At The Conversation, I’ve covered a wide range of subjects, from politics to deep science, both as an editor commissioning stories and as a managing editor directing news coverage. I directly supervised a team of eights science, environment and health editors for a number of years, including during the pandemic.
I’ve worked as an online news reporter since the early days of the web. Below are links to stories I’ve written on various topics:
Some stories by publication:
MIT Technology Review
Why the Promise of Cheap Fuel from Super Bugs Fell Short
LS9 was a synthetic biology pioneer created by premier scientists and top-flight venture capitalists to make low-cost fuels such as diesel from sugar. But companies formed to make biofuels from genetically engineered microbes have yet to produce fuel at scale or compete with petroleum on price.
For full list of articles I wrote for MIT Technology Review, see here.
The Boston Globe
Fish get pedigrees – the high-tech way
Entrepreneurs are bringing technology to the ancient business of hauling fish from the sea. They aim to improve the traceability of wild-caught fish in an effort to make the industry economically and environmentally sustainable.
Woods Hole deep sea sub gets a makeover
An overhaul of the storied Woods Hole-based sub Alvin will let scientists descend four miles below sea level to explore the earth’s final frontier.
Scientific American
Bright Lights, Big City–Big Battery
Electric Grid, You Have Software Updates Available
Researchers are developing software that will let renewable energy flow into and out of a decentralized power grid like data on the Internet.
The Guardian
Tech entrepreneurs set their sites on urban farming
Fracking: a proving ground for water technologies
The energy industry’s growing demand for water is spurring water-treatment innovation that could spill over into other sectors.
Smithsonian
A Big Bet on How to Store Grid Energy Cheaply
In the race to develop cheaper energy storage for the electricity grid, a group of startups and academics are building mechanical systems, rather than batteries, that use basic materials–air, steel, water, gravel
InsideClimate News
Florida Ballot Measure Could Halt Solar in Florida, but Do Voters Know That?
Amendment 1 is written in pro-solar language, but it is backed by the state’s utilities and opponents say it will crush the growth of solar in the Sunshine State.
Xconomy
How to Build an Atomic Startup
Why long-term funding matters to all young companies trying to solve tough technical problems in energy, tech, and biotech.
The Robots are Coming
A series of stories in Xconomy on robotics
A Town Where the Robots Roam Free
The Next Must-Have Gadget: A Telepresence Robot
Workhorse Robots, Artificial Intelligence, and the Internet of Robots
Robots That are Ready to Work, in Pictures
Rosie the Maid 2.0: a Hotel Robot Gets to Work
Drone Startups Seek Profit in Software and the Cloud–Not Hardware