Editor's
Introduction
Volume
One of The Rutgers Assayist
is a work in progress, the first attempt to
publish student science writing at Rutgers University through
an online journal. As the work of scientists continues to pervade
more and more of our current thought and to fuel public debate
about ethical and fiscal responsibility, the field of science
writing itself is one of increasing importance. The need for accurate,
unbiased reporters who can balance excitement and scrutiny, who
can see through the somewhat inflated claims of public relations
memos, and who can translate increasingly arcane and specialized
information to the general public is crucial.
The
students whose work is represented here are making their initial
assays, trying to mine out the valuable material from the undifferentiated
mountains of information that surround us all and to show us why
we should care about the topics presented. Prior to the class,
all of the contributors had been more accustomed to writing papers
for science classes than to presenting information about science
to the general public, and as such, they all faced the challenge
of changing their writing style. Finding a "story" through
which to present the scientific data was more difficult than might
be expected. Through interviews and feature stories, they present
current scientific work ranging from a particle physicist's search
for the Higgs boson to a multidisciplinary effort to discover
the recipe for life itself, from a geologist's charting of sea
level rise to a hippotherapist's efforts to strengthen the muscle
tone of a young girl. The essays reflect the interests of their
writers, yet the essayists themselves have tried to maintain the
objective voice that is the hallmark of good science writing.
We hope you find the finished product both informative and entertaining.
Barbara
Hamilton
August
1, 2002
New Brunswick, New Jersey