Sawyer, Kathy

PERSONAL:

Born in Nashville, TN; married John Atkisson. Education: Graduate of Vanderbilt University.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Washington, DC. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. E-mail—kathy@kathysawyer.com.

CAREER:

Former reporter for the Tennessean; Washington Post, Washington, DC, reporter, 1975-2003. Has appeared on television news programs, including Face the Nation, Lehrer News Hour, andWashington Week; has appeared on radio shows, including the Diane Rehm show; has lectured to numerous groups, including the American Astronomical Society.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Two Pulitzer Prize nominations, 1969 and 1997; National Headliner Award for Best Domestic News Reporting, 1970, for coverage of the war in Vietnam and other subjects; National Space Writer of the Year Award, 1992; David N. Schramm Award, American Astronomical Society, 1999, for journalism in the field of high-energy astrophysics.

WRITINGS:

The Rock from Mars: A Detective Story on Two Planets, Random House (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including National Geographicand Astronomy.

SIDELIGHTS:

Kathy Sawyer is a journalist who covered science and technology for the Washington Post for nearly two decades. In her first book, The Rock from Mars: A Detective Story on Two Planets,Sawyer recounts the controversy and key players surrounding the discovery of a rock from Mars that had fallen in Antarctica 13,000 years ago. Scientists studying the unusual rock, designated ALH84001, discovered that it was the oldest known from any planet. One team detected in its microscopic depths what they believed to be likely evidence of ancient microbial life on Mars. The evidence included possible microfossils, distinctive magnetic crystals found in microbes on Earth and other signs. Their claims touched off one of the most heated scientific disputes of the last century, one that involved political and journalistic as well as scientific issues. The proposed evidence of Martian life has failed to persuade most scientists, but the author argues that the human drama, the debate and the research it generated illustrate the workings of scientists and have had considerable beneficial effects on several fields of science. In addition to the main story, Sawyer delves into such related subjects as the origins of life on Earth and the ongo- ing robotic explorations on Mars. New York Timescritic William Grimes noted that Sawyer "offers a popularized yet meticulously researched chronicle of the Mars rock's short life in the public eye." Grimes added: "But the rock itself is a MacGuffin. Ms. Sawyer's real story is the drama of high-stakes science and the way big discoveries can quickly devolve into a messy argument over money, politics and professional status." Betty Galbraith, writing in theLibrary Journal, commented that the "story is riveting, drawing us into the pursuit of truth, professional jealousies, and the scientific controversy." Natural History contributor Laurence A. Marschall referred to the book as "a razor-sharp portrait of good science at work," while a Publishers Weekly reviewer concluded: "This book is an engrossing read for science buffs and general readers alike."