Maya Wei-Hass

Maya Wei-Haas is an award-winning science reporter who writes about all thing's science with a particular affection for rocks and reactions. She works as a freelancer for a range of outlets. Before setting off on her own, she was a staff writer for National Geographic for nearly five years and an assistant editor at Smithsonian Digital News for nearly three years. 

Maya holds a BA in Geology from Smith College and a PhD in Earth Science from The Ohio State University. She traveled the world in the name of science, scooping ice melt from the top of Antarctic glaciers, monitoring water chemistry in Alaskan rivers, and hauling up sediments from lakes on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen, Svalbard. This journey helped her realize that the part of science she loves most is communication. She made the jump to journalism as a fellow for the AAAS Mass Media program. Now she's working to bring these types of adventures and the science that surrounds us to the general public.

Her work was awarded the American Geophysical Union’s David Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism and the American Society of Civil Engineers Excellence in Journalism Award. In addition to science news and features, she authored the children’s book What a Rock Can Reveal, which guides young readers through the exciting stories hidden in stone. She is currently writing a book for National Geographic about gems, minerals, and rocks around the world, which includes many of the geologic treasures found throughout Norway!

Language spoken: English