Student Writer Position with UT-Austin McDonald Observatory Contact: Rebecca Johnson McDonald Observatory Press Officer 512-475-6763; rjohnson@astro.as.utexas.edu A 12-hour/week writing position is available this summer session in the McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach Office on the UT-Austin campus. The job entails writing stories for a web site called "What are Astronomers Doing" This weekly-updated web site provides descriptions of current astronomical research on McDonald Observatory's telescopes, profiles of the astronomers using them, and information on the telescopes and their instruments. See http://mcdonaldobservatory.org/research/. The student writer will be supervised by the Observatory's press officer, Rebecca Johnson. The writer will meet weekly with the supervisor to obtain assignments and to get feedback on stories. Assignments will include interviewing astronomers, writing interesting, non-technical text describing their research projects, and writing brief profiles of the astronomers. Occasionally, the writer will need to take digital photos of astronomers. Equipment will be provided. The writer will work in McDonald Observatory Education and Outreach Office in the UA9 building on the UT campus. The writer will work with the supervisor to create a work schedule of 12 hours per week during the office's regular operating hours (8am-5pm, Mon.-Fri.). The official UT job title for this position is "Student Associate." Per University policy, salary will be based on the student's classification (e.g., Junior, Senior, et c.). The salary range is $7.68 - $12.35 per hour. News writing experience is desired but not necessarily required. Professional demeanor and ability to meet story deadlines are essential. Interest in astronomy and in learning to communicate difficult science concepts in an interesting way to a general audience is helpful. Contact Rebecca Johnson to set up an interview.
22 April 2009 Astronomy Program · The University of Texas at Austin · Austin, Texas 78712 site comments: www@www.as.utexas.edu