I’m an essayist and a poet with a background in science. I’m interested in the human mind, history, language, and how we understand and interact with the natural world. These interests are reflected in my writing. I’ve written articles about scientific research and the history of science, book and movie reviews, memoir, and personal essays. In addition, I provide copyediting services for researchers and science writers.
Experience
I began writing for publication more than 30 years ago (see a list of my publications). From 2005 to 2018, wrote for my web site, The Thinking Meat Project, about human behavior, brain science, human evolution, and related topics. From 2013 to 2018, I posted on my site Science Word Geek, where I told some of the stories behind words related to science. (Posts from these two blogs are archived on this site.) In 2018, I began writing a regular column for 3 Quarks Daily.
My background includes a bachelor’s degree in astrophysics with a math minor and some graduate coursework in astronomy and in history of science. I also have 14 years of experience editing scientific papers written by non-native English speakers. This work has exposed me to research in various fields including particle physics, green energy technologies, materials science, and nanotechnology.
Memberships and Credentials
- Member, Phi Beta Kappa
- Bachelor of Science degree, Indiana University, astrophysics with mathematics minor. Graduated with distinction.
- Graduate coursework in astronomy and in history and philosophy of science