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.
With funding from the GSA Foundation's Bruce and Karen Clark fund, 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.
Current Fellow
Emily Zawacki
2021–2022 GSA Science Communication Fellow
Emily Zawacki began her term on 1 August as the 2021–2022 GSA Science
Communication Fellow. In this role, Zawacki is excited to hone her skills
as a professional science communicator while producing high-quality content
that makes novel geoscience research from GSA journals and presentations
accessible to a wide audience.
Zawacki recently received her Ph.D. in Geological Sciences from Arizona
State University. Her primary research focus lies in the intersection
between geomorphology, tectonics/structural geology, sedimentary geology,
and paleoanthropology. At ASU, Emily was a member of the
Active Tectonics, Quantitative Structural Geology, and Geomorphology
research group and the
Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project
where she worked to determine sediment provenance and quantify rates of
landscape evolution at localities along the East African Rift. She also
completed a Masters in Passing at ASU researching a case of highly
explosive basaltic volcanism in the Pinacate volcanic field (Sonora,
Mexico).
Beyond her scientific expertise, Emily has significant experience in
traditional communications and journalism; she was editor-in-chief of her
undergraduate alma mater's newspaper, has written many science-related blog
posts, and was selected to participate in GSA’s Science Communication
Internship program in 2019. Emily is passionate about science communication
and loves to incorporate her knowledge and experiences from the field and
classroom to share the fascinating and dynamic nature of Earth and its
history. She greatly enjoys conducting science outreach online and has
created numerous educational
videos for YouTube, TikTok and Instagram
on a wide range of subjects. Emily is excited to bring her skill set
together as GSA’s Science Communication Fellow, where she looks forward to
incorporating multimedia as a means of making cutting-edge geoscience
research more accessible for non-technical audiences. Feel free to contact her if you think you
have an experience you’d like to share. More information on Emily and her
previous publications can be found on her website.
How to Apply
The application period is open from 15 April through 31 May.
Applicants should submit a résumé, cover letter, and writing sample to:
hr@geosociety.org (subject line: ATTN Science
Communication Fellowship). Interviews will be conducted by phone or video conference after the
application period closes and a hiring decision should be made by 1 July 2022.
Learn more about the fellowship and application process