AGU names Peter Weiss as Public Information Manager
WASHINGTON – The American Geophysical Union has appointed Peter Weiss, a staff writer at Science News magazine, as its next Public Information Manager, succeeding Harvey Leifert, who will retire in late February after nine years at AGU. Weiss will join AGU, the world’s largest organization of Earth and space scientists, in mid-January and will have an overlap with Leifert. He will be responsible for media relations, including writing press releases and organizing press conferences at AGU meetings.
Weiss has covered physics and technology at Science News for nearly nine years. He previously was a science reporter for the Contra Costa Newspapers in northern California, where he focused mainly on the research, funding, and political aspects of two nuclear weapons laboratories in the region, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories/California. He has also freelanced for publications including Science, New Scientist, San Jose Mercury News, San Diego Union-Tribune, The Oregonian, Health magazine, and Earth magazine. He previously worked in the press office of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, writing press releases and articles.
Weiss is an alumnus of the graduate science communication program at the University of California at Santa Cruz. Prior to that, he worked as an electrical engineer, for which he was trained at Columbia University and at San Jose State University.
Notes for Journalists
Until 5 January, Peter Weiss may be contacted at Science News: +1-202-872-5108 or pweiss@sciserv.org.
After retirement in late February, Harvey Leifert may be contacted at +1-301-320-3895 or leifert@nasw.org.
