Researcher. Leader. Catalyst.
Books, Blog & Resources
Applied Research
Use my research!
My priority is to publish peer-reviewed work that is usable scholarship. For example, I've published research that offers step-by-step advice for using drawing to enhance student learning in field/lab courses, an entire process for conducting a climate survey in your department, a six-week workshop curriculum that has statistically significant, positive effects on grad students' mindsets on scholarly writing, and numerous scicomm training/curricular frameworks. You can access these and many more applied approaches to research via my Publications page and my Newsletter/Blog archive.
Books
Scicomm | Scientific Writing | Illustration & more
👉Order your copy of my new book today!👈
Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences
is now available from University of Chicago Press!
B.G. Merkle and S. Heard, December 2025.
Subscribe here for updates | Book details are available here.
Get 30% off by ordering directly from the publisher!
View the rest of my books here.
Guides
SciComm Advice
This collection highlights my advice about ethical, effective scicomm, including my 6-part primer on ethical image use in science and scicomm. Much of my scicomm work has also been published in outlets beyond this site. And, see my podcast: Meteor: The honest podcast about scicomm with impact.
Career Advice
This collection of blog posts includes a cover letter template (and pep talk), scicomm life advice, how to be more creative in science and scicomm, and more.
The "No for it" collection features resources, advice, and examples exploring the importance of articulating your priorities, setting boundaries, and saying good nos.
Sketching Tips
This collection of blog posts and excerpts from my SciArt newsletter archive provide actionable, hands-on tips and resources for enhancing your approach to observational sketching.
Pocket guide to nature sketching & field journals
Get your copy of this guide to fun, whacky techniques that professional artists use to warm up, move past the blank page, and channel observation into discovery and delight.
Teaching Resources
This collection provides instructors with resources for a lot of efficiency, reflection, and other enhancements to teaching process that can help you sustain your enthusiasm and improve your efficacy in the classroom. (Most resources are for higher-ed, but some are relevant to K-12 and informal educators, too.)
Writing Resources
This collection emphasizes advice, tips, and resources for writing and mentoring developing writers. Resources are focused on college-level writing and above.
Downloadable templates, worksheets & more
Visit my downloads "shop" to access worksheets for student reflection prompts, to help you teach developing writers to read and write more effectively, to recalibrate your life toward work-life harmony and more. You can find additional resources and advice in the collections listed above and on my newsletter/blog School of Good Trouble.
Newsletter/Blog
Creativity | Hidden curriculum | Helping students write | Scicomm | Work-life harmony
We build relationships through vocab and conversation, snark and dreams. We understand what is true, just, and possible through the bounds of the language we possess.
But, too often, our words don't register with supervisors, administrators, and the other gatekeepers who say no to our ideas for how to make the world a better place.
On School of Good Trouble (my blog/newsletter/whatever), I share communications research and practice, plus a lot of ideas and spicy opinions about how we can make academia better. The idea is to help us all collectively get better at making a point, making an ask, making relationships durable, making change...while staying rested and multi-faceted human beings. (An archive of earlier posts is still available on my website.)
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Podcast
Meteor: The (Overly) Honest Podcast about Scicomm with Impact
For four years, Virginia Schutte and I hosted Meteor: The (Overly) Honest Podcast about Scicomm with Impact, our candid, beyond-beginner podcast about being scicomm researchers and practitioners. We built the podcast because we felt there were lots of great spaces already devoted to science communication skill-building, so we focused on "advanced user" conversations we were already having with each other. We tackled a host of topics relevant to experienced people offering training, conducting research, and fostering scicomm communities of practice.
Talks, Training & Coaching
Scheduled programs | Coaching + support | Invited talks + trainings
My programs, talks, and customized coaching help you and your institution get better at strategic processes to make real change, do ethical scicomm, and conduct transdisciplinary work and research.
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I co-lead three recurring programs, one for experienced SciComm professionals and two mindset/habits programs for graduate students who have hang-ups around academic writing. I also run a free, self-paced science communication certification program.
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I coach and support agencies, institutions, and research groups to build and enhance processes, policies, and skills around scicomm and organization and systems change. I work with you on: impacts assessment, program/org assessment, strategic planning, program development, and scicomm.
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I give engaging talks on intersections of scicomm, art-science integration & organizational change. I lead hands-on, evidence-based workshops & trainings on ethical scicomm, art-science synergies, ethical science/academic leadership, academic writing, and enhancing mentorship.
Books
SciComm | Mentoring | Scientific Writing | Illustration
Follow the link to view all my books!