Patricia L. Daukantas

Voice mail: (301) 523-5542
Internet: patd@nasw.org

SKILLS SUMMARY:

Well-rounded journalist with academic training in the physical sciences. Lucid writing for general and technical audiences; editing and proofreading; WordPerfect, HTML, and Corel Ventura Publisher.

WRITING AND EDITING EXPERIENCE:

Associate Editor for Enterprise Computing, Government Computer News (June 1999-present)

I write news and feature articles for a trade newspaper that covers federal enterprise technology (circulation 87,000).
My beat includes enterprise software, storage systems (including storage area networks), GIS, other high-end peripherals, workstations, mainframes, supercomputers, databases, data modeling, development tools, data warehousing, systems management and network operating systems.
I also write news briefs and short new-products articles related to enterprise computing.
For my most recent clips of interest, see my online bibliography (coming soon).

Freelance Writer and Editor (January-June 1999)

"SC98 Treats the Past as Prologue to Computing's Future" -- article in "Conferences" section of Computing in Science and Engineering, March/April 1999.
"Atomic Steps in Motion" -- article in Physical Review Focus, April 1999.
Edited a fund-raising brochure and served as co-editor of annual report, both for a nonprofit organization (ask me for details).

Associate Editor, Computers in Physics (1997 to January 1999)

Performed copy editing on manuscripts for magazine departments and proofreading of typeset pages. Prepared electronic manuscript files for desktop publishing by entering table text, equations, and symbol codes in Corel Ventura.
Wrote news articles and other short pieces such as "From the CIP Journal Section" (teasers for peer-reviewed articles in each issue) and "Ten Years Ago." Contributed content ideas for upcoming issues of the magazine.
Managed copy flow -- ensured the timely receipt and editorial processing of manuscripts; maintained and distributed editorial production schedules.

Assistant Editor, Computers in Physics (1995-96)

Performed copy editing and proofreading of manuscripts and typeset pages; wrote several news articles; compiled "New Products" section.
Participated in planning for CIP's tenth-anniversary year in 1997.

Copy Editor (part time), Daily Hampshire Gazette, Northampton, MA (1989-92)

Edited reporters' stories and social-news items, wrote headlines and photo captions, and reviewed incoming wire-service articles.

News Editor, Belmont Citizen-Herald, Belmont, MA (1988-89), and Editor, Belmont Herald (1987-88)

Covered all aspects of town government for award-winning 6,500-circulation weekly newspaper; wrote feature stories with special focus on concerns of senior citizens.
Participated in redesign/reorganization effort for merger of Citizen and Herald newspapers (owned by the same company) in April 1988.
Generated story ideas during weekly staff meetings.
Wrote headlines and designed page layouts.

Editor and Assistant Editor, Bedford Minute-Man, Bedford, MA (1982-86)

Responsible for all copy editing and page layouts for a 3,400-circulation weekly newspaper.
Wrote news and feature stories (as both editor and assistant editor) and editorials (as editor).
As editor, supervised work assignments of assistant editor, photographer, and freelance writers.

Staff Writer, Cohasset Mirror, Cohasset, MA (1981-82)

Covered municipal government and other local events. Wrote feature stories.

SCIENCE-RELATED EXPERIENCE:

Graduate Research Assistant, Astrochemistry Branch, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (Summers, 1994 and 1995)

Performed Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy of iron and magnesium silicates to study their thermal metamorphism rates.
Title of M.S. thesis: "Annealing of Astronomically Interesting Silicates" (1998).
Contributed to peer-reviewed article: "Mid-Infrared Spectral Evolution of Amorphous Magnesium Silicate Smokes Annealed in Vacuum: Comparison to Cometary Spectra," Susan L. Hallenbeck, Joseph A. Nuth III, and Patricia L. Daukantas (Icarus 131, 198-209 [1998]).

Teaching Assistant, Astronomy Department, University of Maryland at College Park (Academic Years, 1992-95)

Led discussion sections for 100-level astronomy courses.
Supervised indoor and outdoor laboratory sessions.
Wrote questions for homework assignments, quizzes, and exams.
Served as lecture and publicity coordinator for department's twice-monthly public open-house program at the university observatory.

Graduate Research Assistant, Laboratory for High Energy Astrophysics, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (Summer 1993)

Reduced IUE spectra of NGC 404 and M81 using various IDL routines.

Summer Research Assistant, National Optical Astronomy Observatories (Kitt Peak National Observatory division), Tucson, AZ (1991)

Performed infrared photometry of stars in the open cluster M67 and the globular cluster M71 in order to calibrate new standard stars for infrared observations. Gained working knowledge of UNIX, plus DAOPHOT and other IRAF software routines.

EDUCATION:

M.S. in Astronomy, University of Maryland at College Park, 1998.
B.S. in Physics cum laude, University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1992.
B.S. in Journalism, Boston University, 1981.

HONORS:

University of Massachusetts: Member, Golden Key National Honor Society; Dean's List, 3 semesters; completed University Honors Program.
National Newspaper Association: First-place award for editorial writing (weeklies of circulation 50,000 and under), 1989.
Massachusetts Press Association: Honorable-mention awards for spot news and feature story, 1989.
Massachusetts Association of School Committees: Gold Star Award of Distinction for feature story on high school broadcast journalism program, 1983.
Boston University: National Merit Scholarship; Dean's List, 3 semesters.

PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS:

References and portfolio available upon request.