Alba L’Astorina

Alba L’Astorina works at the National Research Council (CNR), where she focuses on models of public communication of science and technology and on the relationship between science and society.

In 2006 she contributed to the creation of the research group Social Studies on Science, Communication and Education, coordinated by the Institute of Research on Population and Social Policies (IRPPS) of the CNR, which takes part in national and international projects on the main topics concerning science and society, including: research, policy and decision-making processes; participatory models for scientific and social debate; science education and public communication. Her interests are the models of public communication of science practised by the scientific community and the experimentation of innovative and participatory ways of relating experts and publics. In this field she has conducted several surveys on how the scientific community communicates and on the relationship between scientists and society. She organised the events Ricercare e Comunicare 2009 and Ricercare e Comunicare 2012, Responsible Research and Innovation: challenges and opportunities for the research world 2016, initiatives aimed at bringing the debate on public communication of science into the scientific community and at helping to close the gap between those who “do” science and those who “reflect” on it. For EXPO2015 she designed, together with the European Commission’s JRC in Ispra, the participatory visionary laboratory Food Futuring Tours.

For the Institute for Electromagnetic Sensing of the Environment (IREA) she oversees science education and communication projects focused on the use of remote sensing and Earth observation technologies in schools for science and environmental education. Alongside these activities, she contributes to IREA’s national and international research projects, supporting the dissemination of results and public communication.