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Rod Lamberts

Dr Rod Lamberts is deputy director of the Australian National Centre for Public Awareness of Science (CPAS) at the ANU, which recently became affiliated with the Alan Alda Centre for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University. He is also a former national president of the Australian Science Communicators. Rod has been providing science communication consultation and evaluation advice for nearly 20 years to organisations including UNESCO, the CSIRO, and to ANU science and research bodies. He has a background in psychology, anthropology and corporate communication consultancy and facilitation.

Rod has been developing and delivering science communication courses since 1998, and supervises a large range of postgraduate research projects.

His professional and research interests include: science in society; science and public policy; perceptions of expertise in science; risk and crisis perception/ communication; and science communication as the new public intellectualism.

Rod is an extremely strong proponent of getting academia well beyond the hallowed halls and into the real world. His most recent forays into this world include regular appearances on ABC Radio National "Research Filter" and ABC radio Perth's "Blinded by Science". He was also a co-host of KindaThinky, and irreverent, theme-based chat show that ran in Canberra in 2014 and 15.

Distrust of experts happens when we forget they are human beings

May 12, 2017 06:30 am UTC| Insights & Views Science

In 2016, conservative, pro-brexit, British politician Michael Gove announced that people in England …have had enough of experts with organisations from acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it...

Why don't people get it? Seven ways that communicating risk can fail

Jan 03, 2017 00:40 am UTC| Life Politics

Many public conversations we have about science-related issues involve communicating risks: describing them, comparing them and trying to inspire action to avoid or mitigate them. Just think about the ongoing stream of...

Ban new wind turbines? Not if the bar for declaring them safe is impossibly high

Mar 29, 2016 05:20 am UTC| Insights & Views Technology

The debate about wind farms is clearly not over yet. Last week Australias National Heath and Medical Research Council awarded A$3.3 million to fund two new health studies: one to measure the effect of infrasound on sleep...

Economy

Asian Markets Slide as Silver Volatility, Earnings Season, and Central Bank Meetings Rattle Investors

Asian share markets opened the week on a cautious note, largely tracking weaker Wall Street futures, as extreme volatility in silver prices and a packed global economic calendar unsettled investors. The sharp moves in...

India Budget 2025 Highlights Manufacturing Push but Falls Short of Market Expectations

Indias latest Union Budget placed manufacturing firmly at the center of its economic strategy, prioritizing key sectors such as semiconductors, biopharma, electronics, renewables, and capital goods. While the government...

Starmer’s China Visit Highlights Western Balancing Act Amid U.S.-China Rivalry

British Prime Minister Keir Starmers recent visit to China underscores the complex balancing act Western middle powers are attempting as rivalry between Beijing and Washington intensifies. While the trip allowed China to...

U.S. Stock Futures Slip as Markets Brace for Big Tech Earnings and Key Data

U.S. stock futures edged lower on Sunday evening as investors adopted a cautious stance ahead of a busy week filled with major corporate earnings and crucial economic data. The pullback follows weakness in technology...

South Korea Factory Activity Hits 18-Month High as Export Demand Surges

South Koreas manufacturing sector showed its strongest momentum in nearly a year and a half in January, driven by a sharp rebound in export demand and improving business confidence, according to a private sector survey...

Politics

Peter Mandelson Resigns from Labour Party Amid Renewed Jeffrey Epstein Links

Former British government minister Peter Mandelson has resigned from Prime Minister Keir Starmers Labour Party following renewed media scrutiny over his past connections to disgraced U.S. financier Jeffrey Epstein. The...

Japan Election Poll Signals Landslide Win for Sanae Takaichi, Raising Fiscal Policy Concerns

Japans ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, is poised for a decisive victory in the upcoming lower house election, according to a new opinion poll released by the Asahi newspaper....

U.S. Accuses Cuba of Harassing Top Diplomat Amid Rising Tensions

The United States has accused Cuba of interfering with the work of its senior diplomat in Havana after videos emerged showing small groups of Cubans verbally harassing him during visits outside the capital. The incident...

Democrats Score Surprise Texas State Senate Win, Fueling Momentum Ahead of 2026 Midterms

A Democratic candidate has won a closely watched Texas state senate special election by a double-digit margin, flipping a Republican-held seat for the first time in decades and adding to growing Democratic momentum ahead...

Trump Proposes Two-Year Shutdown of Kennedy Center Amid Ongoing Turmoil

President Donald Trump has proposed that the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts suspend all events for approximately two years, beginning July 4, as part of what he described as a major transformation...

Science

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Technology

Jensen Huang Urges Taiwan Suppliers to Boost AI Chip Production Amid Surging Demand

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang praised and gently pushed Taiwans leading technology suppliers to ramp up production, highlighting the intense global demand for artificial intelligence hardware during a high-profile visit to the...

Oracle Plans $45–$50 Billion Funding Push in 2026 to Expand Cloud and AI Infrastructure

Oracle has announced plans to raise between $45 billion and $50 billion in 2026 as it accelerates the expansion of its cloud infrastructure to meet surging demand from major technology and artificial intelligence clients....

Elon Musk’s Empire: SpaceX, Tesla, and xAI Merger Talks Spark Investor Debate

Speculation around a potential Musk Inc has resurfaced as Elon Musks companiesSpaceX, Tesla, and xAIexplore closer ties amid rapid advances in artificial intelligence and automation. With SpaceX expected to go public later...

SpaceX Reports $8 Billion Profit as IPO Plans and Starlink Growth Fuel Valuation Buzz

SpaceX delivered a strong financial performance last year, generating an estimated $8 billion in profit on revenues between $15 billion and $16 billion, according to people familiar with the companys results. The figures,...

SpaceX Updates Starlink Privacy Policy to Allow AI Training as xAI Merger Talks and IPO Loom

SpaceX has revised its Starlink privacy policy to allow customer data to be used for artificial intelligence training, a move that could significantly support Elon Musks broader AI ambitions. The policy change comes as...