Jennifer Brandon will discuss her career as a scientist studying marine debris and as a scientific communicator. She will address common misconceptions about marine debris and plastic pollution. She will also discuss how to address misconceptions without alienating your audience and simple ways to bridge the gap between scientists and the public.

Brandon has a Ph.D. in biological oceanography from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. She recently completed an eighteen-month stint as the Price Postdoctoral Fellow in science communication and outreach at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps. There, she taught a college lecture course on science communication and helped coordinate an outreach program to sixty Title I classrooms.