Steve Mirsky

Steve Mirsky
Mirsky in 2013
Alma materCornell University
OccupationJournalist

Steve Mirsky is an American journalist. He is a writer for Scientific American, the host of the magazine's longform science podcast, Science Talk.[1] and the producer of the daily 60-Second Science podcast. Mirsky has also written Scientific American's monthly "Anti Gravity" column since 1995 until December 8, 2020.[2][3][4]

Education

Mirsky obtained his bachelor's degree in chemistry from Lehman College of the City University of New York[2] and in 1985,[5] obtained his master's degree in chemistry from Cornell University.[6]

Career

Prior to studying chemistry in college, Mirsky explored acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and spent the summer of 1978 with an acting company performing at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival.[7]

While attending Cornell University, Mirsky received a Mass Media Fellowship through the American Association for the Advancement of Science and received a science journalist assignment for one summer at a TV station, WSVN-TV, in Miami, FL.[2][6] After graduating from Cornell University, Mirsky was hired[2] at WSVN-TV and then, continuing his work in the broadcast industry, Mirsky moved to radio for a year as a morning host for WMCR in Oneida, NY.[6] After WMCR, Mirsky worked for five years at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine covering basic research for its publications and then became a freelance science writer for a variety of magazines.[6]

Mirsky began writing Scientific American's monthly "Anti Gravity" column in 1994 as a freelancer and joined Scientific American's staff in 1997.[2] He is now a senior editor at Scientific American and continues to write the "Anti Gravity" column.[8] In addition, since 2006, he has hosted Scientific American's weekly Science Talk podcast and contributed to the magazine's daily 60-Second Science podcast.[2][3][9]

Works

Mirsky is most known for writing Scientific American's long-running monthly "Anti Gravity" column and hosting Scientific American's weekly Science Talk podcast.[2][4] He is the author of Anti Gravity: Allegedly Humorous Writing from Scientific American (2007), an anthology of his early "Anti Gravity" columns.[10]

His earlier freelance articles appeared in magazines such as Astronomy,[11][12] Audubon,[11][12][6] Men's Fitness,[11] National Wildlife,[11][12][6] Newsday,[12] Technology Review,[12][13] and Wildlife Conservation.[11][6] His broadcast credits include National Public Radio, the Medical News Network, and CBS News Overnight.[6]

Awards and honors

Mirsky was awarded:

  • a Science Journalism Fellowship at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1993 and 2001;[14][15]
  • a Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowship in Medical Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1997;[16][17][18]
  • a Knight Science Journalism Fellowship at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003;[19] and
  • an honorary doctorate from Lehman College at the City University of New York in 2009.[6]

Mirsky was named a Science Writer in Residence for the University of Wisconsin–Madison for the autumn of 2007[12] and his work on Scientific American's two podcasts has been recognized with Webby Awards in 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013.[20]

Bibliography

  • "The Annual Ig Nobel Prizes". Scientific American. 271 (6): 17–18. December 1994.
  • Anti Gravity : allegedly humorous writing from Scientific American. 2007.
  • "Presidential Harrisment". Scientific American. 302 (6): C3. June 2010.
  • "Show your hand : many doors could be closed to the bearer of unreadable fingerprints". Anti Gravity. Scientific American. 308 (4): 68. April 2013.
  • "Bacon, lettuce and tasteless". Anti Gravity. Scientific American. 308 (5): 70. May 2013.[21]
  • "Home un-alone : what you live in can shape how you live". Anti Gravity. Scientific American. 323 (3): 82. September 2020.[22]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Podcasts". Scientific American. Nature America, Inc. Archived from the original on 11 January 2018. Retrieved 11 January 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Interview with Steve Mirsky". HowDidYouGetThere. 14 March 2015. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Podcasts". Scientific American. Nature America, Inc. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  4. ^ a b Mirsky, Steve (February 2018). "Anti Gravity: The Ongoing Search for Fundamental Farces". Scientific American. Vol. 318, no. 2. New York, N.Y.: Nature America, Inc. p. 68.
  5. ^ "Steve Mirsky (as displayed to 3rd-level connection)". LinkedIn. LinkedIn Corporation. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Scientific American Editor and Columnist to Keynote Lehman's Convocation September 16". Lehman College, City University of New York (CUNY). The City University of New York (CUNY). 3 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2018-01-16. Retrieved 16 Jan 2018.
  7. ^ "SGU Episode 48". SGU (Skeptics Guide to the Universe) Transcripts. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  8. ^ "(Masthead)". Scientific American. Vol. 318, no. 2. New York, N.Y.: Nature America, Inc. February 2018. p. 5.
  9. ^ "60-Second Science". Scientific American. Nature America, Inc. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  10. ^ Mirsky, Steve (2007). Anti Gravity: Allegedly Humorous Writing from Scientific American. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-59921-115-2.
  11. ^ a b c d e Mirsky, Steve (2007). Anti Gravity: Allegedly Humorous Writing from Scientific American. Guilford, CT: The Lyons Press. p. Back Cover. ISBN 978-1-59921-115-2.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Devitt, Terry (24 September 2007). "Scientific American columnist to be writer in residence". University of Wisconsin-Madison. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Archived from the original on 13 January 2018. Retrieved 13 January 2018.
  13. ^ "Steve Mirsky Stories". MIT Technology Review. Technology Review, Inc. Archived from the original on 18 January 2018. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
  14. ^ "Science Journalism Fellows, 1990-1999". Marine Biological Laboratory. The Marine Biological Laboratory. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  15. ^ "Science Journalism Fellows, 2000-2009". Marine Biological Laboratory. The Marine Biological Laboratory. Archived from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  16. ^ "People". Columbia University. 18 April 1997. Archived from the original on 15 December 2011. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  17. ^ Mirsky, Steve. "Re-emerging diseases: gone today, here tomorrow?". The World of Research at Columbia University. Columbia University. Archived from the original on 20 June 2017. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  18. ^ "Thomson Reuters Foundation Fellowship: Inviting Experienced Journalists throughout the World". Funds for NGOs. Funds for NGOs, LLC. 5 December 2016. Archived from the original on 6 December 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2018.
  19. ^ "Knight science journalism fellows named". UPI. United Press International, Inc. 28 April 2003. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  20. ^ "Scientific American (Search Results)". The Webby Awards. Archived from the original on 20 January 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  21. ^ Online version is titled "Scientists are trying to get supermarket tomatoes’ flavor to catch up".
  22. ^ Online version is titled "Our health depends on our homes and work spaces".