Natalie Angier /ænˈdʒɪər/ (born February 16, 1958 in the

Bronx The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

) is an American nonfiction writer and a science journalist for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Her awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting in 1991 and the AAAS Westinghouse Science Journalism Award in 1992. She is also noted for her public identification as an atheist and received the

Freedom from Religion Foundation The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF) is an American nonprofit organization that advocates for atheism, atheists, agnosticism, agnostics, and nontheism, nontheists. Formed in 1976, FFRF promotes the separation of church and state, and ch ...

's Emperor Has No Clothes Award in 2003.

Early life

Angier was born in the Bronx, New York City, on February 16, 1958, to Keith Angier and Adele Angier, née Rosenthal. She was raised in the Bronx and New Buffalo, Michigan.

Education

Angier began her college studies at age 16 at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. After completing two years at the University of Michigan, she studied English,

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

, and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

, where she graduated magna cum laude in 1978. She also studied medieval literature, post graduation.

Career

Angier began her writing career as a technical writer for Texas Instruments. She was then hired as a founding staff member of ''

Discover Magazine ''Discover'' is an American general audience science magazine launched in October 1980 by Time Inc. It is currently owned by LabX Media Group. History Founding ''Discover'' was created primarily through the efforts of ''Time'' magazine e ...

'' in 1980 and largely wrote about evolutionary biology and animal behavior during her four years there. After ''Discover'', she worked as a senior science writer for ''

Time Magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

''; as an editor at the women's magazine, ''Savvy'' (now defunct); and as a professor at the

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

's Graduate Program in Science and Environmental Reporting. In 1990, Angier joined ''

'' as a science writer and remains on staff. She won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for Beat Reporting in 1991 and the AAAS Westinghouse Science Journalism Award in 1992., among many other awards detailed in the Awards and honors section below. Her writing has appeared in print and on-line magazines: '' The American Scholar'', ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'', '' GEO'', ''

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

'', '' O'' magazine, ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

'', ''

Slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous, metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade, regional metamorphism. It is the finest-grained foliated metamorphic ro ...

'', '' Smithsonian'', ''

Washington Monthly ''Washington Monthly'' is a bimonthly, nonprofit magazine primarily covering United States politics and government that is based in Washington, D.C. The magazine also publishes an annual ranking of American colleges and universities, which ser ...

'', among others. Angier's books and anthology contributions are detailed in the

Books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

section below. Angier is a voting member of the usage panel of '' The American Heritage Dictionary''.

Philosophical views

Angier first publicly described herself as an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

in 2001: This, in part, is why Angier was presented with the

's Emperor Has No Clothes Award in 2003.

Personal life

Angier married Rick Weiss on July 27, 1991. Rick Weiss is a former science reporter for ''The Washington Post''. Angier and Weiss live in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, D.C., Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea ...

and have a daughter, Katherine Weiss Angier, who graduated ''

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' in 2018 from Princeton with a degree in Biology.

Awards and honors

* '' Natural Obsessions'' named AAAS Notable Book of the Year, 1988 * '' Natural Obsessions'' named ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' Notable Book of the Year, 1988 * Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting, 1991 * AAAS Science Journalism Award (Large Newspaper), 1992 * New York Times Bestseller (Nonfiction), 1999: ''Woman: An Intimate Geography'' *

's Emperor Has No Clothes Award, 2003 * A. D. White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University, six-year appointment, 2006–2012 *

Committee for Skeptical Inquiry The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), formerly known as the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP), is a program within the U.S. non-profit organization Center for Inquiry (CFI), which seeks to " ...

's Robert P. Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, 2007, for ''The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science'' * New York Times Bestseller (Nonfiction), 2007: ''The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science'' * AAAS/Subaru SB&F Prize for Excellence in Science Books Finalist, 2008, for ''The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science'' *

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th century ...

's Notable Book for Adults Award, 2008, for ''The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science'' * Keynote speaker for the 2009

Washington & Jefferson College Washington & Jefferson College (W&J College or W&J) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, United States. The college traces its origin to three Presbyterian m ...

commencement exercises *

Distinguished Alumna Award *

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

International Award for Writing about Cancer * Lewis Thomas Award for Distinguished Writing in the Life Sciences *

Exploratorium The Exploratorium is a museum of science museum, science, technology museum, technology, and art museum, arts in San Francisco, California. Founded by physicist and educator Frank Oppenheimer in 1969, the museum was originally located in the ...

Public Understanding of Science Award * Voting member of the usage panel of '' The American Heritage Dictionary''

Books

* Author: '' Natural Obsessions: Striving to Unlock the Deepest Secrets of the Cancer Cell'', 1988, 1999 Paperback * Contributor: ''New Science Journalists'', 1995, Paperback * Author: ''The Beauty of the Beastly: New Views on the Nature of Life'', 1995, 1996 Paperback * Author: ''Woman: An Intimate Geography'', 1999, 2014 Paperback * Contributor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2000'', 2000, Paperback * Contributor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2001'', 2001, Paperback * Contributor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2002'', 2002, Paperback * Editor: ''The Best American Science and Nature Writing 2002'', 2002, Paperback * Contributor: ''The Bitch in the House: 26 Women Tell the Truth About Sex, Solitude, Work, Motherhood, and Marriage'', 2002, Paperback * Contributor: ''When Race Becomes Real: Black and White Writers Confront Their Personal Histories'', 2002, Hardcover * Contributor: ''Sisterhood Is Forever: The Women's Anthology for a New Millennium'', 2003, Paperback * Contributor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2003'', 2003, Paperback * Contributor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2005'', 2005, Paperback * Contributor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2005'', 2005, Paperback * Contributor: ''Axelrod & Cooper's Concise Guide to Writing, 4th Edition'', 2006, Paperback * Author: '' The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science'', 2007, Paperback * Editor: ''The Best American Science Writing 2009'', 2009, Paperback * Author: ''Woman: An Intimate Geography, Revised and Updated Edition'', 2014, Paperback

Articles

* Author: "Not Milk?" (review of Anne Mendelson, ''Spoiled: The Myth of Milk as Superfood'',

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 2023, 396 pp.), ''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...

'', vol. LXX, no. 16 (19 October 2023), pp. 36, 38–39. " mericans'consumption of

cow's milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of lactating mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Milk contains many nutr ...

..peak d in1945, when heydrank an average of forty-five gallons apiece. By 2001 the nation's per capita milk intake had been cut in half, to twenty-three gallons, and in 2021 the figure was down to just sixteen gallons of milk per person, or 5.6 ounces a day... Leading the... drop-off are members of Generation Z: people born after 1996... Among the eco-conscious, antipathy toward dairy milk is great enough that some high-end coffee shops feel no obligation to offer it at all." (p. 36.)

External links

*
Video: Angier interview
by

Charlie Rose Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show ''Charlie Rose (talk show), Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg L.P., Bloombe ...

on 5/5/1999, discussing the female body and her book, ''Woman''
Video: Angier reads from ''The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science'' on a book tour

Video: ''Science, Sex and Society: A Conversation with Natalie Angier''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Angier, Natalie Living people 1958 births Barnard College alumni University of Michigan alumni American science journalists Pulitzer Prize for Beat Reporting winners American atheists The New York Times journalists American women journalists American women science writers Writers from the Bronx People from Takoma Park, Maryland 21st-century American women writers