Waldrop to be science writer in residence

M. Mitchell Waldrop, a prolific science writer and chronicler of the physical sciences, has been named a UW–Madison science writer in residence.

Waldrop will spend a week on the UW–Madison campus beginning March 22. He will visit science and journalism classes, and work with students and faculty who are interested in science communication. He also will deliver a public lecture, “Making Sense: Science’s (and Journalism’s) Secret Weapon,” on Tuesday, March 23, at 4 p.m. in the Memorial Union.

A Wisconsin graduate with degrees in journalism and physics, Waldrop is a prodigious writer, the author of three popular science books and scores of articles, including pieces for Scientific American, Technology Review, Fast Company and Connoisseur. He also has contributed numerous book chapters and served for eleven years as a senior writer for Science. From 1977 to 1980, he was a writer and bureau chief for Chemical & Engineering News.

Waldrop currently serves as a public affairs officer for the National Science Foundation.

During his career, and drawing on his doctorate in theoretical physics, Waldrop has focused primarily on portraying research in the physical sciences and, most recently, computer science. His newest book, The Dream Machine (2001, Viking), is a history of computing; his 1992 book, Complexity, is a popular treatment of the Santa Fe Institute and complex adaptive systems. His first book, Man-Made Minds, an exploration of artificial intelligence, was published in 1987.

The Science Writer in Residence Program, now in its eighteenth year, was established with the support of the Brittingham Trust. It continues with support from the UW Foundation and has brought to campus many of the nation’s leading science writers, including three whose work subsequently earned them the Pulitzer Prize, journalism’s most prestigious award.

The program is sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and University Communications.