Ten writers and multimedia science journalists from the U.S. and Great Britain have been selected to participate in the competitive Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship program. The program takes place September 12 – 18, 2010, in Woods Hole, Mass., on Cape Cod.
This year's fellows are:
- Jennifer Barone, Discover magazine
- Brooke Borel, Freelance
- Emily Gertz, Freelance
- Shar Levine, Author
- Erik Olsen, New York Times
- Frank Pope, The Times of London
- Bob Reiss, Author and Freelance
- Mindy Todd, WCAI – NPR
- Jennifer Weeks, Freelance
- Allison Winter, E&E Publishing
The WHOI Ocean Science Journalism Fellowship program was established in 2000 to introduce science journalists to the interdisciplinary and wide-ranging fields of oceanography and ocean engineering. Through seminars with top scientists and engineers, laboratory visits, and brief field expeditions, Ocean Science Journalism Fellows gain access to new research findings and to fundamental background information in engineering, marine biology, geology and geophysics, marine chemistry and geochemistry, and physical oceanography.
Topics range from harmful algal blooms to deep-sea hydrothermal vents; from seafloor earthquakes to ice-sheet dynamics; from the ocean's role in climate change to the human impact on fisheries and coastline change; from ocean instruments and observatories to underwater robots. Each year, the fellows experience a day on a research vessel to learn about how oceanography is conducted and, when possible, to participate in a research project.
The program is a one-week, residential experience open to professional writers, producers, and editors working for print, broadcast, radio, and Internet media. Fellows receive a travel allowance, as well as room and board for one week. During an optional second week, fellows are invited to immerse themselves in a more in-depth experience with a specific researcher, lab, or topic.
The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, independent organization in Falmouth, Mass., dedicated to marine research, engineering, and higher education. Established in 1930 on a recommendation from the National Academy of Sciences, its primary mission is to understand the ocean and its interaction with the Earth as a whole, and to communicate a basic understanding of the ocean's role in the changing global environment.