Marcia F. Bartusiak is an author, journalist, and Professor of the Practice Emeritus of the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

. Trained in both communications (B.A. from American University, 1971) and physics (M.S. from Old Dominion University, 1979), she writes about the fields of

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which ...

. Bartusiak has been published in ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

'', ''

Discover Discover may refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''Discover'' (album), a Cactus Jack album * ''Discover'' (magazine), an American science magazine Businesses and brands * DISCover, the ''Digital Interactive Systems Corporation'' * D ...

'', ''

Astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

'', ''

Sky & Telescope ''Sky & Telescope'' (''S&T'') is a monthly American magazine covering all aspects of amateur astronomy, including the following: *current events in astronomy and space exploration; *events in the amateur astronomy community; *reviews of astronomic ...

'', ''

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence ...

'', ''

Popular Science ''Popular Science'' (also known as ''PopSci'') is an American digital magazine carrying popular science content, which refers to articles for the general reader on science and technology subjects. ''Popular Science'' has won over 58 awards, incl ...

'', ''

World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...

'', '' Smithsonian'', and ''

MIT Technology Review ''MIT Technology Review'' is a bimonthly magazine wholly owned by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and editorially independent of the university. It was founded in 1899 as ''The Technology Review'', and was re-launched without "The" in ...

''. The author of seven books, she is also a columnist for '' Natural History'' magazine.

Education and career

Bartusiak started her career in 1971 as the first female reporter at WVEC-TV (ABC affiliate) in Norfolk, Virginia. She also served for a period as the station's first female anchor before leaving in 1975 to begin a graduate education in physics. After receiving her master's degree, she became a charter member of the writing staff of ''Discover'' magazine, when it first started up in 1980, and then began a freelance science-writing career in 1982. In 2003, she joined the faculty of the MIT Graduate Program in Science Writing, retiring in 2019 as a professor emeritus.

Books

* ''Dispatches from Planet 3,'' a collection of cosmological essays *''Einstein's Unfinished Symphony,'' a narrative overview of the new field of gravitational-wave astronomy * ''Black Hole: How an Idea Abandoned by Newtonians, Hated by Einstein, and Gambled on by Hawking Became Loved'' * ''Through a Universe Darkly'', a history of astronomers' centuries-long quest to discover the universe's composition * ''Thursday's Universe'', a layman's guide to the frontiers of astrophysics and

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

* ''The Day We Found the Universe'', a narrative saga of the birth of modern cosmology * ''Archives of the Universe'', a history of the major discoveries in astronomy told through 100 of the original scientific publications

Awards

Bartusiak has three times won the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

Science Writing Award The American Institute of Physics (AIP) instituted their Science Writing Award to "promote effective science communication in print and broadcast media in order to improve the general public's appreciation of physics, astronomy, and allied scien ...

: in 2019 for ''Dispatches from Planet 3'', in 2001 for ''Einstein's Unfinished Symphony'' and in 1982 for ''The Ultimate Timepiece'' in ''

Discover Magazine ''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It has been owned by Kalmbach Publishing since 2010. History Founding ''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' m ...

''. In 2010 ''The Day We Found the Universe'' won the

History of Science Society The History of Science Society (HSS) is the primary professional society for the academic study of the history of science. It was founded in 1924 by George Sarton, David Eugene Smith, and Lawrence Joseph Henderson, primarily to support the publi ...

Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize ''This prize should not be confused with the Watson Davis Award'' from the Association for Information Science and Technology. The Watson Davis and Helen Miles Davis Prize of the History of Science Society is awarded yearly for a book published, dur ...

. Bartusiak won the 2006 American Institute of Physics Andrew W. Gemant Award. "The Andrew Gemant Award recognizes the accomplishments of a person who has made significant contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics given annually." In 2008 she was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for “exceptionally clear communication of the rich history, the intricate nature, and the modern practice of astronomy to the public at large" and was also chosen to be a 2022-23 Distinguished Lecturer for Sigma Xi, the scientific research honor society.

Bibliography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartusiak, Marcia American science writers Year of birth missing (living people) Living people MIT School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences faculty