Dennis Overbye
{{Short description|American astrophysicist and science journalist}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2023}} {{Use American English|date=November 2023}}
Dennis Overbye (born June 2, 1944, in Seattle, Washington) is a science writer specializing in physics and cosmology and was the cosmic affairs correspondent for The New York Times.{{cite news |last1=Overbye |first1=Dennis |title=Did an Alien Life-Form Do a Drive-By of Our Solar System in 2017? |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/26/books/review/extraterrestrial-avi-loeb.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=26 January 2021 |work=The New York Times |date=26 January 2021}}
Biography
{{cnspan|Overbye received his B.S. in physics from M.I.T.—where he was a member of the Alpha Mu chapter of Phi Kappa Sigma—in 1966. He started work towards a master's degree in astronomy from U.C.L.A. in 1970.|date=January 2025}}
{{cnspan|Overbye started his career by working as a scientist for Boeing and then other companies. In 1976 he became assistant editor at Sky and Telescope magazine. From 1976 to 1980 he was a senior editor at Discover magazine. Subsequently, he embarked on a freelance career, during which time he published articles in Time, Science, the Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times, among other publications.|date=January 2025}}
He has written two books: Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, about scientists and their quest to understand the universe, and Einstein in Love, dealing with Albert Einstein's youth and the controversy surrounding the degree to which Einstein's first wife, Mileva Marić, contributed to the theory of relativity.{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/may/13/biography.scienceandnature |title=A genius - but you wouldn't want to marry him |last=Gerrard |first=Nicci |author-link=Nicci French |date=13 May 2001 |work=The Observer |access-date=3 April 2010}} He joined the staff of The New York Times in 1998 as deputy science editor, then switched to full-time writing.{{cn|date=January 2025}} In 2014 he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Explanatory Reporting.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/15/business/media/2014-pulitzer-prize-winners-in-journalism-letters-drama-and-music.html |title=2014 Pulitzer Prize Winners in Journalism, Letters, Drama and Music |date=April 14, 2014 |newspaper=The New York Times}} Overbye retired from his position as cosmic affairs correspondent for the New York Times in December, 2024.{{cite web | last=Overbye | first=Dennis | title=Dennis Overbye on Retiring from The New York Times: A Solstice of the Soul | website=The New York Times | date=December 20, 2024 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/science/space/universe-overbye-retirement.html | access-date=December 20, 2024}}
Books
- Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos: The Scientific Quest for the Secret of the Universe, Harper-Collins (1991), {{ISBN|0-06-015964-2}} & {{ISBN|0-330-29585-3}} (finalist, Nation Book Critics Circle Award for non-fiction). Second edition (with new afterword), Back Bay, 1999.
- Einstein in Love: A Scientific Romance, Viking (2000), {{ISBN|0-670-89430-3}}
Awards
- American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award, 1980 and 1992
- American Association for the Advancement of Science Science Journalism Award, 2005 (for large newspaper writing)
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Wikiquote}}
- [https://www.edge.org/memberbio/dennis_overbye Bio on Edge.org]
- [http://www.nytimes.com/by/dennis-overbye New York Times author index page]
- [http://marketingforscientists.com/2011/08/21/an-interview-with-dennis-overbye/ Interview with Overbye on the Marketing for Scientists blog]
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Overbye, Dennis}}
Category:American science journalists
Category:American science writers
Category:The New York Times journalists
Category:Los Angeles Times people
Category:American magazine editors
Category:Discover (magazine) people
Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni