SCIENCE. POLITICS. STORYTELLING.

Bio

Sheril Kirshenbaum is a scientist and author working to enhance public understanding of science and improve communication between scientists, policymakers and the public. She currently hosts Serving Up Science at PBS Digital Studios.

At Michigan State University, Sheril hosts "Our Table," a series of round table discussions bringing together farmers and food experts, health professionals and community members to listen to each other and foster dialogue about where our food comes from and how it impacts our health and planet. She also developed and conducts the biannual Food Literacy and Engagement Poll on a variety of food topics to help inform national discussion, business planning and policy development. She also serves as executive director of Science Debate, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization working to get every candidate on record on science policy.

Sheril co-authored Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future with Chris Mooney, chosen by Library Journal as one of the Best Sci-Tech Books of 2009 and named by President Obama's science advisor John Holdren as a top recommended read. She is also the author of The Science of Kissing, which explores the science behind one of humanity's fondest pastimes.

Sheril has been featured in documentary films about science and society and her writing appears in publications such as Bloomberg and The Atlantic, frequently covering topics from climate change to parenthood. Her work has been published in scientific journals including Science and Nature and she is featured in the anthology The Best American Science Writing 2010. Sheril has been a guest on news programs like CNN and Fox News and interviewed in magazines such as Vanity Fair. She has also hosted blogs at Discover, Scientific American and Wired, as well as the weekly NPR podcast Serving Up Science.

Sheril has been a 2015 Presidential Leadership Scholar, a Marshall Memorial Fellow, a legislative NOAA Sea Grant Knauss Fellow in the U.S. Senate with Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL) and a Next Generation Fellow through the Robert Strauss Center for International Security and Law. She speaks internationally about science communication and has appeared as a thought leader at events like TEDGlobal and Ciudad de las Ideas. Sheril holds MSc degrees in marine biology and policy and is currently a PhD candidate in community sustainability at Michigan State University. Her research focuses on how we make decisions about science and policy.

Previously Sheril served as director of the University of Texas at Austin Energy Poll. She has also worked with the Webber Energy Group at the Center for International Energy and Environmental Policy and Duke University's Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. Sheril has been a visiting scholar with The Pimm Group, a fellow with the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation at the American Museum of Natural History and a Howard Hughes Research Fellow. She lives in East Lansing, Michigan with her husband, David Lowry, and sons.

Books

Book Two

Unscientific America

In his famous 1959 Rede lecture at Cambridge University, the scientifically-trained novelist C.P. Snow described science and the humanities as "two cultures," separated by a "gulf of mutual incomprehension." And the humanists had all the cultural power—the low prestige of science, Snow argued, left Western leaders too little educated in scientific subjects that were increasingly central... more

Book One

The Science of Kissing

From a noted science journalist comes a wonderfully witty and fascinating exploration of how and why we kiss. When did humans begin to kiss? Why is kissing integral to some cultures and alien to others? Do good kissers make the best lovers? And is that expensive lip-plumping gloss worth it? Sheril Kirshenbaum, a biologist and science journalist, tackles these questions and more in THE SCIENCE OF KISSING... more

Book Reviews

Featured Media

View All Media

Climate Change & Food on PBS

Politicon 2018

Today Show on CBS

March for Science, DC

Nite Show Highlight

Population

Serving Up Science

WEDNESDAYS DURING ALL THINGS CONSIDERED

HOSTED BY SHERIL KIRSHENBAUM, KAREL VEGA

The series ran 2018-2019 and was all about food, where it comes from and how it impacts our health and our planet. History buff, foodie and science writer Sheril Kirshenbaum and co-host Karel Vega explored the science and history of our favorite foods. Serving Up Science was broadcast Wednesdays during All Things Considered on 90.5 FM in mid-Michigan. Start listening to one of Sheril's favorite episodes about The Poison Squad!

Also make sure to check out Serving Up Science on PBS!

PBS Series

PBS

A NEW SERIES ON PBS DIGITAL STUDIOS

HOSTED BY SHERIL KIRSHENBAUM

Serving Up Science is hosted by history buff, science writer and foodie Sheril Kirshenbaum, who will give you science-backed tips to make your favorite foods even better. Farmed or Wild? Why does cheese stink? Why should meat rest? Explore these questions and more.

Also make sure to check out the Serving Up Science podcast on NPR!

Contact Sheril

For speaking engagements, professional development workshops and general inquiries, contact me.

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