The Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT has announced that 10 elite science journalists from four countries have been selected as fellows for the 2017-18 academic year. The KSJ@MIT fellow program, entering its 35th year, brings a selection of the world’s finest journalists to Cambridge, Massachusetts, for an academic year of study, intellectual growth, and exploration at MIT, Harvard University, and other institutions in greater Boston.
KSJ@MIT, supported by a generous endowment from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, is recognized around the world as the premier mid-career fellowship program for science writers, editors, and multimedia journalists and as publisher of the award-winning magazine, Undark. Since its founding in 1983, it has hosted more than 300 fellows representing media outlets ranging from The New York Times to Le Monde, CNN to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
With support from the program, fellows pursue an academic year of independent study, augmented by twice-weekly science-focused seminars taught by some of the world’s leading scientists and storytellers, as well as a variety of rotating, skills-focused master classes and workshops. The goal: fostering real professional growth among the world’s small but essential community of journalists covering science and technology, and encouraging them to pursue that mission, first and foremost, in the public interest.
The 2017-18 class of KSJ fellows:
Teresa Carr is a senior content editor for Consumer Reports and an award-winning investigative reporter. Her stories focus on consumer and public health issues; recently she has been investigating the pharmaceutical industry with a particular emphasis on the costs of pain management and addiction. Last year, she received the Folio Award for her articles on American’s antibiotic crisis and the Sigma Delta Chi Award for Public Service in Magazine Journalism.
Caty Enders is the series editor for The Guardian's U.S. edition, based in New York, where she edits features, analysis, and multimedia projects on the environment, health, and technology. She has been the supervising producer for The Guardian’s recently launched U.S. podcast program. She previously worked as managing online editor for Outside magazine and as a freelance radio producer and writer for outlets ranging from “All Things Considered” to Esquire.
Sujata Gupta is a freelance journalist based in Vermont, whose writing focuses on issues related to food, ecology, and health. Her work has been featured in The New Yorker, National Public Radio, Nature, High Country News, Discover, Scientific American, Wired, and NovaNext. She has taught journalism at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont. Previously, she worked as a reporter and editor at various newspapers and spent several years as a National Park ranger.
Joshua Hatch is the assistant editor for data and interactives at The Chronicle of Higher Education in Washington, where he oversees a team of database reporters and designers. He is president of the Online News Association. Previously he was interactives director at USA Today. He teaches online and data journalism in the graduate journalism program at American University.
Rowan Jacobsen is a freelance science journalist and the author of seven books exploring a wide range of environmental issues, most recently “The Essential Oyster.” He is based in Vermont and has written for a broad array of publications, including Harper’s, Outside, Mother Jones, and Pacific Standard. His work has been featured in “Best American Science and Nature Writing” and has received numerous awards.
Ehsan Masood is the editor of Research Fortnight, a science policy magazine based in London, and the author of several books, including “The Great Invention: The Story of GDP and the Making and Unmaking of the Modern World” (2016). He has worked as a writer and editor at Nature and New Scientist, and has made documentaries for BBC radio. He teaches a course on science and innovation policy at Imperial College London.
Jane Qiu is a globe-trotting freelance science journalist based in Beijing, and a regular contributor to publications including Nature, Science, Scientific American, and The Economist. Her work has focused on environmental and cultural issues, with a particular interest in the Third Pole countries of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayas. Her writing awards include recognition from the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Asian Environmental Journalism Awards.
Kolawole Talabi is a freelance science writer based in Nigeria and a regular contributor to Mongabay.com. He’s received numerous awards for investigative reporting, on issues ranging from treatment of infectious disease in Africa to endangered natural resources. Last year he was one of five writers honored with the Next Generation of Science Journalists award, given by the World Health Summit in Germany.
Mićo Tatalović is editor of New Scientist’s environment and life sciences news section. A native of Croatia, he is now based in London, overseeing a team of staff writers and freelancers. He previously worked on the news desk of SciDev.net, helping to coordinate a global network of science journalists reporting from South America, Africa, and Asia, as well as freelancing for wide range of science magazines. He is chair of the Association of British Science Writers, and sits on the board of the Balkan Network of Science Writers.
Caroline Winter is a staff writer for Bloomberg Businessweek in New York, focusing on science, technology, and medicine. A native of Germany, she previously worked as a freelancer for publications ranging from Spiegel International to The New York Times Magazine. She was a Fulbright fellow in 2008-09 and worked in Berlin, researching, writing, and translating stories.
