Bevil Conway is a visual neuroscientist and artist who examines the neural basis of color using physiological, behavioral, and modeling techniques. He is an associate professor of neuroscience at Wellesley College and runs a lab split between Wellesley College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. At Neuroscience 2015, Conway spoke at the Professional Development Workshop, “Teaching Neuroscience to Nonscientists.” In this interview, he delves into why he focuses on empowering the student as the expert and leader of their own learning.

How can neuroscientists explain their science concisely and interestingly without omitting nuance? What are some effective engagement strategies? Suzanne Ffolkes, Scott Thompson, and Leslie Tolbert give advice.

Educational Resources in Neuroscience (ERIN), developed by the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), is a tool to help undergraduate, graduate, and clinical education professors find teaching resources. The database has materials reviewed by experts in the field. Resources include videos, interactive quizzes, and simulators, which you can search by topic, type of resource, and educational level.

The mentor’s responsibilities extend well beyond helping students learn what the research and writing components of graduate school entail. First and foremost, mentors introduce students to the culture of the discipline, clarifying and reinforcing — principally by example — what’s expected of a professional scholar.

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Working as a dean can allow you to interact and aid a wider array of people than in a typical professor role. Joanne Berger-Sweeney shares her experiences as Dean of Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences where she deals with a variety of administration issues every day while still maintaining a research laboratory.

Perceiving the sizes of visual objects appears to be a simple perceptual experience in which no big scientific conundrum exists.

Science requires significant public investment, and engaging the broader community is key to communicating discoveries and building support for education and research.

The following Q&A is adapted from the webinar, In First Person: Tips to Survive and Excel as a Woman in Neuroscience, hosted by SfN’s Professional Development Committee's Women in Neuroscience Subcommittee (WINS).

Wendy Suzuki introduces us to Marian Diamond, whose lively classes ushered Suzuki into a career in neuroscience. Suzuki shares how she came to study how exercise profoundly affects the brain, not just the body.