Times’ Johnson to be writer in residence

George Johnson, a prolific, award-winning science writer and author, has been named a Science Writer in Residence for the spring of 2000.

Johnson

Johnson writes about science for The New York Times from Santa Fe, N.M. He is a winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science 1999 Science Journalism Award for large newspapers.

As an author, Johnson has written extensively on several scientific fronts. His most recent books are “Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in 20th Century Physics” and “Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith and the Search for Order,” which was a finalist for the Rhone Poulenc Prize and a Los Angeles Times Book Award.

Johnson is also the co-director of the Santa Fe Science Writing Workshop and is a former Alicia Patterson fellow.

As a science writer in residence, Johnson will spend a week on the UW–Madison campus beginning Sunday, April 9. He will give a free public lecture, “Scientists versus Science Writers: A Story from the Frontlines,” Tuesday, April 11 at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union (check Today in the Union for a room number).

The talk will focus on the perceived clash between journalists and the researchers they write about. While the goal of bringing new scientific ideas to the public is shared, there is a pronounced cultural friction between science and journalism about how this should be done.

Johnson will spend most of his time on campus working with students, faculty and staff interested in science writing.

The Science Writer in Residence Program was established in 1986 with the help of the Brittingham Trust. It continues with support of the UW Foundation, and the program has brought to campus many of the nation’s leading science writers, including three whose work subsequently earned them Pulitzer Prizes.

The program is sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the UW–Madison Office of News and Public Affairs.