September 2024: Don (right) accepting fellowship in the American Academy of Arts and Sciences from president Willie E. May

Like many science writers, I started out thinking I would become a professional scientist. I did. I got a Ph.D. in physics from MIT, got a job at Bell Labs, and had a great time for most of the next 18 years. I got a chance to see the whole pipeline of science turning into technology, giving me both a broad and a deep understanding of various scientific and technological fields. Perhaps more importantly, I understand the motivations and cultural expectations that frame the scientific process.

In recent years, I have been using that understanding to communicate science to a broader public. Along the way, I get to learn all sorts of cool science.

August, 2023: Don at Brandon Gap, Vermont