Writing and reading is a huge part of everyone's career. We cannot escape it, let only, fully master it. In STEM, writing and reading becomes the bread and butter of your daily routine, so figuring out how to read and write like a scientist becomes a challenge at the beginning. We learn from our guest today all about the challenges graduate students face when learning scientific writing and understanding how to properly digest a scientific paper.

In this episode, I speak with PhD student Miche Aaron who studies earth and planetary science at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, USA. Miche brings me to a worlds of Martian impact craters and how herself and other scientists study hydrothermal clays and sulfates using a technique known as remote spectroscopy. She explains how impact craters provide us a window to studying the rocks beneath the surface of a planet, and how they are connected to finding both extinct and extant life. Miche also takes me on a journey about how she learned to write like a scientist and read the important details in peer-reviewed papers and communicate planetary science research to audiences outside of STEM. Her experience learning scientific writing and science communication has led her to become a lead volunteer at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution and a DC STEM Network Ambassador at Carnegie Institution for Science. Miche tells me about her initiative The Women+ of Color Project and how herself and colleagues offer workshops for underrepresented groups wanting to apply for graduate school.

If you would like to learn more about Miche’s work on Martian impact cratering, outreach, and women of color projects, check out her website www.micheaaron.com and follow her activity her Twitter @Astrenome.

If you would like to learn more about the show you can email us at thediariesofspaceexplorers@gmail.com.

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Host and creator: Gavin Tolometti

Music Credit: https://www.purple-planet.com