We are excited to share that GREMAP PhD student Cullen Zhong participated in last week’s Nerd Nite Ann Arbor! Nerd Nite is monthly speaker series organized by the Ann Arbor district library that brings together the community to engage in science and research in a fun and informal setting. The events usually feature 3 speakers, who each give a brief talk (between 15-20 minutes) on a topic on which they are either expert or (at least) over-informed. Cullen spoke about her research on social connection and loneliness among older adults with a talk entitled “Loneliness Hurts—and let’s talk about it”.

This talk was developed as a part of the RELATE summer workshop, which Cullen participated in this summer. RELATE, which stands for “Researcher Expanding Lay-Audience Teaching and Engagement”, is an 8-week long workshop organized by UM graduate students that is designed to prepare early-career researchers to effectively communicate their research to a broader audience. As a final deliverable, Cullen gave a talk at Nerd Nite as a way to engage her research with a general audience and practice the science communication skills developed over the course of the workshop. Great work, Cullen!

Cullen presenting an introduction to social connection and its importance in our daily lives at Nerd Nite!