Cornelia Dean, former editor of the New York Times/Science Times talks about her recently published Harvard University Press book, Making Sense of Science. The book, Ms. Dean's third, "seeks to equip nonscientists with a set of critical tools to evaluate the scientific claims and controversies that shape our lives."
This is a regular session of Professor Claudia Dreifus' Sustainability Management workshop, Writing About Global Science for the International Media, that has been opened to the entire Columbia Community and to the public.
Seating is limited. To reserve a spot, please register with Katherine Sullivan at
[email protected].
Cornelia Dean is a science writer and former science editor of The New York Times and a Visiting Lecturer at Brown University. From January, 1997 until June, 2003, she was science editor of the New York Times, where she was responsible for coverage of science, engineering, health and medical news in the daily paper and in the weekly Science Times section.
From 1993 until 1997, she worked in the Washington bureau of the Times as deputy Washington editor; her portfolio was domestic policy. Previously she worked as assistant and then deputy science editor. In her editing tenure in the newspaper's science department members of its staff have won the Pulitzer Prize (twice, finalists three times), the Polk Award and many other honors. In 2001 the newspaper's weekly science section, Science Times, won the Lasker Award for public service. She began her newspaper career at the Providence Journal.
Her first book, Against the Tide: The Battle for America's Beaches was published in 1999 by Columbia University Press and was a N.Y. Times Notable Book of the year. Her guide to researchers on communicating with the public, Am I Making Myself Clear? was published in 2009 by Harvard University Press. Her newest book, Making Sense of Science, which addresses the misuse of scientific information in American public life.