Meet new member Jonathan Moens
Jonathan Moens, a freelance reporter based in Rome and a new addition to the NASW community, shares #WhySciWri in this short Q&A.
Featured news
Designer Molecules May Provide Clues to Universe’s Biggest Unsolved Mysteries
Synthetic molecules offer scientists a new framework for solving some long-standing mysteries about the universe. By manipulating the internal architecture of a molecule, researchers are able to create tiny bespoke laboratories in which to test their hypotheses about really big questions, such as how the first stars were formed, how we can harness electrons for use in quantum computing, and where all the antimatter in the universe went.
ScienceWriters2021
Given the continuing risks and uncertainties posed by the coronavirus pandemic, ScienceWriters2021 (#SciWri21) will be held as a virtual-only event. The decision was reached in coordination with our hosting partners at the University of Colorado Boulder and University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
Sheeva Azma: How to Get Started in Freelance Science Writing
A science education can provide a competitive edge for aspiring science writers, Sheeva Azma contends. After earning an MS in neuroscience, Azma began exploring job options outside the lab. In How to Get Started in Freelance Science Writing, she provides tactics to help students and scientists apply their skills to marketing, ghost and grant writing, producing website content, and consulting.
Announcing NASW’s new Conflict of Interest resource
Built by volunteers, and informed by commentary from more than 50 contributors, this resource aims to inform writers and editors about behaviors or practices that may raise COI concerns and to inform conversations between writers and editors about COI and how to address it in performance or contract negotiations.
Conflicts of Interest: Guidance for Science Writers
Negotiating conflicts of interest (COI), real or perceived, is an important part of the contemporary science writing landscape for journalists, institutional writers, and other writers, whether they are staff or freelancers. This document aims to inform writers and editors about behaviors or practices that may raise COI concerns, and to inform conversations between writers and editors about COI and how to address it in performance or contract negotiations.
NASW mentoring program pairs students and science writers during AAAS meeting
This February, NASW's Education Committee paired 22 students with professional science writers for a mentorship program held in conjunction with the virtual AAAS 2021 Annual Meeting. Graduate and undergraduate students were matched with journalists, public information officers, and other science writers with career paths and beats similar to their own interests.
Chelsea Wald: Pipe Dreams—The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet
Humans produce about 100 lbs. of poop and 140 gallons of pee each year. Two billion people worldwide lack a minimally adequate toilet. Hundreds of millions don’t use a toilet at all, promoting spread of preventable diseases. In Pipe Dreams: The Urgent Global Quest to Transform the Toilet, Chelsea Wald explores efforts to make healthy toilets—and necessary infrastructure—accessible to all.