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February 2001 NewsletterNCSWA is staging a party for writers and journalists covering the AAAS meeting in San Francisco from Feb 15-20. The party will be held Sunday, Feb. 18 from 8 p.m. to midnight at Ruby Skye, a swank nightclub at 420 Mason St. in San Francisco's theater district. There'll be music, good food and drink, peers from afar, and entertainment that will blow you away. To get a ticket for this party, you have to register as press or a public information officer for the AAAS meeting. NCSWA board members will hand out tickets for the party in the AAAS newsroom at the Hotel Nikko (not the Hilton) from noon to 1 p.m. on Feb. 16, 17, and 18. Press registration is free, although AAAS requires media or public information credentials, or a letter from an editor confirming that you are covering the meeting for them. NCSWA membership alone is not sufficient for press registration, although membership in the National Association of Science Writers will do. You can register online at http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2001/press-reg.htm. If you have problems registering or cannot attend the AAAS meeting but still would like to come to the party at Ruby Skye, please send an e-mail to Sally Stephens at skates@slip.net. NCSWA would like to thank the following primary sponsors, without whom the Ruby Skye event would not be possible:
In addition, we would like to thank the following sponsors and supporters: NCSWA MEMBER NEWS Janet Basu, former NCSWA president, was just elected to be a member-at-large on the board of the National Association of Science Writers (her term runs from ‘01-’02). Deborah Blum, former NCSWAN now in Wisconsin, is the new vice president/president elect of NASW. Carol Cruzan Morton, former NCSWA board member now in Boston, returns as a member-at-large. Joel Shurkin, a former NCSWAN now in Baltimore, returns as a member-at-large. Merrik Bush-Pirkle, science public information officer at San Francisco State University, recently received the 2000 Regional Award of Excellence in Newswriting for Science, Health and Medicine from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). Judging was based on five writing samples produced during fiscal year 1999-2000, and entries were limited to public information officers from universities within the five-state western region of CASE District VII. Merrik would like it known that her Communication's Director submitted her samples without her solicitation, and that she was totally shocked by the award. Glennda Chui sends word that the San Jose Mercury News has a "new Science & Technology Editor: April Lynch, formerly a reporter and editor at the Chronicle. She left there for the online pet store Petopia.com in early 1999, then moved to Sapient, where she has worked on website design. She starts here Jan. 22 -- to the great relief of the sci-tech team, which has been without an editor for nearly a year." Jane Stevens reports that: "The first multimedia reporting class ever offered at UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism was so successful that I'm teaching another introductory course and an advanced course -- and the school gave me an office! The advanced students will be working on a reporting project that will appear on a local news organization's Web site. I'll also be working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium public relations staff for a week in March, to follow up on a multimedia reporting workshop that folks from the Center for Digital Storytelling and I did there in November." Deborah Franklin sends word that she "switched jobs in mid-December and would love it if you could let folks know how to find me. I'm now writing for Fortune, sharing the science/medicine/ biotech beat with esteemed colleague and all around good guy, David Stipp. Though the magazine's based in New York, of course, the same powers that have had the grace and foresight to let David live in Boston are allowing me to remain in San Francisco (God bless telecommuting). My new work numbers are: phone: 415-293-4845; fax: 415/293-5940; e-mail: deborah_franklin@fortunemail.com; snail mail: c/o Fortune, One California Street, 29th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94111." Freelancer William Wells is moving snow-wards to start a full-time job with the Journal of Cell Biology. Starting in February, William will be creating, writing and editing a news and features section at the front of the journal. Freelancers are welcome to submit feature ideas to him at the New York address of the journal. Be warned, however, that as yet the freelance budget is limited. Anne Rosenthal, editor of Jasper Ridge Views, a publication of Stanford's biological preserve, writes that a new issue covering use of GPS/GIS at Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve has just been published. To obtain a copy, mail Anne at arose1@leland.stanford.edu. Elizabeth Worthy notes that: "I'm excited to announce my first scientific fairy tale: Lotus ~ How Queen Francine, the Fix-It Fanatic, Got Her Incredibly Clean Car Paint. You can find it on the web in its entirety. The story is short, but is as informative as it is mystical. It links science with technology in fictionalizing Wilhelm Barthlott's 1997 discovery of the lotus effect (r) and the harnessing of the knowledge to create among other things, incredibly clean car paint. For those interested in Eastern thought, it also unmasks the ancient secret of the sacred lotus which, amazingly, remains clean and beautiful despite its home, the muddy bog. I'm currently working on self-publishing a print version. The plan is to promote as much as possible (reviews, write-ups, readings, you name it) to rally support in completing the series. Would be happy to supply anyone with copy(s) in exchange for a promotional lead. Any comments at all -- would love to hear them!" Kim Todd sends word that: "I just wanted to report that my book "Tinkering with Eden, a Natural History of Exotics in America" will be coming out from W.W. Norton this month (January). John Douglas has just published his first novel, "Trade Secrets," a mystery-adventure about industrial espionage in the global economy. Set in present-day Silicon Valley and Russia, "Trade Secrets" plunges the reader into the high-stakes world of venture capital and competitive science through a story centered on a hostile takeover battle for a small biotech firm with more bright ideas than successful products. Caught in the middle is Gina Stasov, the company's press officer, who is given the assignment of calming speculation over the firm's declining fortunes, but soon finds herself caught in a web of intrigue and increasingly personal attacks, following the theft of trade secrets and the murder of two scientists on opposite sides of the world. A limited number of review copies are available for NCSWA members who write for the book review markets. Please contact John directly at: jhdouglas@aol.com. Otherwise, interested readers can obtain "Trade Secrets" at a substantial discount off the $14.95 list price by going to http://www.trafford.com/robots/00-0111.html. A book by new member Dr. Ray Jayawardhana, titled ``Star Factories: The Birth of Stars and Planets'', has recently been published by Steck-Vaughn, a division of Harcourt. Ray finished his PhD in astronomy at Harvard last summer, and moved to the Bay area to accept a Miller Research Fellowship at UC Berkeley to continue his studies into the origin of planetary systems. He is a contributing editor to Astronomy magazine and has written about science for many other publications including The Economist, Science, New Scientist and Scientific American. Chris Vaughan reports: "I just finished writing The Prenatal Prescription (with Peter Nathanielsz of Cornell), which is about how the prenatal environment programs your risk of health problems for the rest of your life. It will be published by HarperCollins in Fall, 2001." BIOLOGY WRITERS NEEDED FOR STUDENT SEMINAR The Stanford Biology Graduate Student Association is seeking science writers for its Alternative Careers for Scientists Seminar Series. The goal of the seminar series is to expose graduate students to careers outside of academia and to provide advice for transitioning from the bench. The panel is tentatively scheduled from 12-1 pm on Feb. 20th, but the date and time are both flexible. If interested, please contact Charlene Kon at charlene.kon@stanford.edu or by phone 650-725-7625 NCSWA WEBSITE AND MEMBERSHIP The NCSWA membership roster is online at http://www.lbl.gov/NCSWA/roster.html and handy not only to look up contact information for a fellow science writer but also to check on when it is time to renew your membership. The membership renewal form is online at http://www.lbl.gov/NCSWA/membership-form.html. And remember, the password for the members' area of the NCSWA website is "braintrust." INTERNATIONAL AUTHORS AND WRITERS WHO’S WHO NCSWA received the following message from Joanna Bird: "I am a researcher for Melrose Press Ltd, publishers of the International Authors and Writers Who's Who, now in its 16th Edition. We are currently looking for worthy individuals to be included in the forthcoming 17th Edition, due for publication in April 2001. Each volume contains over 8000 entries and biographies include those of leading authors, novelists, playwrights, literary agents and societies world-wide, as well as up and coming writers from all walks of life. Entry into this publication cannot be bought and all individual applications are sent to our editorial board for consideration." If you’d like to nominate yourself, Joanna can be contacted at research@melrosepress.co.uk or by snail mail: Melrose Press Ltd, St Thomas Place, Ely, Cambs, CB7 4GG, UNITED KINGDOM. http://www.melrosepress.co.uk MEETINGS, SEMINARS, WORKSHOPS OF INTEREST Lynn Narlesky sends word of the following guest speakers as part of a UC Davis course, Conservation Biology and Veterinary Medicine. Offered this quarter, the course features discussion of current topics in conservation biology as it relates to veterinary medicine, with emphasis on wildlife. There is a different speaker each week, and course leader Dr. Jonna Mazet invites all interested persons to attend. The class is held each Thursday, 12:10-1:00 pm in 170 Schalm. Upcoming guest speakers are:
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