Graduate student Marina Philip is the recipient of an American Association of the Advancement of Science Fellowship that will allow her to write about scientific issues for The Las Vegas Review-Journal in Nevada this summer.
One of 28 Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows selected by AAAS for 2020, Philip graduates next month with her PhD in analytical chemistry. She was in the research group of Jonathan V. Sweedler, the James R. Eiszner Family Endowed Chair in Chemistry and Director of the School of Chemical Sciences.
The competitive 10-week fellows program places science, engineering, and mathematics students at media organizations nationwide to use their academic knowledge to research, write and report complex scientific issues to readers.
Before pursuing her PhD at Illinois, Philip graduated from Western Washington University where she studied both biochemistry and journalism. In graduate school, she wrote for a blog called Chembites and wrote some articles for the Department of Chemistry.
“It's an unusual year to do the fellowship because of COVID-19, but I'm excited to play a part in conveying accurate information on an issue that is affecting everyone,” said Philip, who recently moved to Albuquerque, NM, where she will be looking for a job in media after the fellowship.