New Resources Editor vows to review ALL the resources

It is our great pleasure to welcome Dr Ian Street to our editorial team. Ian will be taking on the role of our first ever Resources Editor. What is a Resources Editor, I hear you ask – let me explain.

At AoBBlog, we like books. We also like book reviews, which are an integral part of many scientific print journals. A while ago, we had a discussion about book reviews on the blog, which went a bit like: “Let’s review botany books.” – “Good idea! Do e-books count as books?” – “Of course. But what about a plant identification app that might have the same purpose as an identification e-book? And if an app counts, what about games, podcasts or videos?” It didn’t take us long to realise that an appropriate equivalent of a book review for AoB Blog would be a review of any resource that provides access to knowledge, independent of the medium it uses. A story can be told in a book, a podcast or a video. Information can be conveyed through a book, an app, an online game, or a recorded lecture.

There are lot of exciting plant science resources online, enough that it warranted the creation of a dedicated ‘Resources Editor’. We were overjoyed when Ian agreed to join our team. Ian’s areas of expertise are plant hormones, plant development, and of course science communication. Ian is currently transitioning from academia into the world of full-time science writing and editing, and is a seasoned science blogger. Some of you might already know his blog  ‘The Quiet Branches‘, but Ian has also written guest articles for AoB Blog, The Royal Society of Biology Blog, and the UK Plant Sciences Federation blog, All Under One Leaf, and others.

Ian is looking forward to shaping this new role: “I am honoured to to join the AoB Blog team, a leader in communicating plant science, as the Resources Editor. My favourite thing, and a big reason I got into science, was learning about new things, new resources, new ideas, and letting other people know about them. Initiating connections of scientists to resources and one another as assets for their science, teaching, or public engagement is gratifying.” So, what can we expect in the near future?  “Amongst my early goals will be to share the resource of coffee and tea, plants that fuel innovation and ideas”. We’re looking forward to it!