Lomax Boyd
Lomax is a scientist committed to unpacking the process and people of our scientific culture. He believes the science narrative should be an integral part of our broader scientific culture, both inside and outside the laboratory.
His research — evolutionary neuroscience — lives between the evolutionary, developmental, and neurobiological spheres of biology. He searches for genes — the exact DNAsequences - that distinguish our species from the chimpanzees. You know that lobed structure sitting between your shoulders — the neocortex — the evolution of that structure is the biological subtract of our culture. But how did this uniquely large organ emerge from the primordial soup? He’s trying to find out. And the answer to that question is our ultimate story as a uniquely self-aware primate.
Science communication takes on many forms from the scholarly prose of academic journals to the witty comedics of the popular show Big Bang Theory. Regardless, almost every form of communication is moving toward the web, which has some extraordinary affordances for communicating science; namely, the integration of media forms and data visualization. The digital progeny of these legacy formats can be wonderfully integrated in a web-based world. Lomax’s passion is to seek out how different media traditions, especially the documentary form, can be used to share science with the world. To this end, he is a student at Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies where he is learning the art of storytelling.
He is also a contributing member of the Scientists with Stories Project.