Overview
I am a science journalist and book editor with more than 35 years of experience reporting, writing, editing, and publishing on topics in science, engineering, and technology. I was an editor and senior writer at Scientific American magazine from 1992 to 2006. I am currently a contributing editor for IEEE Spectrum and Anthropocene magazine, and I also write and edit for Science, Nature, Discover, Wired, Scientific American, and others. My projects have included investigative and enterprise journalism, column writing, editing magazine special issues, and running a small but highly profitable publishing company and an editorial team, with oversight of dozens of staff and freelance contributors, to produce the award-winning Modernist Cuisine books. I create articles, videos, podcasts, and high-impact presentations, both under my own byline and for C-level executives in science and tech. I have contributed to documentaries that have aired on Netflix, NOVA, the BBC, Discovery, the History Channel, and BloombergTV. I worked with renowned scientists on the book The Earth and I to ensure scientific accuracy and to help design the conceptual illustrations.
Services
Non-Fiction
Languages
Awards
- AAAS Science Journalism Award
- James Beard Book Award
- Wistar Science Journalism Award
- Best American Science Writing, 2006
- IACP Visionary Achievement Award
Certifications
- B.A. Physics, Cornell University
- B.A. English (cum laude), Cornell University
- Knight Science Journalism Fellow, MIT
- Stanford Professional Publishing Course
Work experience
Self-employed
As a freelance reporter and editor, I write and edit feature articles and news stories on topics ranging from fusion energy (for Scientific American, Nature, and Science) and space solar power (for Discover) to environmental activism (for Wired and Conservation magazine), genetics and neuroscience (for SciAm and Rockefeller University). I have edited two special newsstand issues of Scientific American: "The Science of Food" (2015) and "Physics at the Limits (2016).
As a consultant, I have helped guide the design, illustration, and author lineup—as well as providing developmental and line editing—for books such as Taschen's "The Earth and I" and Modernist Cuisine's award-winning titles.
Intellectual Ventures
Lead communications for CEO Nathan Myhrvold and work with other senior executives to develop editorial content, from feature articles to op-eds to videos and infographics, in areas ranging from paleontology and astronomy to metamaterials, infectious disease modeling, and the invention business. Ghostwriter, editor, and science consultant on Myhrvold's Modernist Cuisine books (I was editor in chief, editorial director, and business manager on "Modernist Cuisine: The Art and Science of Cooking.")
Scientific American
Developed, wrote, and edited more than 200 feature articles, news stories, profiles, columns, and online features for Scientific American magazine. Produced Scientific American's first online service (on AOL) and assisted in the design and development of its original website. Founded the magazine's west coast bureau. Launched and edited the Expedition series of features reporting on scientific fieldwork in progress. My work for Scientific American was recognized by the AAAS Science Journalism Award and the Wister Science Journalism Award, among others. I have covered almost every area of science and technology for SciAm, but focused most frequently on computer science and software; genetics and cancer; and biotechnology and medical research.
Portfolio
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John H.
Sep, 2024
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