When a research group at the National Superconducting Cyclotron Laboratory (NSCL) in East Lasing, Michigan published an article in the journal Nature reporting the creation of three new isotopes, Geoff Koch, communications manager for the lab, had work to do. A press release had to be written and the media had to be contacted. News of the discovery had to be sent not only to the lab and university community, but to public. The release would have to be clear, so that everyone could understand it, and would need to depict the relevance and capture the excitement of the discovery. With the news out, reports on the discovery were featured not only on NSCL and Michigan State websites, but in Chemical and Engineering News and even the website for the magazine Wired. Spreading news about breakthroughs at a lab is just one part of the job of a science writer like Koch. At national labs such as NSCL, science writers and communications officers form the bridge connecting the worlds of their labs and that of the public.

Jeff Berger, manager of the of the communications office at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), one of the largest labs in the nation, said that science writing is important to the work at a lab because it informs the public and scientific community of the lab’s achievements.

“You can’t take for granted that just because you know you’re doing good work that your neighbors know, that other labs know, that colleges and universities know, that newspapers know, that the funding agencies know, that costumers and suppliers know,” he said. “It’s good for lab if more people know. Science writers serve as a bridge to many audiences beyond scientists and engineers. Get an article in a large circulation newspaper or magazine and you have the potential of many thousands hearing the message.”

Beyond reporting major discoveries to the press, the work of communications offices at labs includes looking for opportunities to have researchers quoted in articles in national publications and for extending the educational outreach of the lab. Some offices prepare researchers to interact with the media prior to interviews. It is also important to communicate within the lab through newsletters and internal magazines. Moreover, press releases are only one way in which a lab can communicate with the public. For example, LANL produces an external magazine about research at the lab, 1663 (http://www.lanl.gov/science/1663.shtml).

A primary challenge for a science writer is to communicate complex research in a manner which can be understood by a lay person. According to Eileen Patterson, managing editor for 1663 at LANL, this can be particularly difficult for scientists writing for the public.

“Meeting the audience is particularly difficult for scientists,” Patterson said. “They are fairly good at writing for peers, but they haven’t a clue how to write for somebody who isn’t an expert in their field. They have a tendency to think of it as dumbing down, but that’s not what it is. What you do is make the information accessible to the audience.”

Patterson said that communicating science clearly to the lay audience is a major problem.

“The journal Nature published an article complaining about the fact that most scientists were writing so that absolutely nobody could understand them,” Patterson said. “The biggest problem is sentence structure. Most people think that vocabulary is the problem when you’re communicating science. The biggest problem is not putting things where a person expects to find them.”

According to Berger, another challenge a communications office faces at a large national lab is to facilitate communication between diverse groups of researchers.

“If you’re talking to a physicist and the physicist is immersed in her own world and only speaks physics talk and reporter doesn’t elicit from her what she has to say, not only will the lay person not understand but even experts in other fields,” he said.

Berger also said that this challenge extends to making the work relevant.
“Put yourself in the listener’s shoes,” he said. “[They might think], ok that may be interesting but how does that affect the world around us, why should I care?”

Although distilling complex research into simpler terms can be difficult it is also one of the most enjoyable parts of the career for Kendra Snyder, a science writer at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

“It is challenging to write things that are understandable, but at the same time you get the feeling you are educating people and helping science-helping in a small part to continue scientific funding” she said.
     
In the case of many science writers, a love of science and of writing led them to their career. Snyder studied human biology and journalism at Michigan State University prior to her position at Brookhaven, interning at newspapers and at Fermi Lab, a particle physics facility in Illinois, and CERN, a particle physics facility in Switzerland.

“I’ve liked to write since I was young,” she said. “In high school I got into science, and thought I was going to go into science path instead. I still wanted the creativity that writing gives and went into college thinking I was going to go into science writing.”

For Koch a love of science also guided his pursuit of a career in science writing.

“I joke that I liked biology 1 and physics 1- the grand scope of what the disciplines are about it but not the later classes,” he said.
     
Koch’s path differed a bit from Snyder’s in that he although he always had an interest in science writing, he started out working in industry, at Intel in technical writing and marketing, prior to returning to graduate school at Stanford.

“At NSCL, people are answering fundamental questions about how the universe works,” he said. “There is no longer basic research in industry like Bell Labs once had, but there are still fundamental questions about how nuclei stick together. I feel lucky to have job I do.”

Those who are interested in a career in science writing can prepare by receiving a broad education and having extensive exposure to writing.

“For a student, education has got to be paramount,” said Berger. It is important to get the right kind of education, focusing on a field of study that interests you or that you feel with help with professional plans. Apply yourself fully whether or not it is science based.”

Koch commented on the importance of a diverse education as well.
“Take classes outside of science,” he said. “Most writers have a wide range of interests especially when they are young.”

Patterson stressed the importance of strong writing skills.

“It’s a mistake to think that you can be a science writer just by having a science background,” she said. “You have to learn to write. I learned to write by taking fiction workshops. Learn to put yourself in the place of the reader.”

Koch also noted the importance of practicing writing.

“Writing is a craft, like plumbing,” he said. “You learn by doing. Look for opportunities to write and to work with a smart editor.”

Patterson teaches writing courses at LANL and recommended several resources for those interested in improving their writing: Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and Grace-Joseph M. Williams, The Sense of Structure: Writing from the Reader’s Perspective-George D. Goepn, On Writing Well-William K.Zinsser, and Writing to Learn: How to Write and Think Clearly About Any Subject-William K. Zinsser.

Snyder suggested that those interested in a career in science writing work at a newspaper.

“Getting a news background teaches you the basics,” she said. “You learn what is important such as what should go into a lead or how to interview.”

Berger emphasized the importance of writing for communication in any scientific context and learning basics of writing such as grammar but he also noted the need for challenging oneself.

“Anyone pursuing [a career in science writing] needs to be highly inquisitive and cannot write out of ego,” he said. “You should ask, ‘What am I trying to achieve and how am I achieving it?’ and ‘How do I know if I succeeded?’ You also need to be open to feedback including constructive criticism and editing.”
     
Around the nation, research at national labs pursues answers to fundamental questions and seeks applications of scientific knowledge. Shouting across the gulf between the research community and people in other fields are science writers and communication offices. By spreading news of their labs, they help to secure a future not only of funding but of a captivated public, perhaps even of young minds to one day continue a tradition of discovery.