Stories about NASA
Cooperation, not competition: working across borders to make a satellite
Native tribes, the rushing ocean, and shellfish
Fellow at WIRED magazine
I wrote for WIRED magazine in San Francisco during summer 2018 as a AAAS Mass Media fellow. Here’s my favorite articles:
Native tribes are taking fire control into their own hands
The ultimate carbon-savings tip? Travel by cargo ship
New University Rules Encourage Scientists to Avoid Air Travel
I was very skeptical coming into this WIRED writing business, but it was really rewarding after all. You can see all my articles here. And my updates from when I was out in San Francisco and my reflections afterwards here. And then I got this lovely recognition for my “Fire Control” article (my very favorite).
Daily Tar Heel, opinion columnist
The Daily Tar Heel is the finest (seriously) college newspaper in the country, and also serves as the community newspaper in Orange County, NC. It has won numerous awards over its long history.
I wrote an opinion column for a year and a half in the DTH. Some of the articles I am most proud of are:
“We fell in love in a hopeless place”
“Muslims for Sweden’s Bodyguard”
“Don’t stand by the Clock Kid”
“A choice between two terrors”
“How to be the best of the best” (about my dad!)
“UNC faculty, you’re alright” (about some professors that really helped me out!)
Science communication pieces
Here’s science articles I have written while at UNC:
Fossils that slumber in the mountains and the mud – about Dr. Joe Carter, a retired professor in my department. He is so nice!
The making of Mr. Turtle – about one of my first animation projects with kids
Arctic tales of icy trails – this one is very melodramatic – my apologies!
I was also once featured in UNC Endeavors magazine Women in Science series, which you can check out here!
In November of 2017, I got to attend the UN Climate Change Talks in Bonn, Germany, as an official UNC observer delegate. It was very exciting. Here are my two articles I wrote for the Daily Tar Heel of the experience:
Personal essays
An essay of my time working with youth in a Jordanian Ecopark.
An essay of my time spent in Sweden for two beautiful weeks in August, 2015.
Summitting in Seattle, spring 2013: when I met one of the National Hurricane Center storm trackers!
Arabic news in English
I spent three years listening to the Arabic news (mostly the BBC Arabic), taking screenshots of the footage, and translating the material into English. My favorite things to translate were debates, call-in shows, and the like, because you could really see the diversity of opinion people had, and I think that is perhaps not always highlighted in western media. Check it out!
When I started my PhD, the entries got sparser after a while … and then stopped altogether. Just as I was going to start up again, the news got too depressing, and I was scared of what I might hear. So I haven’t done much in a while, but you can read all the old entries. One the bright side, I learned tons of Arabic while doing this: words like massacre, recession, military shelling, army tanks, two new ways of saying “died”, wounded, demonstrations, drone, and insult. I also learned the names of 20 or more Syrian towns and cities. See, perfectly cheerful.
mejshasan.com 