Tom Siegfried

Tom Siegfried

Contributing Correspondent

Tom Siegfried is a contributing correspondent. He was editor in chief of Science News from 2007 to 2012, and he was the managing editor from 2014 to 2017. He is the author of the blog Context. In addition to Science News, his work has appeared in Science, Nature, Astronomy, New Scientist and Smithsonian. Previously he was the science editor of The Dallas Morning News. He is the author of four books: The Bit and the Pendulum (Wiley, 2000); Strange Matters (National Academy of Sciences’ Joseph Henry Press, 2002);  A Beautiful Math (2006, Joseph Henry Press); and The Number of the Heavens (Harvard University Press, 2019). Tom was born in Lakewood, Ohio, and grew up in nearby Avon. He earned an undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University with majors in journalism, chemistry and history, and has a master of arts with a major in journalism and a minor in physics from the University of Texas at Austin. His awards include the American Geophysical Union's Robert C. Cowen Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism, the Science-in Society award from the National Association of Science Writers, the American Association for the Advancement of Science-Westinghouse Award, the American Chemical Society’s James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public, and the American Institute of Physics Science Communication Award.

All Stories by Tom Siegfried

  1. Physics

    Shadows of two failed searches loom over physics

    Physicists are facing two failures this year with no detections of dark matter particles and no signs of supersymmetry from the Large Hadron Collider.

  2. Neuroscience

    Health official calls on neuroscience to fight mental illness

    When it comes to mental health, all countries are developing countries, WHO official says, appealing to neuroscience for help.

  3. Neuroscience

    Infant brains have powerful reactions to fear

    Babies can recognize facial emotions, especially fear, as early as 5 months old.

  4. Quantum Physics

    Why quantum mechanics might need an overhaul

    Nobel laureate Steven Weinberg says current debates in quantum mechanics need a new approach to comprehend reality.

  5. Humans

    Tom Wolfe’s denial of language evolution stumbles over his own words

    Tom Wolfe’s book denies that language evolved and attacks Darwin and Chomsky with smugness lacking substance.

  6. Planetary Science

    Visits to Proxima Centauri’s planet are probably millennia away

    A trip to Proxima Centauri’s planet would take millennia, even with alpha particle propulsion.

  7. Quantum Physics

    A new ‘Einstein’ equation suggests wormholes hold key to quantum gravity

    A new Einsteinian equation, ER=EPR, may be the clue physicists need to merge quantum mechanics with general relativity.

  8. Science & Society

    ‘Idea Makers’ tackles scientific thinkers’ big ideas and personal lives

    Stephen Wolfram’s Idea Makers profiles the lives and professional contributions of prominent people in science and technology, including Ada Lovelace, Srinivasa Ramanujan and Steve Jobs.

  9. Math

    Courts’ use of statistics should be put on trial

    Bayesian statistics offer a useful tool for avoiding fallacies in legal reasoning.

  10. Science & Society

    Francis Crick’s good luck revolutionized biology

    Francis Crick, born 100 years ago, chose to study molecular biology first and then later tackled consciousness.

  11. Math

    Despite misuses, statistics still has solid foundation

    In "The Seven Pillars of Statistics Wisdom," Stephen Stigler lays out the basic principles of statistics.

  12. Math

    Claude Shannon’s information theory built the foundation for the digital era

    Claude Shannon, born 100 years ago, devised the mathematical representation of information that made the digital era possible.