2004–05 Knight Fellows

Left to Right:
Taro Mitamura, Martha Henry, Sylvia Pagán Westphal,
Brian Bergstein, Colin Nickerson, Judy Fahys, Boyce Rensberger, Valeria Román, Martin Uhlir, Justin Gillis, Ingfei Chen, John Nikolai, Jeff Tollefson
photo by Graham Ramsay

Brian Bergstein Brian Bergstein, technology reporter for the Associated Press. For four years, he has been covering electronic technology for AP, beginning in Silicon Valley with the dot-com bust and in the last two years from New York, focusing on the broader impacts of the digital revolution. Bergstein has a degree in journalism from Northwestern University. At MIT he plans to concentrate on the history of technology and its social impacts. His outside interests include movies, playing and watching baseball and football, travel, jazz, funk and soul music.
Ingfei Chen Ingfei Chen, freelance. Following a AAAS Mass Media Fellowship in 1989, she detoured from a scientific career into journalism, working at the San Francisco Chronicle, Hippocrates and Health before settling into freelancing. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Discover and Science magazine's web-based Science of Aging Knowledge Environment. Chen has a bachelors in biology from Brown and a masters in journalism from Stanford. During the fellowship year, she will focus on neuroscience and gerontology. Extracurricular activities include inline skating, reading and chocolate.
Judy Fahys Judy Fahys, environment reporter of The Salt Lake Tribune. Her investigative stories helped Utahns prevent the U.S. Energy Department and Congress from circumventing the state's ban on hotter nuclear waste. Fahys began her college career at Simon's Rock, moved to William and Mary to study English literature and fine arts and eventually ended up at Northwestern for a masters in journalism. During her year on campus, Fahys plans to study the health and environmental effects of pollution and its regulation. She lists her hobbies as hiking, gardening, painting, skiing, fly fishing and backpacking.
Justin Gillis Justin Gillis, biotechnology reporter for The Washington Post since 1998. Gillis was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 1989 and a year later, with several colleagues, won an Investigative Reporters and Editors award along with numerous lesser awards over the years. Gillis has a degree in journalism from the University of Georgia. Before joining The Post in 1995, he covered government for The Miami Herald with an emphasis on investigating malfeasance and corruption. Gillis plans to use the year to shore up his understanding of basic biology, focusing on stem cells, cloning, gene therapy and other socially and politically contentious applications. Outside interests include food, wine, travel and "gadgets of all kinds."
Taro Mitamura Taro Mitamura, television science reporter for NHK, or Japan Broadcasting Corporation. His reporting has focused on numerous safety issues in Japan, including the radioactive release at a nuclear fuel processing plant in 1999 and how the government's efforts to keep "mad cow disease" out of the country failed. Mitamura's stories influenced the government's decision to create the Food Safety Commission. Mitamura went to Keio University Graduate School and has a masters degree in law. The fellowship will allow him to study public safety issues related to food, nuclear power and disaster management. He is also interested in infectious diseases. Recreational interests include reading, hiking and movies.
Colin Nickerson Colin Nickerson, longtime foreign correspondent for The Boston Globe. After 20 years of reporting from Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Canada and submitting the occasional story on Third World health or environmental crisis amid coverage of war and calamity, Nickerson is preparing to make a transition into full-time science coverage. Nickerson graduated from Marlboro College in Vermont. At MIT he intends to study the history of science and how science and technology might improve life in the developing world. His recreational interests include snowshoeing and "landscaping on my acres in Vermont."
Valeria Román Valeria Román, science and medical reporter for Clarin, the largest daily newspaper in Argentina. Her work has won numerous awards from national and international environmental and health organizations. She also has organized several workshops to bring Latin American scientists and journalists together to improve communication. Román is a graduate of the University of Buenos Aires. During the fellowship, she plans to focus on physics, the environmental and social impacts of global warming, and science policy in developing countries. Her other interests include reading and salsa dancing.
Jeff Tollefson Jeff Tollefson, science reporter at the Santa Fe New Mexican newspaper. Since 2000 he has won 11 awards for his coverage of Los Alamos National Laboratory and other energy, science and environment stories. Tollefson majored in French at the University of Wyoming. During his year at MIT he will study energy from a variety of perspectives, including science, technology, markets and policy. His other interests include hiking, backpacking, golf, reading and history.
Martin Uhlir Martin Uhlir, science reporter for Lidove Noviny, one of the biggest daily newspapers in the Czech Republic. In 2000 he won two major prizes for science popularization, one from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and another from the National Council for Research and Development. Uhlir earned a master of science degree from Charles University in Prague. While on campus, he plans to study astrophysics and cosmology, environmental issues and molecular biology. His recreational interests include reading, soccer, softball, skiing and bicycling.
Sylvia Pagán Westphal Sylvia Pagán Westphal, reporter for New Scientist magazine. Westphal, a native of Puerto Rico, covers biology, medicine and health. She was previously a science reporter for The Los Angeles Times. Westphal has an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Puerto Rico and a Ph.D. in genetics from Harvard. The fellowship will allow her to deepen her education in medicine, ethics of research and medical genetics. Her outside interests include traveling and writing fiction.