GSA Science Communication Fellowship

Current Fellow

Beth C. Geiger
Inaugural GSA
Science Communication Fellow

Beth C. Geiger earned a B.A. in Geology from Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts. She worked as a NSF-sponsored participant of the Juneau Icefield Research Program in Alaska and then received an M.S. in Structural Geology from the University of Montana.  She spent 12 years as a consulting geologist working on a variety of geologic, environmental, and engineering consulting and contract projects throughout the United States and Canada.

Beth received a certificate in Literary Journalism from the University of Washington, and launched her career as a science writer in the late 1990s. She has since published over 200 non-fiction pieces in national and regional publications including The Wall Street Journal, Earth Magazine, New Scientist, Science News, Nature Conservancy, and many others. Formats have included features, news and informational pieces, as well as profiles.  Beth also has expertise in writing for young audiences, with a focus on middle and upper elementary school content. She has published in National Geographic Explorer, Current Science, KidsDiscover, Science News For Students, Ranger Rick, and Boys’ Life, among others. She received the 2006 Children's Science Journalism award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science for her efforts in this arena.

Beth is excited to serve as the 2017-2018 GSA Science Communication Fellow. Beth is passionate about communicating the value of geoscience to society and has extensive experience conveying scientific and technical information to mass audiences.  She is looking forward to further honing her skills by creating engaging stories for GSA and pitching exciting, new earth science research to editors.  Beth lives in Seattle, and is active in the Northwest Chapter of the National Association of Science Writers.  More information and a comprehensive list of her articles may be found on her website, www.bethcgeiger.com.

GSA’s Science Communication Fellowship is an opportunity for a science writer, journalist or scientist with a passion for communicating to spend 10 months gaining experience and professional contacts, working in concert with GSA communications and member leaders.

The goal of the Fellowship is to help improve communication of geoscience knowledge between the members of GSA and the non-scientific community. Candidates should understand how to interview authors to capture the significance of their work for non-scientific audiences, and translate technical research papers into well-developed and compelling press releases for general media outlets with lay readership.  The Fellow will write a minimum of 12 press releases throughout the Fellowship term, selected from the Society’s top-rated, peer-reviewed geoscience journals and from abstracts submitted by scientists to the extensive technical program for the GSA Annual Meeting.

The Fellow will also help staff the onsite Newsroom at the GSA Annual Meeting, assist members of the media covering the meeting, pitch stories to local and national media outlets, and mentor student interns considering a career in science communication.