Neuroscientists at Princeton University recently completed a study in which, they wrote, “ We found that measures of pupil diameter, which are thought to track levels of locus coeruleus norepinephrine activity and neural gain, were correlated with the degree to which learning was focused on stimulus dimensions that individual human participants were more predisposed to process.” Fascinating, maybe, after some serious quality time with a neuroscience textbook.
Fortunately for the curious non-scientists among us, there is Catherine Zandonella. A communications and outreach specialist at Princeton University, she started the blog Princeton Journal Watch. There, she writes, “A new study from Princeton University researchers found that changes in pupil size can reveal whether people are learning using their dominant learning style, or whether they are learning in modes outside of that style.”
Aha.
West Windsor resident Zandonella has made a career of communicating complicated scientific concepts in a language that non-scientists of all ages can understand. “I enjoy finding ways to make difficult topics accessible to people who have little or no background in science,” she says.
In her position at Princeton, which she has held since 2011, she contributes to the blog as well as helping prepare Discovery, an annual magazine published by the university with articles and reports on ongoing research projects (discovery.princeton.edu). “This magazine, the website, and social media are the primary means by which I communicate with the public,” she says.
She is not necessarily looking for stories that have direct relevance to her audience. “I don’t try to look for stories that have relevance to everyday life because so many of today’s innovations came from research that people said had no practical use. When Benjamin Franklin experimented with electricity, few people could envision what uses it would have.”
The best part of her job, she says, “is the opportunity to learn something new every day. I am regularly amazed by the things that scientists do, such as flying high-altitude balloons at the South Pole to study the early universe or controlling telescopes in the Chilean desert from their desks at Princeton.”
Zandonella, who grew up in California, has long been inspired by science. Her mother, a nurse, and father, an electronics technician for an airline, encouraged her to pursue science. “I can still remember visitng my father’s workplace and seeing a computer that took up an entire room but had less computing power than today’s laptops,” she says.
A high school biology teacher sparked a special interest in the subject, and she earned a bachelor of science in biology from UC Santa Barbara. She also holds a master’s degree in public health with an emphasis on environmental health from UC Berkley, and a certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz. She worked for 10 years as a correspondent for the magazine Nature New Scientist, wrote for San Francisco Bureau of New Science Magazine, and also worked for Chiron (now Novartis) in the cancer research field. And in 2010 she wrote a book called “Green Guide Families: The Complete Reference for Eco-Friendly Parents.”
One of the reasons behind the book was because Zandonella, a mother of twins, likes to share her knowledge with children as well as adults. She spent two years after college in Lesotho with the Peace Corps, teaching math and science to 9th and 10th graders. “We did not have electricity, and several of the students walked a couple of miles to get to school,” Zandonella says. “It was inspirational to see how much they valued education.”
In 2002, Zandonella and husband, Richard Fanta, moved from California to Brooklyn because his job was transferred. He now works in IT for a New York financial firm.
Their twins, Marie and Benjamin, were born in 2002, and the family relocated to West Windsor in 2005. “We loved the idea of living near a wooded area full of greenery and to have the opportunity to have an outdoor-oriented life with our kids. We wanted to be living in it rather than having to travel to it. We love New Jersey and the Princeton area because of the beauty, and all of the recreational opportunities here — the ability to just be able to take a walk in the woods, as well as still having access to cultural and other opportunities.”
Being in West Windsor also allows her to indulge her interest in the environment. “We love being able to have our own garden. We used to be members of Honeybrook Organic Farm Community Supported Agriculture, but now our own garden is self-sustaining, which is wonderful. I earned my Master Gardener’s certificate from Mercer County, which helps. Our garden is 2,000 square feet, and we grow fruits and vegetables. We do our own composting, and collect water in two rain barrels. It is a very fulfilling project.”
Zandonella has taken advantage of the education-oriented culture in West Windsor to share her love of science with her children and others. When her children attended Maurice Hawk, she and another parent, Mickie Jarecki, began the PTA Science Fair, a non-competitive interactive fair that offers K-3 students the chance to learn about and demonstrate science projects. Now that her children are at Millstone School, she manages the PTA website.
Both of her children are involved in scouts, and Zandonella has helped their troops with science projects. She helped son Ben’s Webelos II Cub Scout den to earn their science badge through hands-on science activities. With her husband, she taught Ben’s Tiger den about science through meetings on kite-making, endangered species and other environmental issues, and basic nutrition and fitness.
She is also the troop leader for daughter Marie’s Girl Scout troop, and, as troop leader, she says “I want the girls to have more exposure to science, and good female role models. I have taken them to the Lakota Wolf Preserve for an overnight camping trip, to learn about the outdoors, ecology, and wolf habitats. When the girls were younger, we had a unit on water conservation and water ecology. We met with the naturalist from the Delaware and Raritan Canal. Last year we learned about energy and motion, toured an eco-friendly house, and learned about saving household energy. We also participated at the West Windsor Farmer’s Market. We had a booth and gave out information about eco-friendly practices, conservation, and composting.”
“Learning about scientific principles, the ecology, and the environment is very important, particularly for children. They are the future of this planet. In some small way I like to think I am adding value to those lessons,” says Zandonella.
