Researcher. Leader. Catalyst.
Books & Resources
Applied Research | Books | Syllabi I Guides I Newsletter I Talks, Training + Coaching
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Applied Research
Use my research!
Using research, teaching, and facilitation, I work for social change through better communication.
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I focus in three areas:
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Enhancing individual and institutional capacity to do ethical science communication;
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Making institutional change possible through evidence-based assessment and strategic planning;
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Studying and facilitating art-science integration to foster creativity and transdisciplinary work that will make a difference in researchers' own communities.
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My priority is to publish peer-reviewed work that is useable 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.
Books
SciComm Mentoring Writing Scientific Writing Illustration
COMING Fall 2025: Teaching and Mentoring Writers in the Sciences. B.G. Merkle and S. Heard. University of Chicago Press. ​Subscribe here for updates | Book details are available here.
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Invited book chapter. Developing a SciComm Project Plan. S. Rowland and L. Kuchel, eds. In Teaching Science Students to Communicate: A Practical Guide. 2023. Springer. Order book. Access a PDF of my chapter.
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Invited book chapter. Integrating art and science to effectively share knowledge. Interpreting Science at Museums and Historic Sites. D.A. Reid, K.-B.G. Scholthof, and D.D. Vail. In Interpreting Science at Museums and Historic Sites. 2023. Rowman & Littlefield. Order book. Access a PDF of my chapter.
​Writing @ 7200 Feet: First-Year College Composition and Rhetoric—Or a Beginner’s Guide to Composing Academic, Civic, and Multimodal Genres. K. Kinney, B.G. Merkle, and S.C. Vélez, eds. 2016. Hayden McNeil: Plymouth, MI.
​Wild Migrations: Atlas of Wyoming’s Ungulates. M.J. Kauffman, J. E. Meacham, H. Sawyer, A.Y. Steingisser, W.J. Rudd, and E. Ostlind. Illustrated by B.G. Merkle and E. Rahel. 2018. Oregon State University Press. Order book.
​And Then There Were None: The Demise of Desert Bighorn Sheep in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness. P. Krausman. Illustrated by B.G. Merkle. 2017 New Mexico State University Press: Albuquerque, NM. Order book.
Guides
SciComm Advice
This collection highlights my advice about ethical, effective scicomm, much of which has 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.
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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.
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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
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.
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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.
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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.
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