Faith Simmons, 2026 Physics Today Science Writing Intern

Biography

SPS Chapter: East Tennessee State University
Faith recently graduated from East Tennessee State Universitywith her bachelor’s degree in physics and will be starting her PhD at The Ohio State University in the Fall. Her research areas include massive star astronomy and physics education research, but her favorite part of the field is working with human elements like outreach and communication. Since joining SPS in 2023, Faith has served as ETSU Chapter President, Associate Zone 8 Counselor (AZC) on the National Council, and AZC Representative to the Executive Committee. She is also a proud Sigma Pi Sigma member and founder of ETSU’s Sigma Pi Sigma chapter. Outside of academia, she enjoys performing aerial circus arts and racing dirt bikes!

Internship

Host: Physics Today

Internship Blog

Week 1

Courageous.
If I had to describe my first week as an SPS Intern in one word, it would be courageous. One week ago, I packed most of my belongings into my car and said goodbye to my husband and dog for the next ten weeks. My decision to leave my family and spend the summer in a foreign city before starting a graduate program was one that I did not make lightly, but it is one that I am so glad I did.
Hi! My name is Faith Simmons, and I am a 2026 SPS Intern working as a Science Writer at Physics Today (PT). I will be posting weekly updates here about my time in Washington, D.C., so welcome! Along with project updates about my work with PT, I will be sharing insights into my life as an intern in D.C. and more. And because scientists are human, I’ll also reflect on the emotions and experiences that shape my summer. Enjoy the journey!
One of my biggest worries about moving here was that I would feel isolated being away from home, but I was met with a very different experience. The connection that this cohort has established in only one week is astounding. One of the unexpected lessons we learned this week was the power of a shared voice. Working together to identify a common goal and advocate for ourselves professionally helped us build confidence in ourselves and establish a sense of trust among one another. And of course, like any great physics cohort, we celebrated the end of our first week with a game night! Almost every intern was able to attend, and being in each other’s company was the best possible end to our first week.
Another highlight of this week was attending the Trimble Lecture by Dava Sobel. I was first introduced to Sobel’s work when one of my mentors gifted me The Glass Universe. To listen to her speak so passionately about Marie Curie and other women in her lab was an honor. After her lecture, I introduced myself and she autographed a post card for my mentor. In many ways, that night was a full circle moment for me. I also met many inspiring people during the reception and even scheduled a lunch meeting for next week!
One of the great parts of this internship is the flexibility I have. For example, I only need to be in the office one day a week, so I can work from any of the many libraries in D.C.! This week, I did most of my work from the Folger Shakespeare Library on Capitol Hill. A group of us decided to go together on Friday, but we accidentally arrived almost two hours before they opened! Not to worry, we found a nearby coffee shop to caffeinate and spend some time. Plus, we took a group photo by the Library of Congress that we otherwise wouldn’t have been able to look back on. I’m hoping to visit the Daughters of the American Revolution Library next week!
My work this week consisted mostly of reading PT articles and resources from The Open Notebook. If you are interested in science writing, this is a great place to start! Here are some of the things I learned:

• A “news peg” is a hook or event that justifies publishing an article right now.
• The “impact factor” of a journal is the number of citations that the journal has divided by the total number of papers published within the past two years. Typically, a 3 or above is a good impact factor.
• Don’t be embarrassed to ask silly questions because your readers likely have the same questions.
• Ask for details during interviews to add color to a story. This could be how the person felt in a moment, what the weather was like, or what time of day it was.
• Do your research on both the person you are interviewing and their work, so you are prepared to adapt on the fly.
• Sources and references are not necessarily the same thing. Not every source needs to be cited (e.g. Issues & Events), but it is helpful to include references for more technical articles.

Finally, I had the privilege of attending the opening night of the The National Orchestral Institute + Festival on Saturday with Jack Hehn, founder of the SPS Internship Program. This was my very first time hearing classical music live, and it reminded me of the times I spent sitting in my childhood bedroom listening to classical music CDs on my pink radio player. To say that I was mesmerized would be an understatement!
With that, I conclude my very first blog post. See you next week!

Week 2
Ambivalent.
As I spread my Appalachian blackberry jam onto my toast this week, a sense of nostalgia washed over me. I remembered the feeling of my sticky fingers as I picked blackberries from the bushes in my hometown. Then I remembered the feeling of the breeze on my face as I swayed back and forth in my hammock – nothing but nature surrounding me. I recalled playing in the creek with my cousins and going on adventures into the woods. Then, as if those memories were a TV show I was turning off, I put on my heels and rode the metro to the American Center for Physics.
This week has been filled with conflicting feelings for me. My identity has been deeply rooted in Appalachian culture, and I continue to be amazed by the beauty of East Tennessee. I also recognize that many of the beliefs and values I now hold do not align with that culture. Being in Washington, D.C. during a time of intense political turmoil has made it impossible to ignore or diminish the crisis that American science is in. As a science communicator, it is disheartening to know that I have not been able to convey the severity of the situation to my community back home.
It has been an emotional week. I feel guilty about leaving my family to pursue my career. I yearn for my front porch and the sunsets we watch from it. I feel displaced not being able to fall asleep next to my husband. I have cried more often than I would like to admit the past few days. I say all of this because these are real feelings that are not isolated. Perhaps someone reading this feels the same way. Dear reader, you are not alone.
This has also been an incredibly exciting week full of culture, learning, and bonding. Some of the highlights include a trip to the zoo, a stroll around the DuPont farmer’s market, a study session at the DAR library, an intern potluck / game night, a private concert at the American History museum with rare instruments, three different art museum visits, and another night at the NOI+F orchestra.
I have never considered myself an art enthusiast, yet I found myself feeling a deep connection with some of the paintings and sculptures I came across. I also noticed that one of the pieces performed by the orchestra evoked the same feeling as a painting of a pastel meadow I had seen a few days earlier. That raw, intimate feeling is something that I had never experienced before. If I hadn’t left Appalachia to come to D.C., I never would have felt that.

I love being in the city. I love public transportation and free museums. I love dressing in business clothes and riding Lime scooters to lunch. I love feeling like Sandra Bullock in a 2000’s film about the “big city girl”. Most importantly, I love the people that I work with. Getting to know the other interns better this week has been phenomenal. The staff at AIP are incredibly caring and motivated people. The Physics Today team has been nothing but welcoming and encouraging. If not for these people, I would have been on a flight home this weekend. I was told when I graduated high school, “This is the last time every person in the room will have your best interest in mind”. They have never been to the AIP office.
One of my favorite examples of community this week was when the interns came together to throw Bo a surprise party after he took the LSATS. Complete with a cake and game of Cards Against Humanity, it was so fun to celebrate one of our peers!

A few of the things I did for work this week:

• I attended the State of the Science Address at the National Academy of Sciences and wrote a summary of the event, including a few quotes that stood out to me.
• I joined multiple meetings with Physics Today writers and editors. I got to see the team dynamic first-hand and learn how each role contributes to the magazine.
• I started a few new projects, including one with the International Physics Olympiad. Check back next week for more!
• I dissected a few PT stories that have already been published to learn more about the structure of different types of pieces.

I’ll be back with more updates next week! Until then...

Week 3
Free.
Anyone that knows me knows that I don’t go anywhere without my purse and a plan. I have always struggled to be the kind of person that can quickly adjust or make last minute plans for the night, but being in the city has served as some form of exposure therapy. This Thursday, I decided to attend “Live! at the Library” with nothing but my phone and my ID. The surprising part about this is that the typical feeling of unease and dread was replaced by a feeling of freedom. I can navigate my way around the city and the metro system with ease now, so I was confident that I could adapt if things went wrong. (I even know where the “secret” bathrooms are, so I’m basically a professional.) I ended up having a great time and even got to watch circus artists perform at the Library of Congress! How many people can say that?
Because my husband and I have lived together for so long, I’ve never experienced complete and total independence until now. The past three weeks have opened my eyes to who I am as an individual -- not as a wife, daughter, sister, or student, but simply as a human being. The freedom that accompanies that experience is a new feeling for me. One of the more mundane things that I have enjoyed the most is being able to plan meals only for myself. My husband can be a picky eater, so I have been enjoying the new diversity in my diet. One of the interns brought panipuri to our potluck this week, and it was delicious!
I’ve been trying to find the best balance between making the most of my time in DC and finding rest for myself. I have been having an absolute blast with the other interns and all the different events we attend! That being said, the need for some alone time was a definite theme for this week. On Wednesday evening, I took the metro out to Bethesda for a solo dinner at Olazzo. Bethesda was such a nice town with plenty of shops to stop in to and dogs to pet along the way, and the ravioli I ordered for dinner was perfection. It was the perfect place to escape for the evening and get some distance from the city. I will have to return with the other interns on the weekend soon because I hear they also have a farmers’ market.
Some of the PT work I did this week:

• I attended the closing ceremony of the training camp for the International Physics Olympiad at the University of Maryland and interviewed the students. They are currently competing in Sweden, so wish them luck!
• I discovered some exciting work being done in physics education research that incorporates circus arts as a tool for learning.
• I learned about dangling and misplaced modifiers during a team meeting.
• I was assigned a backscatter based on a paper about tooth enamel. This is outside of my typical area of expertise, so it has been exciting to navigate the new jargon and methods.

We have a busy week planned, so come back and read about it in next week’s blog!

Week 4: Busy.
This week was simultaneously one of my favorite weeks and the most exhausting one. It was one of my favorites because this week was the in-person Executive Committee meeting of SPS. For those of you who don’t know, I am nearing the end of my term as the student representative on the Executive Committee. This position has given me incredible insight into the inner workings of a member society and an institution like AIP. More importantly, it has introduced me to some of the most inspiring people I know. The Student Engagement team consists of some of the most caring and hardworking people I have ever met. The SPS and Sigma Pi Sigma Presidents have exemplified what it means to be a leader. The Executive team at AIP is truly dedicated to the mission of serving the physical sciences from undergraduate to late-career researchers. To spend a full day in the same room as these people that I typically only see in a Zoom window was amazing. Almost a year ago, when I joined my first Executive Committee meeting, I was elated to be allowed in the room. As I sat at the conference table and looked around this week, I realized that not only am I in the room, but I belong there. Knowing that my term is soon ending is bittersweet, but I look forward to doing similar work throughout grad school and my career.
After our meeting, we met the rest of the interns on the Potomac for a dinner cruise! The view of the sunset and breeze on the water was so refreshing after spending the first 8 hours of the day in “Conference Room E”. After a delicious steak dinner and Basque cheesecake, we ended the night in the best possible way. After some secret planning, we awarded Brad Conrad the Worth Seagondollar Award for his contributions to SPS. I can’t think of anyone more deserving, and being able to share that moment with everyone was heartwarming.
Speaking of Brad, he planned a tour of NIST for the interns the next day. After a hefty commute, we toured the campus and learned about the history of NIST, its role in manufacturing, and some fellowship opportunities.
With a holiday at the end of the week and two days out of the office, it was a bit busier than usual to stay on track with my PT work.
A few things I did:

• I held my first interview with the authors of a paper about the misorientation of nanocrystals in tooth enamel. Did you know that tooth enamel is one of the best sources for human evolution studies because of its rich complexity and hardness? I didn’t until now!
• I was assigned a story during a news pitch meeting about the upcoming anniversary of the Air and Space Museum. I will be attending the press tour of the new exhibits this week, so stay tuned for more details!
• I scheduled another interview with a teacher who has combined their love for physics and circus arts through a new education approach.
• I wrote my first draft for a backscatter. Once I get some informal feedback from my mentors, it will go through a round of edits with senior editors, the editor-in-chief, and the copyeditors before being published.

Since we had Friday off, I took the opportunity to take my assessments for OSU. They asked us to take a few short exams, submit our work, then take a survey on how familiar and confident we were with each problem. I think this is a phenomenal way to assess each student’s background and plan a course load that works best for each individual. Because it has been a while since I took most upper-level courses, it took me a full day to work through the assessments.
If you see the pattern here, it has been a busy week. I read somewhere once that life is a juggling act, but some of the balls are plastic and others are glass. I’m happy to report that no glass was shattered, but a few plastic ones might be rolling around somewhere. That is to say, Door Dash has been my friend this week. I took the weekend to rest and recharge for next week by (finally) finishing my puzzle and visiting the Botanic Gardens. Enjoy the photos!

Week 5: Halfway
I’m at a loss for words to describe how I feel as we cross over the halfway point of the internship. This summer has offered more than I could have ever imagined five weeks ago.
Possibly my favorite event thus far was our trip to The Kennedy Center to see Moulin Rouge on Thursday. The theater kid in me was thoroughly impressed by how elaborate the production was, and the deck was the perfect spot to catch the sunset during intermission. Not to mention student tickets were only $20, and the theater is walking distance from our dorm!
The next day, we all piled into Ubers and headed to the Four Seasons in Baltimore for the AIP Board of Directors dinner. Against the backdrop of the wharf, we enjoyed a wonderful meal and had the opportunity to speak to the board members about their careers, leadership experiences, and different subfields they represent. It was a good reminder that success in physics is not defined by a single trajectory.
I capped off the end of the week at the final concert of the NOI. It has been such a pleasure to attend almost all of the concerts and see the variety of classical music.
PT Updates:

• I attended the press tour of the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum. They are opening five new galleries this week in celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the museum. I got to tour the new exhibits and speak with museum curators! Story coming soon...
• I interviewed a physics teacher/circus clown about his career journey. He uses Modeling Instruction, a guided inquiry pedagogy approach, to incorporate circus skills into his curriculum.
• I have been in the editing stage for a couple of pieces and am waiting for final details for others.

As much as I love being in D.C., I am so excited to visit home this weekend and see my dog! Some good hiking and family time are just what I need.

Week 6: Grounded
This summer has revealed aspects of myself that I never would have noticed otherwise. I am constantly learning and growing and adapting to new environments. That’s the beauty of your early twenties, I suppose. The struggle with these new experiences lies in the attempt to meld them with a former identity. During my visit home this weekend, I found myself pondering the compatibility of my values. The smell of the mountains after a rain, the comfort of my family, and the sound of birds chirping in my front yard all reminded me of the person I was before coming to D.C. I stepped back into the role of wife, daughter, and dog mom for the weekend, but this time grounded in a sense of self that was not there before. I imagine that humans grow like trees: we all have roots for nourishment and stability but branch off into different areas of life as we get older. New branches do not negate the importance of roots; they are simply the result of absorbing more resources. My visit home was an essential reminder of this.
On another note, we are getting to the point in the summer where fatigue is kicking in and it’s easy to want to stay in the dorm rooms. So, I made a point this week to do something fun after leaving the office. On Monday, I visited the National Postal Museum for a relaxing solo outing. Tuesday, I worked from the MLK Library rooftop for a change of scenery. Wednesday served as a great mid-week motivation boost with a tour of the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. The library staff organized a wonderful thorough tour of the archives for the interns! We were able to flip through Richard Feyman’s calculus notes, read a letter to Schrodinger from Einstein, and hear about the process of obtaining oral histories.
Most of my PT work this week focused on getting feedback and making edits accordingly. PT is the world’s leading physics magazine, which means only the best writing makes it to publication. In my case, that means I have about eight different drafts for each article. Most of my previous writing experience has been for long-format publications like research papers, so the ability to condense jargon-heavy science into 200 words for a general audience is a skill I am still developing. It has also been a transition to learn how to use “Track Changes” on Word when I am used to writing in LaTeX. One of the misconceptions I held when starting this internship was that science writers are scientists with a passion for writing. In fact, the staff at PT consist mainly of writers with a passion for science. Working in science journalism has given me valuable insight into what type of writing I want to do and what kind of environment I want to work in going forward.

Week 7: Optimistic

As I look back on my photos from this summer, it is as if I am looking at pictures of entirely different people. I feel like I have grown seven years in the past seven weeks. For instance, this week I am writing to you for the first time as a published author in the world’s leading physics magazine! My article on the unveiling of five new galleries at the National Air and Space Museum went live this week. After about eight rounds of editing, it is so rewarding to see my name on the PT website and cross “publish an article” off my bucket list for 2026.
Another highlight this week was a group meeting with writers at AIP. We talked about ways to get broadcasting experience and use social media as an outreach tool. After our meeting, I connected with the AIP social media team to brainstorm some video ideas. Follow along with the SPS National Instagram page to see what we came up with!
As the summer comes to a close, preparations for grad school are ramping up. I did some more research this week for my GRFP application. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is a prestigious grant awarded by the National Science Foundation to early PhD students. The grant would allow me to choose my own research project and have financial security throughout my PhD. Only roughly 2500 proposals are chosen out of 12000+ applicants per year, so crafting my statements now will give me time to edit and revise throughout the next few months. I’ve also been brushing up on my math and physics knowledge (it’s been 8 months since I was in undergrad, and even longer since my last upper-level physics course!). I found a book titled “Quantum Bullsh*t” at Kramers this week, so hopefully it will make some sense out of the nonsensical world of quantum physics.
We have also been finalizing our moving plans for Columbus. I’ve been given the honor to represent the United States as a delegate at the International Conference for Physics Students in Rabat, Morocco. This will be my first time leaving the country, and I am incredibly excited to see another culture firsthand. However, the timing is less than ideal. I will board my flight to Rabat just hours after my final presentation here in DC and the day before our lease begins in Ohio. This means that my (unbelievably supportive) husband will have to move all my things from DC and everything from our house in TN while I am across the world in a different time zone. Preparing for a move while living in different cities has been challenging, but I am very optimistic about what our new life will look like.
My sister stayed with me over the weekend, and I got to act as her personal tour guide through DC. Of course, we went to the Air and Space Museum so I could share all my newfound knowledge of the artifacts on display. Then, we headed over to DuPont Circle for the O Museum in the Mansion, a five-townhome-wide complex with over 60 secret doors to discover. Each room had a theme, and my favorite was the game room with a pool table and loads of unique wall décor. We found it hidden behind a wall of lockers that doubled as a secret passageway! Once the sun set, we took a walk around the National Mall to see the monuments. They were so serene at night with smaller crowds and intentional lighting. We wrapped up the tour the next morning with a visit to The People’s House, a museum dedicated to the White House with a replica of the Oval Office and other rooms. As fun as it was to sit at the desk, I don’t think we will see my candidacy any time soon…

Week 8: Connected
I’m feeling a sense of connection and accomplishment as my time in DC winds down. My main goal before starting this internship was to meet people and strengthen any connections I already had. I had no idea then just how many people there are to meet here! I read about non-traditional careers in magazines or online, but I had never really seen it with my own eyes before. I’ve also realized that regardless of job title, we are all human and have more in common than one might think.
We had lunch with the AIP Foundation team this week to discuss our internships and ways AIP can better engage with students. It was nice to have almost every intern in the same room, something that rarely happens with our conflicting schedules. I also had the chance to work with the media team that morning to record an interview about my internship with PT. The reel will be shared with potential donors to highlight the impact their contributions to the program might have on future students. The lunch conversation encouraged us to reflect on ways we have been supported in our careers, and I am filled with gratitude for the mentors and people who have contributed to where I am today. Scholarships, grants, and internships have given me the ability to pursue full time research, travel the country sharing my work at conferences, and explore different career paths. I am especially grateful to SPS and the Ronald E. McNair program for their support. I also owe thanks to my family and mentors who have encouraged me to follow my dreams regardless of how many times they might change. As a first-generation student, I understand that it is the work my parents did that laid the foundation for me to accomplish all that I have.
The offices were lively again later in the week for the content and engagement home team meeting. PT is published by AIP, and AIP is divided into multiple “home teams” to streamline workflows. Along with PT, the content and engagement team includes the media group, AIP writers, FYI science policy writers, website developers, and other related staff. We spent the first half of the day discussing AI disclosure policies, and I learned just how complicated AI policies can be. After lunch, we talked about storytelling methods and reviewed the content governance update. I loved meeting so many new people, and I left feeling much more connected to the field of science writing and the culture of AIP.
As for social events, my favorite outing this week is a tie between the Shakespeare theatre and movie night at the Kennedy Center. A group of interns went to see Macbeth at the Klein Theatre, and I was amazed by the skill of the company and the intentionality of the choreography and lighting. I admit that I couldn’t exactly understand everything in old English, but the facial expressions and body language of the actors left nothing unsaid. The movie night at the Kennedy Center, however, was full of nostalgia as my roommate and I watched Princess Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi be crowned ruler of Genovia. If you didn’t grow up in the early 2000’s, I’m referring to the iconic Princess Diaries. There is just something about being in a theater full of people cheering for her “foot-popping kiss” that makes you feel connected to complete strangers.
My work with PT is starting to wrap up with my other two pieces going through final edits. This summer has reframed the way I look at feedback. I was watching a video of someone painting a landscape, and they started with a few basic strokes then added more until it was an incredibly detailed piece of art. The first layer is still part of the painting, not a “bad” draft. I see the writing and editing process the same way. Even if the final draft doesn’t look like the original, it’s not because the original was bad. It’s because asking new questions and uncovering information adds depth and clarity to the piece. After all, Da Vinci didn’t paint the Mona Lisa in one stroke.

Week 9: Rushed
Wow, I feel like I was just writing the week 8 blog and suddenly I’m six days away from the end of this internship. A lot has happened in the past seven days, so let me catch you up. I started my week by taking the metro out to College Park to visit the Niels Bohr Library and Archives. This time, instead of a tour, I was visiting to view documents from the Sigma Pi Sigma archive for an article I am working on. It was so neat to see the original documents from meetings that I had heard so much about. Some even had personal notes from figures like Worth Seagondollar and Marsh White. The rest of the day was filled with Teams meetings as I wrap up my last few projects for the summer.
Then, I packed my bag and headed to the airport. I was proud of how well I timed the trip to the airport only to learn once we were about to board that the flight was delayed two more hours. My gate was also right next to the kid’s playground, so you can imagine the frustration at 9 PM. I finally made it back home around 1 AM, and it felt great to fall asleep in my own bed again. My trip home was motivated by a multitude of reasons, including local elections and our wedding anniversary. I spent most evenings packing everything we own into cardboard boxes to be loaded into a U-Haul in a few days. I worked from home or libraries on Tuesday and Wednesday, then logged off for the rest of the week.
Thursday morning, we made a quick stop at the local voting station before heading out for our anniversary trip. We took the scenic route from East TN to Hot Springs, NC where we reserved a jetted hot tub filled with water from a natural hot spring. It was so relaxing to slow down and spend time in nature after being in the city for so long. After that, we checked into a bed & breakfast where we spent the rest of the rainy evening playing cards and board games on the porch. Friday started off with another slow morning followed by a game of mini golf (I won) on the way back to the airport.
Once I landed back in DC, I met the other interns to go out for all-you-can-eat sushi. I’m fairly certain we got our money’s worth of sushi that night (shoutout to Ethan for ordering an insane amount for us). The next morning, I made my weekly Trader Joe’s run and made some more progress on one of the many books I started this summer. Then, I met up with one of my mentors from ETSU to see Twelfth Night at the Shakespeare Theatre. The same company who performed MacBeth played in this show, and it was amazing to see the same cast in different roles. It was also great to watch both a tragedy and a comedy this summer. We went out for dinner and did a book swap before parting ways again. Being close enough to spend time with her has been one of the best parts of being in DC, and I am so grateful to have had mentors like that in my life.
I ended my last weekend in DC with a trip to Georgetown. When I wasn’t watching H2O: Just Add Water in middle school, I was watching the baking shows on Food Network. One that I especially loved was DC Cupcakes, a show that followed two sisters operating a cupcake shop in Georgetown, DC. I would have given an arm and a leg to try one of those cupcakes then, so it was incredibly satisfying to bite into one while sitting at the Georgetown Waterfront Park with views of the Potomac. I grabbed a mango green tea and strolled around a bit before heading back to the dorms to make dinner and write this blog post.