GSA Science Communication Fellowship

Current Fellow

Rebecca Dzombak
2020-2021 GSA Science Communication Fellow

Rebecca Dzombak began her term on 1 July as the 2020–2021 GSA Science Communication Fellow. In this role, Dzombak will help translate technical research from GSA journals and presentations into relatable stories for non-technical audiences.

Dzombak is a Ph.D candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Michigan. After receiving a dual B.S. in Communication Studies and Earth & Environmental Science, she opted to stay in geology to research how terrestrial nutrient cycles have changed over Earth’s history. Her research has taken her to India, New Zealand, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and the southwestern U.S.; visiting this array of inspiring environments instilled a sense of curiosity that she passes on to readers through her writing. In addition to her graduate school duties, she has been covering climate change and environment research and serving as editor-in-chief for the Michigan chapter of the Association for Women in Science blog, which she founded as a platform for Michigan women in STEM to share their stories. Now in her fifth and final year of her Ph.D., she is excited to bring her skillsets together as GSA’s Science Communication Fellow, where she looks forward to sharing both cutting-edge geoscience research and the unique stories of people carrying it out.

Becca’s writing interests focus on the intersection of science and society, ranging from covering the latest climate change studies to critically examining how gender and race impact both science and science communication. To this end, she aims to use this position to increase visibility and representation of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, as well as geoscientists from other traditionally underrepresented groups in the geosciences by highlighting their work and providing them a platform with GSA. She is looking forward to getting to know the GSA community of researchers better and hearing their stories! Feel free to contact her if you think you have an experience you’d like to share. More information on Becca and her previous publications can be found on her website.

About the Fellowship

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.