aims to expand diversity and create more inclusive spaces for the next generation of science communicators.

The SciComm Identities Project (SCIP) is a five-year project backed by $2.8 million in grant funding from the National Science Foundation. The project aims to promote racial and ethnic diversity within the field by developing science communication training that is centered on the identities, motivations, and experiences of racial and ethnic minority scientists.

While progress has been made to bring more voices into the field, historically marginalized scientists still face obstacles throughout their careers.

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Introducing the inaugural SciComm Identities Project Fellowship cohort!

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The University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute, Michigan State University’s Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, and the URI Science and Story Lab are excited to introduce the first cohort of SciComm Identities Project Fellows. Out of a competitive applicant pool, thirteen Fellows were selected to participate in this innovative science communication fellowship for pre-tenure faculty of color. The 2023 Fellowship will focus on the intersections of climate change and energy, and Fellows study issues that range from data-driven sustainable transportation to institutional barriers of energy poverty. Fellows come from diverse ethnic backgrounds ranging from Indigenous North African to Cuban, and show a strong history of personal commitment to science communication and inclusivity of underrepresented communities. Many are first-generation Americans and the first to attend college in their family.

All of the Fellows have shown a specific emphasis on improving engagement and science communication with either Black/African American, Asian, or Latinx communities, with a common theme being education and outreach to K-12 students of color. “I believe the SCIP fellowship will help me facilitate a more inclusive program of research,” says Dr. Dominic Bednar, a new Fellow and Assistant Professor at Arizona State University. “I’m interested in being a part of the future of peer-reviewed science communication products beyond academic articles that may actually reach stakeholders in the community and policy makers.” Check out the rest of the Fellows here!

Ph.D. funded opportunity in inclusive science communication project

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The Knight Center invites applications for a Ph.D. position in the NSF-funded project Intercultural Science Communication Research and Training to Broaden Participation Among Historically Minoritized Science Practitioners. BIPOC are strongly encouraged to apply.

The project, in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island’s Metcalf Institute, will address the lack of BIPOC representation in science communication training spaces and among trainers using an intercultural communication perspective. The project will include the development and testing of a new science communication training, the Science Communication Research Fellowship (SCARF). We are looking to fund a student interested in inclusive science communication beginning August 2022.

The successful applicant would have to apply to the Information & Media doctoral program in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences at Michigan State University. The application deadline is December 1st, 2021.

The position is suited for students from historically minoritized groups, have recently completed or near completing an MA in Journalism/Communication or related fields (media studies, environmental studies, sociology), with experience of working with relevant methods, and with relevant professional and/or personal experience. The ideal candidate would have some professional journalism or communication experience, including basic writing, reporting, multimedia skills, strategic communication, and /or public relations.

Required Qualifications:

  1. Education: M.A. in Journalism/Communication or related fields
  2. Basic knowledge of qualitative and/or quantitative communication research methods, including interviews, surveys and/or content analysis
  3. Excellent written, editing, and verbal communication skills
  4. Relevant experience working with historically marginalized populations

For more information, please contact Dr. Bruno Takahashi at btakahas@msu.edu

Bruno Takahashi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor and Research Director
Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Michigan State University

Knight Center research director Bruno Takahashi publishes about Emergency Communications Policies in Puerto Rico

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Bruno Takahashi

Knight Center research director Bruno Takahashi has published the article Emergency Communications Policies in Puerto Rico: Interaction between regulatory institutions and telecommunications companies during Hurricane Maria in the journal Telecommunications Policy. The study was led by Luis Rosario-Albert, a professor of communication at the Universidad Ana G. Méndez in Puerto Rico.

The study examined the view of telecommunications carriers’ representatives on the adequacy of emergency communications policies during Hurricane Maria in 2017 in Puerto Rico. The article also presents a policy analysis to assess the Federal Communications Commission, the Telecommunications Bureau of Puerto Rico and telecommunications companies’ emergency communications processes and outcomes. It points to ineffective government emergency communications policies due to the impact of external factors and the lack of coordination of the Puerto Rico’s electrical power provider and private telecommunications companies.

The study is part of the project Infrastructure collapse and its effects on news practices during Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, led by Takahashi and funded by the National Science Foundation.