Warren Leary

Warren E. Leary is a retired science correspondent for The New York Times. A journalist and science writer for more than 45 years, he is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and received an M.S. from the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University. Leary began his science writing career with The Associated Press, creating the science beat in the news agency’s Boston bureau from 1971 through 1976, and continuing as a senior science writer for the AP in its Washington bureau from 1976 until 1989, when he joined the staff of The Times. As an award-winning science writer based in Washington, D.C., Leary has covered spaceflight, technology, engineering, aeronautics and medical science, as well as national policy issues and federal scientific agencies.

Among his communications colleagues at NASA, Leary has a reputation for accuracy, balance and thoroughness. Never was this more evident than in his coverage of the Columbia accident in 2003, the subsequent investigations into its cause, and the resultant effects on the nation’s space program.

Leary has received state, regional and national awards from The Associated Press, the New York State Press Association, and the National Association of Black Journalists, among others. He is also a recipient of the University of Nebraska’s distinguished alumni Masters Award. Leary is a member and former officer of the National Association of Science Writers, and served on the boards of the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing and the D.C. Science Writers Association.