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OUR GANGby Jeff Grabmeier Tickled pink to be back east. After seven and a half years in the deserts around Tucson, freelancer Richard Robinson is returning to what he affectionately refers to as “the promised land-the humid, mosquito-infested, slush-plagued, bone-chilling, gray-skied paradise called eastern Massachusetts.” He said he looks forward to “meeting some of my virtual colleagues, buying them beer, and hitting them up for advice on health insurance.” Take Richard up on his offer at rrobinson@nasw.org. Red-letter day. Andrew M. Porterfield joins The Salk Institute as associate director of communications, a new position created to conduct media relations, promote the institute’s research advances, and help produce a magazine and other publications. Andrew was previously assistant director of Health Sciences Communications at UC Irvine. You can reach Andrew at porterfield@salk.edu. A true-blue freelancer. Freelancer John Gever of Morgantown, WV, who has edited the trade newsletter Emerging Pharmaceuticals under contract since 1994, has taken on a second, similar gig. In March he became editor of Diagnostics Intelligence, covering the in-vitro diagnostics products industry. Both publications are produced by CTB International Publishing (http://ctbintl.com) in Maplewood, NJ. “Telecommuting is the greatest invention since the chair,” John tells us. Drop John a line at his trendy NASW e-mail address: jgever@nasw.org. Roll out the red carpet. Ben Sherman, who for the past nine years has been Sea Grant media relations director, has moved on to become the new Public Affairs Officer for the National Ocean Service, part of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The NOS is a scientific and technical organization of more than 1,700 individuals whose mission is to preserve and enhance the nation’s coastal resources and ecosystems along 95,000 miles of shoreline and 3.5 million square miles of coastal ocean. Ben can still be reached at sherman@nasw.org. Into the black of space. Andrew Fraknoi, freelancer, textbook author, and chair of the astronomy program at Foothill College (near San Francisco), is co-editor of a new journal, Astronomy Education Review. The AER is described as a journal/Web site that provides a meeting place for all who are engaged in astronomy and space science education, in either formal or informal settings. Check it out at http://aer.noao.edu. Gold-medal winner. Later this summer, Amanda Siegfried will leave her position as senior staff writer covering science at the University of Houston as she follows her husband to his new job at Texas A&M-Commerce, about 60 miles east of Dallas. She says, “I’m pretty sure the Dallas metroplex has reached capacity on the number of Siegfrieds covering science in that region (could she be referring to Tom Siegfried, science editor at the Dallas Morning News?), so I’m exploring options, including freelance opportunities and teaching at Texas A&M-Commerce.” Amanda leaves UH with a flourish, where this year she earned a silver medal for excellence in research, medicine, and science writing from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), as well as a regional gold medal in the same category. Congratulations Amanda! Find Amanda at aasieg@nasw.org. Silver and bronze. Kelli Whitlock and Andrea Gibson both have something to crow about. Ohio University’s magazine Perspectives has received a silver medal in the Research Magazine category of the 2003 Circle of Excellence competition sponsored by CASE. For the two issues recognized in the competition, Kelli was editor and Andrea was assistant editor. Kelli also received a bronze medal in the “Best Articles of the Year” category for an article on AIDS in rural America. Kelli left her post as director of research communications at Ohio University in February for the position of manager of media relations and publications for Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, Mass. Andrea, formerly assistant director, is now director of research communications and editor of Perspectives magazine at Ohio University. Whitlock is at whitlock@wi.mit.edu and Gibson at gibsona@ohio.edu. A blue-ribbon move. Cate Alexander has been appointed communications director of the National Nanotechnology Coordination Office, which is located at the National Science Foundation. The NNCO supports the National Nanotechnology Initiative, comprising 15 federal agencies and departments that receive and disburse R&D funding in nanotechnology. She previously served as senior information officer at AAAS and vice president of a small non-profit supporting biomedical research, Americans for Medical Progress. E-mail Cate at calexand@nnco.nano.gov. Green light for another term. Kenji Makino, a professor at the Science University of Tokyo, was reelected president of the Japanese Association of Science and Technology Journalists at its annual general assembly meeting in May. An honor given once in a blue moon. The International Astronomical Union recently honored Rick Fienberg, editor in chief of Sky & Telescope magazine, with the naming of Asteroid 9983 Rickfienberg. Rick is at rfienberg@skyandtelescope.com. A red-hot career. The Johns Hopkins medicine board of trustees has appointed Elaine Freeman to vice president for Corporate Communications. Elaine has served as executive director of communications and public affairs for more than two decades. Her office will now be responsible for marketing communications and for more strategic integration of Internet efforts, in addition to its traditional responsibilities related to media relations, corporate and employee communications, publications, special projects and the Web. Elaine is at efreeman@jhmi.edu. # Jeff Grabmeier is assistant director of research communications at Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Send news about your life to Jeff at grabmeier@nasw.org. |
