copy-editing Tag

Lots of beautiful science happens in the chemistry building at UBC. Photo by Tr1plefilter, 2008 (public domain).The University of British Columbia (UBC)’s Department of Chemistry is housed in one of the most beautiful buildings on campus (which you may have seen in one or two X-Files episodes). But even more beautiful is what goes on inside the building: it's home to world-class researchers whose work has contributed to groundbreaking discoveries and scientific developments.

And since these scientists are in the same city as Talk Science to Me, we were excited to have an opportunity to work with some of them last month. Talk Science was hired to copy-edit seven grant proposals for funding from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The proposals we worked on outlined innovative ways to address issues ranging from climate change to cancer treatment.

Bruce Nuclear Generating Station, Plant A, Tiverton, Ontario. © D. Gordon E. Robertson, 2010 (CC-BY-SA-3.0)It seems like only last year that a small core of associates at Talk Science to Me experienced our Adventures in Ottawa (see entertaining blog by Talk Science mastermind, Eve Rickert). Oh, wait. It was only a year ago. Having edited literally thousands of their pages since our seminal meeting with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, my (our) relationship with the CNSC seems like it’s lasted a lifetime. I mean that in a good way. In case you’re wondering, the CNSC is the federal governmental body that “regulates the use of [Canadian] nuclear energy and materials to protect health, safety, security and the environment, and to implement Canada’s international commitments on the peaceful use of nuclear energy; and to disseminate objective scientific, technical and regulatory information to the public.” And I am the senior editor for Talk Science since its founding three years ago—and the Minnesotan mentioned in Eve’s Ottawa article. But enough about me. Recently, several CNSC reports reached an editorial juncture regarding their eventual disclosure of information to the Canadian public. Before these highly visible, essential documents connect with the general population, they must go under the scrutinizing lens of Talk Science to Me eyeballs—and this season, the eyeballs once again belong to me. Claire Eamer, project lead this past year and who is also featured in the Ottawa blog, has been the other major set of eyeballs. And a huge round of applause goes to Roma Ilnyckyj, who lent Eyeballs #5 and 6 to the latest report, the annual CNSC Staff Integrated Safety Assessment of Canadian Nuclear Power Plants for 2013.

One of the great things about the way Talk Science to Me does business is that we use the best people we can find, no matter where we find them. While most of our associates live in Vancouver, we've gone as far as the Yukon and Minnesota to find talent that meets our clients' needs. The downside, though, is that some of us rarely see each other face-to-face. So this week was an exciting milestone for our editorial team, when we gathered in Ottawa to meet with our newest client, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. It was, in fact, the first time we've all been together in the same room. So of course we had to take a picture to celebrate the occasion:

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