Before the aftermath of Hurricane Helene dumped more than 30 inches of rain on some parts of western North Carolina and led to historic flooding that has killed more than 30 people in the mountainous region, Asheville was known as a “climate haven.”

News reports say people were moving to the city that houses the historic Biltmore Estate to escape extreme heat in the summer, sea level rise and hurricanes.

The mudslides and floods that have swept away children and their grandparents and others  in the foothills and mountains of North Carolina were a risk that few saw as imminent, say Northeastern University professors Auroop Ganguly and Samuel Munoz.

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Surgery after a basketball injury in 2014 left Northeastern student Sade Iriah hobbling around campus and managing her pain with prescription painkillers.

It also opened her to a whole new career — thanks to the university’s Center for Translational NeuroImaging lab.

“It was really just great timing,” Irish recalls. “I ‘crutched’ into class and the topic of the day was opioids, and it was just so applicable to my life — I just needed to know more. What are these opioids doing to me?”

A decade later, Iriah’s work with the CTNI lab has resulted in multiple journal articles focused on addiction and opioids and how drugs affect the body; three Northeastern degrees — a 2016 bachelor’s in behavioral neuroscience; a 2019 master’s in public health; and a 2023 Ph.D. in psychology with a specialization in behavioral neuroscience.

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Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

In today’s digital landscape, where effective science communication is essential, three graduate students from the College of Science launched the inaugural BIMODAL (Belonging in Media: Opportunities in Digital Academic Landscapes) workshop, held on August 27th and 29th, at Northeastern University, with participants from an array of majors across the College of Science.

Designed to address the need for science communication training and to promote belonging in STEM fields for underrepresented groups, BIMODAL provided participants with practical tools to enhance their digital presence, science writing, and networking in virtual academic spaces. The workshop was led by College of Science graduate students Madeline Eppley, Angela Jones, and Lindsey Forg, and funded by the COS DEIJ Equity Action Grant.

Over the course of two days, participants created personal websites, practiced science storytelling, learned about altmetrics and resumes, and explored the growing importance of social media in academic networking. The workshop combined digital media strategies with experiential learning at both Northeastern’s Boston campus and the Marine Science Center on Nahant, offering hands-on experiences with marine life, and further connecting participants to the field of science communication.

“There is a substantial gap in science communication training for graduate students in STEM—it’s an overlooked part of academic curriculum and rarely are  there formal training opportunities to develop effective skills,” shares Madeline Eppley, one of the BIMODAL workshop’s founders and facilitator. 

“There is a growing need to develop better digital presence and science communication with the rising importance of networking in virtual academic spaces.” 

Emphasizing the significant role that digital spaces have played in their own academic career, Eppley explains how their journey of building an online network after graduating in 2020 led them to their current PhD position, shaped their identity as a scientist, and helped them collaborate with scientists across the US. 

Eppley noted, “I wanted to share my knowledge and build community with other underrepresented scientists who are passionate about science communication… so that others could benefit from having the same digital ‘boost’ that I had early in my career.” 

Creating a digital presence is hard to do without material. Lindsey Forg, co-facilitator and professional photographer, was instrumental in providing students with headshots and academic “action shots” to be used on personal websites and social media. 

“In the past, I had been photographed in ways that felt really inauthentic to who I am. Those experiences showed me the importance of building a connection [as a photographer], however brief, in order to really capture individuals in a way that makes them feel more confident and really seen,” says Forg. 

After years of volunteering, presenting at conferences, and gaining field experience, Angela Jones, a BIMODAL co-creator and facilitator, recognized the need to share her experiences digitally. By building her professional digital footprint, Jones also built her professional network and increased her ability to share with others, particularly those who lacked access to mentorship or financial resources. 

“Marginalized academics often do not have legacy knowledge passed down to them… they carry the burden of teaching themselves or ‘reinventing the wheel’ at every academic milestone. It was important to me to pass on as much information as I can to make others’ experiences easier than mine,” Jones shares. 

“I wanted to give students the opportunity to gain insight and experience without… any cost so as to not cause a financial burden on any of the workshop participants,” she adds. 

The BIMODAL workshop left a lasting impression on participants.

“[BIMODAL] acts as a catalyst for growth that turns abstract knowledge into concrete experience and ignites a sense of curiosity that drives scientific and personal development. [The workshop] profoundly deepened my appreciation for … the pivotal role of science communication in society,” shares Diya Atul Patel, a biotechnology graduate student and participant in the workshop. 

Another participant noted, “The workshop helped me get ideas for more things I can do for my career. I feel that I’ve been losing momentum in the past year in terms of working on my career and putting myself out there, but the workshop was a great motivator now that I have a list of things I can do, like making a website, posting on social media, and practicing science communication.”

The BIMODAL team hopes to secure additional funding to run the workshop annually and provide this opportunity for more College of Science students in the future. 

Through personal narratives, digital skill-building, and community engagement, the BIMODAL workshop set the stage for a future where underrepresented voices in STEM can thrive both online and offline.

The 1979 partial meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant became a cautionary tale for a generation of Americans.

But experts at Northeastern University say a plan to reopen the plant shows opinions are changing regarding nuclear power and its role in a clean energy future.

“‘Nuclear’ has a really bad reputation as a word, but for use in our society, it is actually very convenient,” says Alessandra Di Credico, a teaching professor of physics at Northeastern University who teaches a course on energy and the environment.

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AP Photo/Bradley C Bower