IEEE Earthzine’s 2017 Writing Fellowship, sponsored by XPRIZE, engages students and early career professionals on ocean exploration through storytelling. Their first assignment was to interview each other.

NOAA’s Ocean Ship Okeanos Explorer is one of several vessels conducting seafloor mapping and ocean exploration missions, many of which are available to the public via telepresence technologies. Image Credit: NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration
Since 2015, IEEE Earthzine’s Writing Fellowship (previously called the Writing Club) has offered opportunities for students and early career professionals eager to develop science communication skills — delivered via one-on-one mentorship, presentations, readings, and weekly assignments. Students learn about developing story ideas, researching, interviewing, and working through the revision and review process. Once published, the students receive a small award; this summer’s honorarium is offered thanks to sponsorship from Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE.
We’ve gathered a talented group of writers and scholars. Read on to learn more!
Catie Foley
By Umesh Neettiyath
As a Ph.D. candidate at Stony Brook University studying seals and penguins, Catherine Foley looks to the future with a sense of hope as the once decimated animal populations of a Subantarctic island called South Georgia are bouncing back. She is an active person who has tried her hand in trapeze, caving, archery and kickboxing among others and is a kayaking instructor. As an Earthzine Fellow, Catherine is exploring avenues for scientists to involve the public in research through science communication. “For successful management and conservation, science needs to be understood by citizens and policymakers,” says Foley.Jenny Gessaman
By Jen Parrilli
Journalist Jenny Gessaman has been connecting with rural readers since her days as a student at the University of Montana, where she served as the senior editor for the school’s Centennial Magazine. She has since expanded to the larger Montana community as a reporter for the Lewistown News-Argus.Her interest in writing stems from a deep desire to inform people about their world so that they may live better daily lives. Stimulated by the strange and unique, Jenny is eager to plumb the depths of the IEEE Earthzine Writing Fellowship and dredge up the details of how deep sea organisms interact with their watery world.
Sara Lubkin
By Kelly van Frankenhuyzen

Sara at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Image Credit:Sean McCartney, NASA DEVELOP
As an Earthzine Fellow, Lubkin hopes this program will increase her writing skills in the science field. Lubkin believes good science communicators can help solve environmental problems our planet is facing.
Umesh Neettiyath
By Catie Foley
Umesh Neettiyath is a project researcher in the Ocean Perception Lab at the University of Tokyo. In the lab, Umesh is focused on building deep sea autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) sensors to study mineral deposits on the sea floor. Originally from a small village in India, Umesh has always pushed himself to seek out diverse opportunities. While his interests are wide-ranging, encompassing robotics, poetry, and traveling, he is particularly passionate about backpacking. Umesh has hiked in 20 of the 50 prefectures of Japan; during this time, he has developed a deep commitment to understanding the natural world. To Umesh, each new experience is an exploration: “I explore places, books, food, ideas and much more – both mentally and physically.”Veronica Padula
By Erica Spain

Releasing a thick billed murre after sampling on St Paul Island. T species is experiencing one of the greatest declines in productivity so live capture is important to understand the impact of ocean plastics. Image Credit: Naomi Bargmann
While investigating impacts of ocean plastic ingestion on seabird breeding for her Ph.D., Veronica realized that engaging the public was key to solving the problem. Through her work as a 5 Gyres ambassador, she shows how small changes can have large impacts in helping oceans, and her beloved seabirds, recover.
As science educator for the Ecosystem Conservation Office on remote St. Paul Island in the Bering Sea, she’s also working with local kids to build a remotely-controlled underwater vehicles to explore the ocean that surrounds them.
Jen Parrilli
By Jenny Gessaman

Jen Parrilli lures in Chagall and Tracy Chapman, two ring-tailed lemurs on Georgia’s St. Catherines Island, with a banana treat. Image Credit: Kelly Currier
With degrees in biology, ecology and anthropology, she is working as a temporary keeper for ring-tailed lemurs and the other animals on Georgia’s St. Catherines Island. As a scientist, Jen is ready to become part of the solution as a 2017 IEEE Earthzine Fellow.
Peter Sinclair
By Andrew Urevig

Peter outside NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where he worked as an intern last summer. Image Credit: Peter Sinclair
Since then, Peter has pursued science outreach by attending a workshop at the American Astronomical Society conference; answering space questions on Stack Exchange, a popular Q&A website; teaching an Astronomy 101 lab section; and writing on his nascent blog.
Peter likes reading and games. His favorite eats include Japanese food and chicken parmesan, but his hunger for knowledge is voracious — he loves learning in all its forms.

This photo was taken during the 2016 Research Vessel Investigator voyage to Heard and McDonald Islands. Image Credit: Pete Harmsen
Erica Spain
By Veronica Padula
Erica Spain’s passion for water has led her to pursue a Ph.D. at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Australia. For her Ph.D., she explores new worlds in the deep sea using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). The Explorer AUV Erica will be using for her research can reach depths of 5000 meters and uses hydroacoustics to map the sea floor and under sea ice.
Erica plans to explore hydrothermal vent fields and methane seeps in the Southern Ocean and, eventually, Antarctica. She also is interested in environmental ethics, proposing that good environmental policies are also good economic policies, and in laws of the high seas and the Antarctic Treaty.
Andrew Urevig
By Peter Sinclair
Andrew Urevig is a senior at the University of Minnesota (UMN) where he studies scientific interpretation and communication. This degree program, which he designed himself, consists of classes about life sciences and communication. Andrew became interested in science communication when he took a class on paleontology and the development of life on Earth.Currently, he is a member of UMN’s “Bee Squad,” a student group that helps educate people about bees and other pollinators. After graduation, he would like to work as a writer, discussing animal behavior and ecosystem conservation.
Kelly van Frankenhuyzen
By Sara Lubkin

Earthzine Fellow Kelly van Frankenhuyzen with a friend in Denali National Park. Image Credit: Kelly van Frankenhuyzen
Because Kelly’s dream job would combine her passion for the environment with her love of travel, she would some day like to write for National Geographic. Kelly applied to the Earthzine Writing Fellowship to gain experience writing about science.
Jenny Woodman is a science writer and Writing Fellowship coordinator for IEEE Earthzine; she lives in Portland, Oregon. Follow her on Twitter @JennyWoodman