Optics & Photonics News

What Makes a

Marc J. Kuchner

Have you ever wondered what your colleagues think of your website? I have. I know from experience that our peers judge us partly by our presence on the Web. Hiring committees often search online to learn more about job candidates, and review panels use our sites to help decide whether to fund us.

So I did an experiment to learn a bit more about what our colleagues look for in a website. I organize a Facebook group called Marketing for Scientists, where scientists, engineers and other interested professionals discuss issues related to science communication, science advocacy and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) careers. I suggested to the group that we take turns examining each other’s websites and critiquing them. Altogether, 26 people volunteered. They were a mix of faculty and postdocs, with a few science communication professionals thrown in.

I made a list of all the websites, and I emailed everyone with assignments. I asked each volunteer to review three URLs. I instructed them to play with each site for a minute or so and then to write a few sentences about what they

c How could the site be improved? Marc J. Kuchner

Thinkstock Courtesy of Marc Kuchner

Good Website

for Scientists?

More and more scientists are creating their own
websites to showcase their careers and interests.
What constitutes a successful site to our peers?
The answer might surprise you.

c Does the site make you want to find a way to work with him/her?

At first I was worried that there would be no responses. If you’ve ever organized a meeting or a review panel of scientists, you know how hard it can be to stir our kind into collective action. But then a few eager folks sent in their critiques, initiating a chain reaction. Soon my inbox was flooded, and the constructive criticisms provided a wealth of information and some real surprises.

In today’s world of social networking, it’s easy to forget about good old-fashioned email, but this mode of communication is still vital.

liked and didn’t like. I asked them to address the following questions:

c What impression does the site give about the person who made it?

The basics

First, I heard a cry for more basic information. Andras Paszternak, a chemist at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and the founder of The International NanoScience Community social network, suggested that scientists place an email address on their home page. In today’s world of social networking, it’s easy to forget about good old-fashioned email, but this mode of communication is still vital.

Next, I heard a broad demand for more images and video. “I would supplement your homepage with more graphical things,” said Robert Vanderbei, chair of