"What is a Chief Scientist?"

A few months ago the COSI Executive Leadership Team launched this wacky idea: what if a science museum had a Chief Scientist? We all had a somewhat vague sense of what that kind of job would mean, but we also understood that what we knew going in would be different than what we would know once it actually started.

I still don't know what a generic Chief Scientist would do at a generic science museum, but I know precisely what this specific Chief Scientist does at this specific science museum:

1) Talk about science. A lot. As you may have guessed, give me the chance to talk about some little bit of science, and you best pack a snack because you're going to stay awhile. I love all this science stuff, and getting to talk about it to my colleagues, friends, audiences in the theaters, random visitors in the museum, and folks around town is pretty much my dream job.

Need someone to talk about science? A lot? Send me an email.

2) Help you talk about science. A lot. Let's face it, I can't be everywhere at once, and I'm contractually limited to 20 hours per week. And you should admit it: if you're reading this while wearing a certain blue polo shirt, you're probably also really good at talking about science. I love helping make you look better by checking over a script or a presentation, or writing something new for you.

Need help talking about science? A lot? Send me an email.

3) Get my friends at OSU to talk about science. A lot. I spend the other 20 hours of my week doing stuff at OSU, and you may not have noticed, but that place is absolutely infested with scientists. A good fraction of them would love to get the chance to talk about their work in front of new audiences.

Need someone new to talk about science? A lot? Send me an email.

While a more descriptive title for my position would've been "Science Talker", I think I'll stick with "Chief Scientist". But now we all know what that means.