Contributors

Amateur photographer and science writer, Vanessa Schipani, has grand plans for her future: living in Iceland, perfecting her French, and writing a semibiographical novel about her mother, who was born in France during the Nazi occupation. “In an ideal world I would be living on a farm in the middle of nowhere,” she adds, “doing freelance work in science journalism and writing fiction.” For now, however, she’s very excited about being the newest intern at The Scientist. After graduating in 2008 from the University of Florida with a double major in zoology and philosophy, Schipani spent five months in northern California researching the breeding habits of spotted owls. Schipani has previously written for The Scientist, The American Scholar, and Earth.

As the new creative director for F1000/The Scientist, Ash Shairzay faces a challenging task—merging two unique brands into one. “Smart design can solve anything,” he says, looking forward to the challenge. Shairzay previously served as the Webby Award–winning creative director for the New York Academy of Sciences, and as art director for www.praxis.md. He especially enjoys working at the intersection of art and science: “Art and science intersecting sounds like a contradiction of terms, but in truth there’s quite a lot of overlap. They both appeal to vivid imaginations, and being able to simultaneously capture the minds of scientists and artists is definitely a special reward.”