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Client showcase

Tantrik Studies

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There’s something to be said about reading a text in its original language, to glean the intimate context of the author and the audience they intended to reach.

That’s why when long-time client Christopher Wallis, author of Tantra Illuminated and The Recognition Sutras, asked us to design him a website where he could blog in Sanskrit, Talk Science to Me was happy to oblige. It was actually easier than it sounds. We designed Tantrik Studies through Squarespace, which is compatible with Gentium Book Basic, a font that allows Christopher to retain the diacritics necessary to effectively transcribe Sanskrit through a more limited, romanized set of characters.

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Diagram of generic protein structure.

Client showcase: Shelly DeForte, biomathematician

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640px-1a5r_sumo-1_proteinAs a full-service science communications agency staffed with editors, designers, writers and more, Talk Science to Me takes great pride in supporting all our clients by presenting their science in effective and engaging ways. Although most of our portfolio comprises larger organizations and institutions, we also work with individual authors and researchers to manage their writing and publishing needs.

Read More »Client showcase: Shelly DeForte, biomathematician

Fingers using the trackpad on a laptop, in grayscale.

Blogging…with Sanskrit

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Fingers using the trackpad on a laptop, in grayscale.
anonymouscollective

If you’re a writer, one of the best ways to engage your readers is to post regularly on a personal blog. The sandbox is your own: you can reach out to your audience with regularly posted content, and the comments open up further dialogue. Often it’s a more dynamic endeavour than a static website or a book.

Recently, one of my projects for Talk Science to Me involved setting up a personal blog for long-time client Christopher Wallis. You will recognize him as the author of Tantra Illuminated, a scholarly discourse on Tantrik learning published by Mattamayura Press. Currently, my workmate and Talk Science associate editor Roma Ilnyckyj is editing the book for e-publishing format. And there’s a new book coming out soon too—so it’s a great time for the author to start blogging!

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Understanding water use in BC

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I recently found out that over 95% of the electricity produced by BC Hydro comes from hydroelectric sources, which floored me. I grew up in Alberta, where the majority of power comes from coal and natural gas, so my concept of electricity sources doesn’t include water, except for as a possible “alternative” energy source. But there’s nothing alternative about 95%. And after thinking “Wow! That’s amazing!” I started asking questions: How much water do we even have? What about drinking water? What about the fish?

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Coordinating cooks: Working with live designs

The State of Sustainability Initiatives Review is a massive report, created every four years, by the International Institute for Sustainable Development, one of Talk Science to Me’s oldest clients. We were asked to copy-edit, design and proofread this epic masterpiece, weighing in at 365 pages. The design portion of the project, with its more than 400 figures, tables and images, was mine.

State of Sustainability Initiatives Review 2014 cover © International Institute for Sustainable Development 2014The SSI report, which evaluates voluntary sustainability initiatives in 10 major agricultural crops, is a massive undertaking of research and writing, and my task was to honour the content and create a logical, readable, accessible—i.e., well-designed—version for our client’s readers, which include experts in the field, laypeople and the media.

The central problem in the design process, which had to be completed—including working with the proofreader—in about a month, originated from a seemingly non-design-related question: who was providing content, and when were they delivering it?

Solve that problem well, and the report would be better designed for it.Read More »Coordinating cooks: Working with live designs

Client showcase: UBC Chemistry grant proposals

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Lots of beautiful science happens in the chemistry building at UBC. Photo by Tr1plefilter, 2008 (public domain).The University of British Columbia (UBC)’s Department of Chemistry is housed in one of the most beautiful buildings on campus (which you may have seen in one or two X-Files episodes). But even more beautiful is what goes on inside the building: it’s home to world-class researchers whose work has contributed to groundbreaking discoveries and scientific developments.

And since these scientists are in the same city as Talk Science to Me, we were excited to have an opportunity to work with some of them last month. Talk Science was hired to copy-edit seven grant proposals for funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The proposals we worked on outlined innovative ways to address issues ranging from climate change to cancer treatment.Read More »Client showcase: UBC Chemistry grant proposals

Client showcase: Perfection in all things nuclear and editing

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Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, Plant A, Tiverton, Ontario. © D. Gordon E. Robertson, 2010 (CC-BY-SA-3.0)It seems like only last year that a small core of associates at Talk Science to Me experienced our Adventures in Ottawa (see entertaining blog by Talk Science mastermind, Eve Rickert). Oh, wait. It was only a year ago. Having edited literally thousands of their pages since our seminal meeting with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, my (our) relationship with the CNSC seems like it’s lasted a lifetime. I mean that in a good way.

In case you’re wondering, the CNSC is the federal governmental body that “regulates the use of [Canadian] nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security and the environment, and to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy; and to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public.” And I am the senior editor for Talk Science since its founding three years ago—and the Minnesotan mentioned in Eve’s Ottawa article.

But enough about me. Recently, several CNSC reports reached an editorial juncture regarding their eventual disclosure of information to the Canadian public. Before these highly visible, essential documents connect with the general population, they must go under the scrutinizing lens of Talk Science to Me eyeballs—and this season, the eyeballs once again belong to me. Claire Eamer, project lead this past year and who is also featured in the Ottawa blog, has been the other major set of eyeballs. And a huge round of applause goes to Roma Ilnyckyj, who lent Eyeballs #5 and 6 to the latest report, the annual CNSC Staff Integrated Safety Assessment of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants for 2013.Read More »Client showcase: Perfection in all things nuclear and editing

Client showcase: Climate risk management

One of our frequent flyers at Talk Science to Me is the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). IISD is constantly publishing papers about sustainability issues, from just about every sector and every part of the world. They have a massive archive of previous work, which you can browse at your leisure with no paywall. One of the larger projects we’ve worked on for IISD is a series of papers about climate risk management. In this case, IISD contracted with us to help them document an initiative carried out in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme.

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