Palca's talk will deal with the difficulties of communicating sometimes complex or
controversial scientific topics to mass audiences. The free 3:30 p.m. lecture in 018 Kinard Hall is co-sponsored by the departments
of mass communication and chemistry. 
ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA - Joe Palca, a science correspondent for National Public Radio, will talk about the evolution of science in the media Feb. 4 at Winthrop University.
His talk will deal with the difficulties of communicating sometimes complex or controversial
scientific topics to mass audiences. The free 3:30 p.m. lecture in 018 Kinard Hall is co-sponsored by the departments of mass communication and chemistry.
The award-winning journalist joined NPR in 1992 and has reported on wide range of
science topics. According to NPR, he is currently focused on the eponymous series,
˜Joe's Big Idea.' Stories in the series explore the minds and motivations of scientists and inventors.
Palca began his journalism career in television in 1982, working as a health producer
for the CBS affiliate in Washington, DC. In 1986, he left television for a seven-year
stint as a print journalist, first as the Washington news editor for Nature, and then
as a senior correspondent for Science Magazine.
He has won numerous awards, including the National Academies Communications Award, the Science-in-Society Award
of the National Association of Science Writers, the American Chemical Society James
T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, the American
Association for the Advancement of Science Journalism Prize, and the Victor Cohn Prize
for Excellence in Medical Writing.
Palca will speak that night at the Carolina-Piedmont Section of the American Chemical Society in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the Hilton Charlotte Center City. There will be
a reception at 7 p.m., followed by the program at 8 p.m. It is a free, ticketed event
and those interested should here to register.
For more information, contact Winthrop faculty members Nick Grossoehme at 803/323-4955 or Guy Reel at 803/323-4531.
