Katrina Miller: From the Physics Lab to the New York Times Science Desk

Katrina Miller didn’t take physics in high school—everyone said it was boring, so she opted for AP History instead. But a college astronomy class and a string of good mentors ignited a passion that led her to major in physics and, eventually, earn a physics PhD. Now a science journalist for the New York Times, her work reveals that science is anything but boring.

“The best stories in science are the ones where the people who read them can take away something for themselves,” Miller says. And to reach readers with those stories, human elements are key. “We can talk about facts and data and statistics all day, but the real thing that hooks readers is the emotion,” she says.

What was your journey to discovery? How did you feel when you saw the result? What was the energy in the room? Those questions can get at the human elements that resonate with readers, “even if someone is not a scientist, will never be a scientist, [and] has no connection to these spaces at all,” she says.

Miller’s physics journey kicked off at Duke University when, compelled by a sense of wonder, she signed up for an astronomy course. The professor encouraged her to take the introductory physics sequence, and it wasn’t long until she was hooked. Miller became a physics major in her second year, cramming four years of coursework into her remaining three years while balancing astroparticle physics research, SPS activities, physics tutoring, and leadership in campus organizations like the Black Cultural Living Group. When faced with what to do next, she thought graduate school was the logical move.

“It sounds funny to say, but I think for a physics major, the PhD is sort of the path of least resistance,” Miller says. “Everyone I knew who did a physics major went to graduate school.” So she did too. At the University of Chicago, she jumped right into the fast-paced life of a graduate student, taking courses and analyzing results from a neutrino experiment. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and things suddenly slowed down.

For the first time in years, she had time to reflect. Miller realized she loved learning physics but not the day-to-day grind of coding and analyzing data. And she was starting to feel disconnected from the community. It was the summer of 2020, and George Floyd had just been murdered. As the Black Lives Matter movement exploded, she felt “increasingly isolated in the ivory tower.” She wanted to do something that felt more impactful.

Intrigued by science journalism, Miller volunteered with the UChicago News website for a semester. That led to a 10-week science journalist position at Wired magazine, which she secured through an American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Mass Media Fellowship. By the end of the summer, she knew she’d found her path.

Forty-eight hours after graduating with her PhD, Miller was flying to New York to start a one-year fellowship with the science desk at the New York Times. And last June, she accepted a staff position there.

In her role at the New York Times, Miller often writes about topics that don’t seem science related at first but have an important science angle. One of her favorites focused on the closing of a taxidermy museum in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It shut down when arsenic—a carcinogen—was detected in the specimens. Her piece explored the closing and what it could mean for natural history museums across the nation. Might it have a ripple effect?

Other times, she writes about science topics with a human twist. While preparing to cover the 2023 annular eclipse, Miller reached out to the Four Corners Monument (where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado intersect) to see whether it was hosting a watch party. When the person on the phone curtly told her, “We don’t celebrate eclipses that way,” Miller knew she needed to explore that response. She learned that the Navajo Nation, on whose land the monument is located, honors eclipses by staying inside and not looking up. This led her to partner with reporters in South and Central America on a story highlighting the different ways indigenous communities celebrate and honor eclipses.

Miller says she’s found her sweet spot with science journalism. She gets to explore her scientific curiosity but doesn’t find herself so deep in the weeds that her passion starts to fade. She feels more connected to the community, and she enjoys crafting pieces that help people outside of academia develop a sense of wonder about science. She advises students interested in sharing science with others to consider different types of science communication, from writing to audio to videos. Work with your interests and skill set, Miller says.

“Find the one that works for you.” //