Jonathan Piel (born 23 November 1938) is an American science journalist and editor.

Work

At the Scientific American

He became the editor of ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it ...

'' in June 1984 and left the magazine in August 1994. Following the tradition established by

Gerard Piel Gerard Piel (1 March 1915 in Woodmere, N.Y. – 5 September 2004) was the publisher of the new Scientific American magazine starting in 1948. He wrote for magazines, including ''The Nation'', and published books on science for the general p ...

and Dennis Flanagan he managed a staff of editors, artists, and writers who express the development of science in such fields as

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

, astrophysics,

cosmology Cosmology () is a branch of physics and metaphysics dealing with the nature of the universe. The term ''cosmology'' was first used in English in 1656 in Thomas Blount's ''Glossographia'', and in 1731 taken up in Latin by German philosopher ...

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

, archeology,

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of empirical investigation an ...

and

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

. He maintained the magazine's focus on medicine and health care, the impact of information technology on society and the economy, strategic weaponry, and the relationship between the environment and the global economy. *Continuing the series of annual single-topic issues, the magazine — under Jonathan Piel's editorship — covered such topics as the relationship between mind and brain, human economic growth and the environment, and the AIDS epidemic.

At Stanford University

Before assuming the editorship of ''Scientific American'', Jonathan Piel worked with Edward Rubenstein, then the Associate Dean of Post-Graduate Medical Education and Professor of Clinical Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, to create ''Scientific American Medicine'', a text designed to keep physician-subscribers abreast of significant changes in internal medicine.

Career Origins

Piel began covering science and technology as a writer in the Public Relations Department of the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

. He joined the editorial staff of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' in 1967. In 1969, he became a member of the Editorial Board of ''Scientific American''.

Family

He is the son of Gerard Piel and Mary Tapp Bird (both deceased) and the stepson of Eleanor Jackson Piel. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, he attended the City & Country School,

The Putney School The Putney School is an independent high school in Putney, Vermont. The school was founded in 1935 by Carmelita Hinton on the principles of the Progressive Education movement and the teachings of its principal exponent, John Dewey. It is a co-e ...

Putney, Vermont Putney is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,617 at the 2020 census. The town's historic core makes up the Putney Village Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Histo ...

, and graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1961. In 2002, he earned a Master of Professional Studies degree from the N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts, in its Interactive Telecommunications Program. He has two daughters by Ellen Elizabeth Harfield Piel (deceased, 1996): Sarah Piel (b. 1970) and Katie Piel (b. 1977).

Sources

The records of the City & Country School,

, Harvard College, N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts. N.Y. Times (passim) Mastheads of Scientific American from 1969 through 1994. His children are special educator and early childhood development specialist, Sarah Piel, MS.Ed (b 1970) and eating disorder therapist Katie Piel, LMFT (b. 1977). {{DEFAULTSORT:Piel, Jonathan 1938 births Harvard College alumni Stanford University people Tisch School of the Arts alumni Science journalists Living people American male journalists The Putney School alumni