Back from WV and packing up for Colorado!

I'm pretty sure I can see my new abode down there ...

Alas, another communications lag! I could say it was difficult to find Internet connection in rural West Virginia, and that would be partly true. It’s also true that I was visiting my grandmother, a lady who was still using the riding mower and driving to town for her mail when she was 96 years old. She’s 99 now, and not quite as mobile. But she’s still sharp, witty and fun, and somehow a visit with her seemed more important …

Plus, I might not see her for a while, and not because she’s going anywhere fast. But I am!

I am finally free to announce that I’ve been selected to fill one of five Ted Scripps Fellowships in Environmental Journalism, at the University of Colorado at Boulder. It’s a great program, and I’m undeniably excited for a variety of reasons. Some of them are personal — I love the West, for example, and although I’ve enjoyed about a year and a half of living closer to my family, I’m eager to get back out there. Mostly, though, I’m delighted for professional reasons. As a fellow, I’ll spend an academic year in a supportive environment while I audit classes, immerse myself in research about environmental issues, and dig into an environmental research project of my own, an effort which is expected to result in an extensive piece of original work.

I’m also excited to meet researchers in Boulder, home of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the Space Science Institute, to name just a few. I’m heading there in two weeks, to get to know the place and hopefully sniff out some science stories for my freelance outlets before the program begins in August.

And speaking of freelancing, my tour of the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia was out of this world! Okay, seriously — the place is incredible, the telescope amazing, and the staff delightful. I uncovered lots of ideas for science stories, some of which I’ll put here just as soon as I go through my notes. Stay tuned!