David Kestenbaum
David Kestenbaum is a correspondent for NPR, covering science, energy issues and, most recently, the global economy for NPR's multimedia project Planet Money. David has been a science correspondent for NPR since 1999. He came to journalism the usual way — by getting a Ph.D. in physics first.
In his years at NPR, David has covered science's discoveries and its darker side, including the Northeast blackout, the anthrax attacks and the collapse of the New Orleans levees. He has also reported on energy issues, particularly nuclear and climate change.
David has won awards from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Physical Society and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
David worked briefly on the show This American Life, and set up a radio journalism program in Cambodia on a Fulbright fellowship. He also teaches a journalism class at Johns Hopkins University.
David holds a bachelor's of science degree in physics from Yale University and a doctorate in physics from Harvard University.
-
The world's astronomers finally voted today on the highly controversial issue of how to define a planet. The official definition means Pluto is no longer a planet. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports on the pandemonium in the convention halls of Prague, where the astronomers are meeting.
-
In a stunning reversal of fortune, it now seems likely that Pluto will lose its title of planet. Scientists meeting in Prague were presented with a new definition of the word "planet" last week, which would have included Pluto as a planet. But the proposal met with fierce protests. Opponents say there are hundreds of objects like Pluto.
-
An international panel has unanimously recommended that Pluto retain its title as a planet, and it may be joined by other undersized objects that revolve around the sun.
-
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said Thursday that terrorists planned to use liquid explosives to destroy airplanes flying from Britain to the United States. But how do liquid explosives work, and what can security officials do to detect them?
-
The oldest known copy of Archimedes’ work lies hidden under the pages of a 13th century prayer book. For years, scientists and scholars tried to decipher what ancient script they could. Now, new technology is allowing them to look past the prayer book to the wealth of knowledge underneath.
-
The space shuttle Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center after a successful visit to the International Space Station. NASA now turns its attention to the launch of Atlantis. That mission may go as early as Aug. 27 and will haul a major addition to the space station. -
NASA is hard at work trapping vultures near Florida's Kennedy Space Center. Space agency officials want to keep the four-to-six pound birds away from Saturday's shuttle launch. -
If Discovery's return to Earth shapes up to be a risky prospect, NASA has a series of rescue plans ready. Discovery is rigged to fly on auto pilot, and the astronauts can escape to the space station. The question would then be, who brings them home: Americans or Russians?
-
In nine days, NASA will launch the space shuttle Discovery on a mission to the International Space Station, despite the safety concerns of two senior officials. They spoke with reporters Wednesday to explain their reservations about the mission. Both were worried about a repeat of the Columbia Shuttle accident.
-
An experiment confirms that a weird tribe of particles known as neutrinos actually change from one form into another as they journey about the cosmos. Neutrinos seem to pass through any object. If that's really the case, are neutrinos cursed to wander the universe in solitude forever?
