CAMBRIDGE,
UK - I've worked in
science communication for
more than twenty years, since 23rd
January 1989, in fact, having started out post-university as a technical editor
at the Royal Society of Chemistry. My first professional feature article was
published just over a
year later for New Scientist in May 1990
and discussed the pioneering organometallic chemistry of the late Ron Snaith
here in Cambridge.
Previously, I'd done some in-house and student newsletter writing, of course,
and during the last two decades, I've written for a diverse range of
publications, magazines, papers, organisations, companies, websites; check out the past and present clients list below.
You'll probably recognise a few of the names in my client list. In no particular order: Science,
Nature, New Scientist, Chemistry World, The Economist, BioMedNet, ChemWeb,
Microsoft Encarta, Dorling Kindersley etc. I am also a former
Contributing Editor to the American Chemical Society journal Analytical
Chemistry.
I am a stickler for scientific accuracy and
have turned my attention to a wide range of scientific, technical, engineering, and medical (STEM) subjects. I've
researched and written most kinds of news and features, done countless
interviews and profiles, and prepared promotional and "in-house" literature and
web materials, as well as reporting from conferences and symposia (live, virtually
and even retrospectively).
As you've probably realised, I'm also quite keen on spreading the scientific
word through my personal blog and via
Twitter and
Facebook.
Science
Writers
I am a member of the Association of British Science Writers, the US National
Association of Science Writers, and a Chartered Chemist member of the Royal
Society of Chemistry. In September 2007, I created the
Science Writers Facebook Group, which is now a science writers fan
page. I'm also on Twitter as
@sciencebase
where I've created a
scientwists list and a scientists twibe to help bring together scientists
using social media.
I was winner of the 1992 Daily Telegraph Science Writer of
the Year for an article about sperm and egg communications, entitled Not Every
Sperm is Sacred. I was Runner-up in the 1995 Chemical Industries
Association (CIA) Awards
for articles communicating science to the public and also received a
Commendation in the 1997 Medical Journalism Awards.
My
Reactive Reports
web site was short-listed for the Pirelli
science multimedia awards in 2001 and subsequently my various other websites
have been nominated, reached the finals and won several online accolades. Most
recently, my Sciencetext.com site was a finalist in the 2008weblogawards and I was a Shorty Award finalist
in 2008.
I co-authored, with John Gribbin, Richard
Dawkins, Ian Stewart and others, the popular science
book A Brief History of Science and am co-author of The Young Oxford
Encyclopedia of Science.
I was chemistry consultant on Adam Hart-Davis' latest book of science for
Dorling Kindersley published October 2009.