Constance "Tancy" Holden (October 11, 1941 – April 12, 2010) was an American science journalist, known for her reporting on the roles of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

human behavior Human behavior is the potential and expressed capacity (Energy (psychological), mentally, Physical activity, physically, and Social action, socially) of human individuals or groups to respond to internal and external Stimulation, stimuli throu ...

. She worked at ''

Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

'' from 1970 until her death in 2010. She was also a successful artist whose

oil painting Oil painting is a painting method involving the procedure of painting with pigments combined with a drying oil as the Binder (material), binder. It has been the most common technique for artistic painting on canvas, wood panel, or oil on coppe ...

s were hung on the walls of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

's headquarters in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

On April 12, 2010, while riding her

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

home from work, she was hit and killed by a truck providing security support for that day's Nuclear Security Summit. In her memory, the

International Society for Intelligence Research The International Society for Intelligence Research (ISIR) is a scientific society for researchers in human intelligence. It was founded by Douglas K. Detterman of Case Western Reserve University in 2000. The society advocates for ongoing suppo ...

awards a single individual the right to give the Constance Holden Memorial Address. Past recipients of this honor include

Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young, Baron Young of Acton (born 17 October 1963), is a British social commentator and life peer. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of ''The Spectator'', creator of '' The Daily S ...

Alice Dreger Alice Domurat Dreger () is an American historian, bioethicist, author, and former professor of clinical medical humanities and bioethics at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, in Chicago, Illinois. Dreger engages in acade ...

, and

Susan Pinker Susan Pinker is a Canadian psychologist, author, and social science columnist for ''The Wall Street Journal''. She is a former weekly columnist for ''The Globe and Mail'', and has also written for ''The New York Times'', ''The Guardian'', and '' ...

. Her family also created the Constance Holden Memorial Concert in memory of her life in

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

. The concert is performed annually by the classical music school Point Counterpoint, located on

Lake Dunmore Lake Dunmore is a freshwater lake in Addison County, Vermont. The lake spans the towns of Salisbury and Leicester and has a surface area of 985 acres (3.98 km2). Lake Dunmore is over 3 miles long (oriented north-south) and up to 1 mile wide. ...

References

1941 births 2010 deaths Road incident deaths in Washington, D.C. American women journalists American science journalists Cycling road incident deaths American women painters American women science writers 21st-century American women {{US-journalist-1940s-stub