Amanda Martinez (2009)

Fellowship Year: 2009
Academic Background: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - MS - (Science Writing)
Current Position: Science & Environment Writer , Freelance Writer & Multimedia Producer
Amanda Rose Martinez is a science writer and multimedia producer based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She graduated with a master’s degree in Science Writing from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where her graduate studies were supported in part by the Switzer fellowship. While at MIT, she focused on marine science reporting and studied at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Amanda was proud to receive the S. Klein Prize for Scientific Writing at MIT’s annual Ilona Karmel writing competition for her article on neuroscientists' attempts to isolate the source of creativity in the brain during musical improvisation. Her thesis work examined the origins and fate of plastic trash in the ocean and investigated its impacts on marine ecosystems. Before attending grad school, Amanda spent three years as editor of environment and music coverage for the Santa Cruz Good Times, the alternative weekly paper for Santa Cruz County, California. In October 2008, she received a first place award for environmental reporting from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in a statewide competition that included weekly papers from all major cities. After launching the paper’s environmental science coverage in April 2007, she wrote nine cover stories that explored topics such as: local effects of climate change, conservation biology, marine science, alternative energy, and nanotechnology. She also wrote a monthly opinion column on environmental culture. Her work has also aired on PRI’s Living on Earth and MIT TechTV, and been published in Seed magazine, NASW ScienceWriters magazine and MIT Scope magazine. Amanda was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois. Before becoming a science writer, she authored several plays and had staged readings produced by The Goodman Theatre and the Chicago Dramatists Theatre in her hometown. She graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Playwriting.
Expertise: Coastal & Marine Issues