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Science writer Sheril Kirshenbaum is dedicated to enhancing public awareness of energy issues related to food, oceans and culture.

On Tuesday, April 5, Kirshenbaum will share some of what she has learned with the West Virginia University community during the David C. Hardesty, Jr. Festival of Ideas. Her presentation will be at 7:30 p.m. in the Mountainlair ballrooms.

The event is free and open to the public. A book signing and reception will be held following the presentation.

Kirshenbaum currently works as a research associate at the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of Texas, Austin.

She is the co-author of Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future, which was chosen by Library Journal as one of the “Best Sci-Tech Books of 2009” and was named by President Barack Obama’s science advisor John Holdren as his top recommended read. Her most recent book is The Science of Kissing.

Kirshenbaum’s writing has appeared in publications including Newsweek, The Washington Post, Discover Magazine and The Nation. She is featured in the anthology The Best American Science Writing 2010.

She serves as science advisor to National Public Radio’s Science Friday, and is on the program committee for the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Kirshenbaum will also be featured at the keynote speaker at WVU’s science communication symposium on April 5 in the Mountainlair. The symposium, “Science and Technology in Society: Effective Communication Strategies,” will be composed of workshops, lectures, a citizen science event, poster session and networking opportunities. To learn more, visit http://sciencesymposium.wvu.edu/ .

To learn more about Kirshenbaum, visit http://sherilkirshenbaum.com/index.html .

The David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas is named after WVU’s former president who created the lecture series. Each year, the festival brings key figures from the fields of sports, politics, business, entertainment, research, scholarship and culture to West Virginia.

The series is supported in part by the David C. Hardesty Jr. Festival of Ideas Endowment.

For more information on the 2010-11 Festival of Ideas, visit http://festivalofideas.wvu.edu/ .

-WVU-

cd/03/23/11

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