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Kevin Davenport

2018 AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellow

University of Utah, Physics and Astronomy
Fellowship Sponsor: American Physical Society
Fellowship Site: The Idaho Statesman
@tropnevaDniveK

I am an experimental physics Ph.D. candidate at the University of Utah where I study the electrical transport properties of materials. I have been interested in making sense of how the world works for as long as I can remember, so physics was the logical choice for me. In my research, I use seemingly random electrical noise signals to tease out details about the physical processes which generate them. In addition to doing science, I am passionate about communicating science. I have served as a STEM ambassador for my university, working to explore what makes for effective science outreach as part of an NSF-funded program. I have engaged with the public about my research at the Natural History Museum of Utah as a Science Communication Fellow. Most excitingly, I’ve had the chance talk about physics with the incarcerated at the Utah State Prison through the University of Utah’s INSPIRE program. I’m very excited to translate my experience into a conversation with a broader audience this summer at the Idaho Statesman in Boise as an AAAS Mass Media Fellow.

Fellowship publications at The Idaho Statesman

6/16/2018          Why are curlews declining in Idaho? Turns out, humans are their most deadly predator.

6/22/2018          How a 20-minute fire in the fatal I-84 crash ruined a concrete overpass

6/28/2018          Night shift: Animals are retreating into the darkness out of fear of humans

7/03/2018          O say can you see? The science behind the booms and blooms of Independence Day fireworks

7/03/2018          Yellowstone's magma chamber is more powerful than we knew. Here's why studying it matters.

7/09/2018          Symphony of the fish: How scientists are learning by putting salmon migration to music

7/11/2018          Why are these 100,000 bees hanging out on this sweet Downtown Boise rooftop?

7/13/2018          You hate rough, windshield-cracking chipseal. So why does Ada County keep using it?

7/16/2018          Plague killed a cat in S.W. Idaho, sickened a child. What is the plague? Why is it here?

7/18/2018          Blue-green algae bloom in an Eagle Island pond puts a damper on water recreation

7/20/2018          Marijuana on the border? November initiative seeks to legalize pot in Ontario, Oregon

7/25/2018          Kevin Davenport Brings STEM Journalism To Idaho Statesman

7/25/2018          Otter welcomes proposed changes to Endangered Species Act, but conservationists worry

7/26/2018          What is it about smoke that makes a sunset more intense?

8/01/2018          Habitat loss hurts 400 species of Idaho bees. You can help the plight of the bumblebee.

8/11/2018          Holding back Hell: Boise’s national fire center coordinates efforts and saves lives

8/15/2018          Bad news, everyone. Idaho’s smoke problems are going to get worse.

8/17/2018          19 elk likely killed by avalanche

9/02/2018          How can we get uranium from seawater? One Idaho scientist has an idea: altered yarn