Lukofsky received his Ph.D. in engineering physics from Dartmouth College in June.

In his application to become a 2009 IEEE-USA Mass Media Fellow, Lukofsky wrote that the internship will "be the perfect springboard to the media and policy experience I need for my dream job — to act as the messenger who informs members of government on sci-tech issues."

To see the reports prepared by David Lukofsky at WOSU-FM, go to:

• "Can one exist without the other: light bulbs and mercury?"
• "Is clean coal the solution?"
• "A new type of American car"
• "Scientists test strength of spider silk"

Where is he now?

David is completing the Mirzayan Policy Fellowship at the National Academies where he works on the Board of Science and Technology for Sustainability on the project U.S.-China Collaboration on Electricity from Renewables. Specifically, that means he researches avenues to implement low-carbon technologies in both countries including potential for manufacturing and financing. "I enjoy the work because achieving significant reductions in carbon emissions requires action on a global scale. This project is interesting because it addresses both the technological and international components of low-carbon technologies. I often notice how the communication skills I developed as a Mass Media Fellow are helping me in my current position," says David.

Diakopoulos will earn his Ph.D. in computer science from Georgia Tech this year.

In his application to become a 2009 IEEE-USA Mass Media Fellow, Diakopoulos said he expected to "garner valuable knowledge of journalism that will help me innovate better technologies for the journalists of the future."

To see the reports prepared by the 2009 IEEE-USA Engineering Mass Media Fellow Nicholas Diakopoulos at Sacramento Bee, go to:

• "Intel project seeks to mark disputed Web information"
• "For seniors, a Wii may be a win-win: fun and brain-nourishing"
• "Univ. of Calif. Davis camp offers summer tech fun"
• "Crowd sourcing site lets Web users make a few bucks"

Where is he now?

Nick is currently a visiting associate professor at the University of Bergen (Bergen, Norway) in the Department of Information and Media Studies. He'll return to the U.S. in a few months to start a postdoctoral fellowship at Rutgers' School of Communication and Information where he'll conduct social media-related research. Nick says, "My summer experience at the Sacramento Bee is really helping to inform my research projects as I translate the first hand experiences and knowledge I gained as a reporter into specific research questions and ideas for developing new technologies to help with the journalism of the future."
 

In her application to join the Mass Media Fellows program, Hansen said she was "seriously considering a career in sci-tech communications — writing, editing or production." In her application, Jackson noted: "I believe that good communication and access to clear information is the key to fostering a productive and healthy society." Both Fellows will document their sci-tech journalism experiences at the end of their assignments in August when they join 12 other Fellows at AAAS in Washington. 2008 is the second year in which IEEE-USA has sponsored two Mass Media Fellows.
 

Where is he now?

Sourish graduated with his Ph.D. in physics and is currently working for the Netherlands Space Research Institute (SRON). His research involves working out the surface fluxes of carbon dioxide from satellite observations, which come from a satellite launched in January. Sourish says his career path came as a result of his mass media fellowship. "I wrote an article in Scientific American about oceanic iron fertilization and during the process I talked to a lot of scientists involved and learned about climate modeling. I really enjoyed the subject, so last year I decided to switch fields of study. The article I wrote helped me immensely — it helped me prove to the people in this field (including my present employers) that I had the potential to tackle the subject."
 

According to Emrich, "Over the course of the Fellowship, I grew to see myself as a crucial cog in the machinery that gets science and engineering news to the public. Newspaper science/engineering has to be pretty simplified, but I relished the hard stories such as the one I wrote about spectroscopy of water, or another about how glowing chickens might be the future of cancer treatment….Almost as important, the Assistant Managing Editor threw me a funny story about the physics of Superman, which led to another about geysers of Diet coke, and culminated with a story pegged to the movie, Snakes on a Plane. They were all 'jokey' stories that brought a levity that I feel is sorely lacking from science/engineering, and allowed me to get my 'voice' into the paper."

According to Meyer, "Each story I worked on brought the surprise that people — smart, interesting, respected people — wanted to talk to me and tell me all about their work. I had the opportunity to interview the U.S. Surgeon General, Greg Louganis, and the 'Hottest Hacker on Earth.' I was invited to tour numerous research labs, and got the inside scoop on suspicions of drug research being used illegally by competitive cyclists. The simple phrase, 'I'm a reporter with The Chicago Tribune, was the best tool a science and engineering 'pickpocket' could ever have…I also learned what truly makes for an interesting story in the scope of the general public, knowledge that I find to be humbling for the scientist within me….I think this perspective will help me to be a more effective advocate of science, whether it is as a researcher or writer."

Where is he now?

Charlie finished his PhD at Berkeley in December 2006 and spent a few months backpacking through Southeast Asia, chronicling his travels on a blog and dreaming of becoming a travel writer. Since then, he's worked as an intern in the Science & Innovation Group at the British Consulate in San Francisco, where he has been involved in public policy. He's also been working as a part-time programmer for a bioprocess automation firm in San Francisco, which gives him ample opportunity for technical writing—mostly documentation and manuals. More recently, Charlie and a few of his Berkeley friends started up a company to make better enzymes for sustainable, cellulosic biofuels production.

"It's a really fun challenge to get a business funded and working, and even more so to know that if we succeed, the world will be a greener place for it," Charlie says. "I still find time to do freelance writing, because writing always was and always will be one of my great passions. My hope is that after some time spent trying to save the world, I'll find myself again riding a slow boat up the Mekong, writing about the people and the technology that keep that same world humming."
 

In W.Va, the spin on wind farms is positive (11 July)
Making shuttles safer (7 July)
Shell tells a tale of survival (30 June)
Great shakes (23 June)

Where is she now?

Abby works as a communications officer at the Georgia Institute of Technology's Research News office (gtresearchnews.gatech.edu). In her current position, she writes about Georgia Tech research in news releases and articles for the Georgia Tech research magazine, Research Horizons. Following her fellowship, Abby became active in IEEE-USA and serves as a member of the IEEE-USA Communications Committee and as one of the editors for IEEE-USA Today's Engineer (todaysengineer.org).

"The mass media fellowship changed my career path from biomedical engineer to science writer and I couldn't be happier," Abby says. "Every day I get to learn about a new discovery and communicate the exciting research to the general public through my writing."
 

	Drunk Bees (3.4 MB)		Moth Music (3.5 MB)
	E-Voting (1.3 MB)		Snake Lady (2.7 MB)
	State Fair Chickens (1.7 MB)

Where is she now?

Sarah is an assistant professor in engineering at Harvey Mudd College. She has continued with her love of writing by publishing a textbook in 2007 called Digital Design and Computer Architecture, with a co-author David Harris (no relation).

"I've used and built on the skills I learned from my mentors at WOSU, such as Tom Borgerding," Sarah says. "The fellowship experience helped prepare the way for me as a professor to make science and engineering not only more accessible, but also fun and engaging."
 

Where is she now?

Joy is currently the Director of Dissemination for Simbios, an NIH center for biomedical computing at Stanford University (simbios.stanford.edu). Her job is a mix of public relations, journalism and curriculum development/technical writing. She is an associate editor for Simbios' quarterly magazine, Biomedical Computation Review, where she draws on the newswriting and editing skills that she learned during her mass media fellowship.

"My mass media fellows experience has given me an edge when applying for my last couple of jobs, as it highlighted my ability both to write and to gather and synthesize information," Joy says.
 

Where is he now?

Rob is currently working for the energy consulting firm Cambridge
Energy Research Associates (CERA) in the Climate Change and Clean
Energy practice. He advises companies on strategies for complying with
both existing and future environmental polices and he's particularly
focused on carbon markets and clean energy technologies.

"The mass media fellowship was an exciting opportunity and the
communications experience benefited me greatly," Rob says. "In my
current job, I do a significant amount of writing and public speaking
— both skills that the IEEE-USA-sponsored mass media fellowship helped
to foster."
 

Where is he now?

After completing his Mass Media fellowship, Elan went to graduate school and then on to a career in the video game industry. He's worked on a variety of titles including the "Jak & Daxter" series with Naughty Dog, Inc.; and he is presently a designer and programmer at Valve Corporation, developers of the popular "Half-Life," "Counterstrike" and "Team Fortress" series.

"The Mass Media fellowship opened my eyes to opportunities in engineering outside the laboratory. To this day, my experiences as a journalist help me communicate with the artists and producers on our projects, and with the press," says Elan.