Usha Lee McFarling is an American
science reporter who is an Artist In Residence at the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
Department of Communication. She won a
for
Explanatory Reporting.
[Faculty - McFarling, Usha Lee]
" University of Washington Department of Communication.
Biography
McFarling was born in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
to an
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
family.
[In the Green Room: Usha McFarling]
(November 2, 2009). Zócalo Public Square. She attended elementary school in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
.
McFarling received a
B.A. in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...
from
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
in 1989 (where she was a science reporter for the ''
Brown Daily Herald'') and an
M.A.
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
in
biological psychology/
animal behavior
Ethology is the scientific study of animal behaviour, usually with a focus on behaviour under natural conditions, and viewing behaviour as an evolutionarily adaptive trait. Behaviourism as a term also describes the scientific and objecti ...
from the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...
in 1998.
[2007 Grantham Prize Winner]
" Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment. McFarling reported for
Knight Ridder
Knight Ridder was an American media company, specializing in newspaper and Internet publishing. Until it was bought by McClatchy on June 27, 2006, it was the second largest newspaper publisher in the United States, with 32 daily newspaper bra ...
Washington Bureau, ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Gl ...
'', and ''San Antonio Light'' prior to joining the ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...
'', where she was a national science reporter.
McFarling has reported on a wide variety of science news, including topics such as
astrophysics
Astrophysics is a science that employs the methods and principles of physics and chemistry in the study of astronomical objects and phenomena. As one of the founders of the discipline said, Astrophysics "seeks to ascertain the nature of the h ...
,
seismology
Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes and the propagation of elastic waves through the Earth or through other ...
,
neuroscience
Neuroscience is the science, scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a Multidisciplinary approach, multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, an ...
,
medicine
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...
, and
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...
.
McFarling was a 1992 Knight Science Journalism Fellow at
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 ...
(MIT).
McFarling and fellow reporter
Kenneth R. Weiss Kenneth R. Weiss (born May 28, 1957) is an investigative journalist for the ''Los Angeles Times''.
Weiss was born in Covina, California, and he graduated from University of California, Berkeley in 1981 with a B.A. in Folklore. There he was editor- ...
won several prizes for their five-part series "Altered Oceans" for the ''Los Angeles Times'', including (with
photojournalist
Photojournalism is journalism that uses images to tell a news story. It usually only refers to still images, but can also refer to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (such ...
Rick Loomis) the
for
Explanatory Reporting for the same pieces. The citation read: "for their richly portrayed reports on the world's distressed oceans, telling the story in print and online, and stirring reaction among readers and officials."
For the same series, McFarling and Weiss received the 2006
George Polk Award
The George Polk Awards in Journalism are a series of American journalism awards presented annually by Long Island University in New York in the United States. A writer for Idea Lab, a group blog hosted on the website of PBS, described the awar ...
for Environmental Reporting, the 2007
Grantham Prize The Grantham Prize was an annual journalism award awarded between September 2005 and October 2012. It was established by Jeremy Grantham and Hannelore Grantham and the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting to annually recognize th ...
of the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment,
the 2007
American Geophysical Union
The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization of Earth, atmospheric, ocean, hydrologic, space, and planetary scientists and enthusiasts that according to their website includes 130,000 people (not members). AGU's ...
Walter Sullivan Award for Excellence in Science Journalism the 2007
Carl Sagan Award for Public Understanding of Science, and the
Science in Society Award.
2007 Science in Society Awards
(December 21, 2010). National Association of Science Writers.
References
External links
from the University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...
Department of Communication
Altered Oceans
- five-part ''Los Angeles Times'' series on the state of the world's oceans
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarling, Usha Lee
Living people
University of Washington faculty
Brown University alumni
University of California, Berkeley alumni
American women journalists
American science journalists
George Polk Award recipients
Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Journalism winners
Women science writers
Year of birth missing (living people)
American women academics
21st-century American women