The Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (KITP) solicits applications from journalists and science writers to spend up to 5 months at the KITP as a Journalist Fellow. The incumbent will be provided with an office at the KITP and access to the many physicists at the institute (roughly 65 at any given time) and to the current programs that address topics at the forefront of research in physics and related fields. It is expected that incumbents will spend about half their time on their own work, and half time involved in KITP and Physics related projects. The KITP will provide a travel allowance, a flexible stipend, and will help in arranging housing. The purpose of the Journalist in Residence program is to promote excellence in scientific journalism by bringing journalists, science writers and science editors in contact with physicists working at the frontiers of science, and by educating physicists on how to communicate their science to the general public.

The KITP, in operation since 1979, is an international research center for theoretical physics, where scientists from throughout the world gather to pursue research on the most challenging and exciting questions in physics and related sciences. The Institute is a unique facility, largely supported by the National Science Foundation and UCSB. Its innovative mode of operation, a small and distinguished faculty interacting with a large group of visiting colleagues, has been widely imitated at other research centers. The general purpose of the Institute is to contribute to the progress of theoretical physics, especially in areas overlapping the traditional subfields, in ways that are not easily realized in existing institutions. Its most significant characteristics are flexibility and responsiveness to perceived scientific opportunities. The KITP runs 4-6 month long programs and holds many conferences focusing on the most significant questions in particle and nuclear physics, in astrophysics and cosmology, in condensed matter physics, in atomic and molecular physics, in biophysics, and in new interdisciplinary fields. Many of these programs have had seminal impact on their fields. Approximately 1000 scientists visit the KITP each year. In addition to its research programs the KITP is host to about 16 postdoctoral associates, four visiting Graduate Fellows, an annual conference for high school teachers, and 20 KITP Scholars.

The KITP is located on the scenic campus of the University of California at Santa Barbara, at the east entrance of the campus overlooking the Pacific ocean. A Journalist-in-Residence at KITP need not be scientifically sophisticated, but should have a keen sense of what resounds in the public arena, and an interest both in developing that sense within the physics community, and in working with physicists on the communication of physics. The Fellow will be expected to interact with researchers, both formally and informally, in attempts to discover effective and interesting avenues of communication - and to learn about physics. Persons interested in a Journalist Fellowship at KITP should send the following to the Director, David Gross: A Curriculum Vita, with a one-page summary, indicating education, past employment and publications; Three samples of one's scientific writing (this could include audio or video tapes); A description of no more than 750 words of how tenure as a Journalist Fellow at KITP will benefit the applicant as well as the programs at KITP. Discussion of specific ideas and/or activities is desirable. These can be sent electronically to journalist@kitp.ucsb.edu or by mail to:

Professor David Gross
Journalist in Residence Program
Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics
Kohn Hall, University of California
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-4030

Roster and biographical information of KITP Journalists in Residence to date.

Talks given by KITP Journalists in Residence.

last modified: 2/20/08 ds