ABC Top 5 Science

Dr Emma Rehn, a Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Archaeology with The Cairns Institute, was selected as one of this year’s ABC TOP 5 Science. The program is a two-week residency run by ABC Radio National, where five leading early career researchers from across Australia in any scientific discipline are given hands-on media training to improve how they communicate their research with the public. Week one was face-to-face in Sydney at ABC Ultimo from September 19-23, the first time since 2019 that the program has been held in-person, and week two was run virtually.
Highlights of the week spent in Sydney included Emma being interviewed by Cassie McCullagh for Mornings on Radio Sydney, training in writing for digital platforms with Tegan Taylor of ABC RN’s Coronacast, and the TOP 5 joining Dr Karl Kruszelnicki live on air to answer science questions from listeners from the Far North, Gold Coast, and Adelaide.

As part of the program, Emma was mentored by multi-awardwinning ABC broadcaster Natasha Mitchell to create an audio product for ABC RN. Emma and Natasha worked together to create an episode of ABC RN’s Science Friction, featuring Emma in conversation with Hugo Award-winning author Becky Chambers about connections between the deep past (archaeology) and far future (science fiction). Emma was also mentored by experienced science journalist Belinda Smith to create a digital product for ABC Science online. Emma and Belinda are currently developing a feature story on Emma’s PhD work reconstructing ancient bushfires from northern Australian lakes, with original illustrations by Emma.

The program has given Emma invaluable experience in sharing her work through varied media, and she looks forward to future collaborations with