Rensberger became director of the Knight Fellowships upon the retirement in June 1998 of Victor K. McElheny, who founded the program in 1983.
Rensberger has been a science writer or science editor for more than 32 years, beginning in 1966 at The Detroit Free Press. From there he went to The New York Times from 1971 through 1979. He left The Times to freelance and to become head writer of a PBS science series for children, "3-2-1- Contact!" In 1981, he became senior editor of Science 81–Science 84 magazine, a popular monthly published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. At the end of 1984 Rensberger went to The Washington Post, where he served as science writer and science editor. At The Post, he created the paper's acclaimed monthly supplement, "Horizon: The Learning Section." Rensberger has written four science books, most recently Life Itself: Exploring the Realm of the Living Cell.
Rensberger has twice won the AAAS top award for science writing. In 1973-74 he was an Alicia Patterson Fellow, spending a year in East Africa studying human evolution and wildlife conservation. In 1987 he was a Science Writing Fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass.
Rensberger, who received a B.S. in zoology and journalism from the University of Miami and an M.S. in mental health communications from Syracuse University, also is co-director of the summer Science Writing Fellowships Program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole. His outside interests include gardening and woodworking.
Boyce Rensberger's List of Books Every Science Writer Should Read
