Bec Roldan, PhD

2025 Wasn’t the Hottest Year on Record. Earth Is Still Barreling to the Climate Brink Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade

Global warming surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius for the past three years, meaning Earth is currently on track to breach the Paris climate agreement by the end of the decade

Late post! This was one of my favorite stories I wrote in 2025!

For decades, scientists have leveraged mosses to monitor air pollutants like sulfur and trace metals, in a process known as biomonitoring. Now, a new air pollutant is in town: microplastics | for @cenmag.bsky.social

Wait, what? A RAT caught and ate a BAT? And there's video! What does it portend? Scientists filmed bats to see how they communicate while swarming. They found a surprise: In urban settings, rats attack bats. What are the implications for bats ... and virus spread to humans?

My latest for @npr.org: a fun quick turnaround about bat-eating rats and what this predatory behavior means for bat conservation and public health! www.npr.org/sections/goa...

Welcome to Our Newest Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program Cohort - The Open Notebook Welcome to the September 2025 Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program cohort! This program brings together 16 early-career science journalists for a three-month peer-mentoring experience.

Welcome to the September 2025 Sharon Dunwoody Science Journalism Mentoring Program cohort at The Open Notebook! www.theopennotebook.com/2025/09/12/w...

I help to build support systems for Latina researchers After leaving academia, chemist Daisy Rosas Vargas starting leading outreach to encourage Latina people in pursuit of science careers.

Next in the #Changemaker series @nature.com, chemist @drdaisyrosasv.bsky.social says at a time when US programs are pulling back on #DEI, Latinx researchers need to be even louder about the supports they need to succeed in #STEM. As told to @becroldan.bsky.social

www.nature.com/articles/d41...

Learning from the life living in Superfund sites Thriving microbe communities living in the most-polluted spots in the US offer insight into how to clean up the mess of pollution

Can life persist even in the most polluted places? The answer is yes. These places are even home to organisms that detoxify contaminants! More on the microbes living in Superfund sites - and what they mean for environmental cleanup - in my latest for @cenmag.bsky.social: cen.acs.org/environment/...

“NSF says it’s OK to research technologies to help those with disabilities…But a training program serving only those with a disability would not be acceptable because it would be based on “broadening participation in STEM on the basis of a protected characteristic.””

NSF starts to kill grants that violate Trump’s war on diversity efforts Attracting women and minorities into science and studying misinformation are no longer priorities, agency says

NSF has spent decades—and billions of dollars—trying to attract more women and members of underrepresented groups into STEM. Not anymore. scim.ag/3RUtgZg

Sexual misconduct helpline offers support for NSF community The resource is an expansion of the agency’s efforts to address harassment in the U.S. Antarctic Program

This week, NSF launched a sexual misconduct crisis hotline for researchers, as an expansion of the agency's efforts to address sexual misconduct in the U.S. Antarctic Program. My first news piece for @science.org: www.science.org/content/arti...

A beeswarm chart of canceled NIH grants showing the years into each project when the funding was pulled. Each dot represents a terminated grant and is colored by the number of publications associated with the project: none, one to four or five or more. The grants are separated into thee rows based on the award type (R01, U01, U54). RO1 research projects had the most terminations, which occurred at all stages of research, from the project onset to 7+ years in. Most grants were canceled short of the 4-5 year lifespan of a typical grant, and 40% of R01s had no publications at the time of termination. Projects that had been active for longer had more publications, suggesting that more findings are disseminated in the later stages of these grants.

In terminating hundreds of NIH grants, the Trump administration dumped years of investment down the drain. In my latest @opinion.bloomberg.com column, we analyzed the cancelled projects & talked to scientists to understand just how much the public loses out. It's a lot: tinyurl.com/bdey86su

How to learn from a disaster Nicole Dickson-Karn uses the East Palestine, Ohio, train derailment to teach her students about the real-world applications of analytical chemistry

My latest for @cenmag.bsky.social: How Nicole Dickson-Karn, an analytical teaching professor at the Ohio State University, used the East Palestine train derailment disaster to teach her students about the real-world applications of chemistry. cen.acs.org/education/un...

Check out this great article from @becroldan.bsky.social!

Thanks for including me and the Schlenk Line Survival Guide!

Open-access chemistry lags other fields. Here’s how scientists are changing that For advanced students and researchers, finding technical educational resources can be challenging. These chemists are fixing the problem.

My first "big" feature is out in C&EN! It highlights how open educational resources are hard to find for advanced chemists, but there *are* chemists who are committed to creating these free resources for others. #ChemSky👇 💡
cen.acs.org/education/gr...

It is horrifying watching the government erase a demographic in real time and most people just not really caring.

Excellent reporting by @hencarnell.bsky.social for @motherjones.com on how trans health care has always been conservative and difficult to access

Science journalism becomes plain old journalism "For too long, science journalism has been treated as something distinct, something <em>extra</em> — the domain of specialists writing for audiences who are already deeply interested in and informed a...

"Siloing science journalism is dangerous because it leaves the public vulnerable to misinformation. ... It allows powerful actors to manipulate public understanding by filling the void left by a lack of evidence-based reporting." www.niemanlab.org/2024/12/scie... by @siricarpenter.bsky.social

Chem teacher creates crosswords to inspire students This high school chemistry instructor crafts diverse crossword puzzles in between teaching and competing on game shows

The ever amazing @becroldan.bsky.social wrote about me for @cenmag.bsky.social! 👨‍🔬

Chem teacher creates crosswords to inspire students This high school chemistry instructor crafts diverse crossword puzzles in between teaching and competing on game shows

I first met Nate Cardin on this queer podcast I ran in grad school. It was such a joy to profile him for @cenmag.bsky.social about his crosswording and game show adventures. He even created a chem-themed crossword to go along with the piece! Check it out!! #ChemTwitter👇
cen.acs.org/people/profi...

ScienceWriters2024 panel interrogates concerns, potential, and shortfalls of generative artificial intelligence in science communication SciWri24 travel grantee Bec Roldan reports on the “Tools, Toys, or Trouble: Can A.I. Help Science Communicators” NASW workshop session in Raleigh organized by Abigail Eisenstadt and Matt Shipman.

Did you miss our #SciWri24 national meeting this year? Read a recap of the "Tools, Toys, or Trouble: Can A.I. Help Science Communicators?" workshop in Raleigh filed by NASW conference travel fellow Bec Roldan (@becroldan.bsky.social): www.nasw.org/article... 💚🧪📝

I had an incredible time attending my first NASW conference hashtag#SciWri24 last month and I want to thank @younglandis.bsky.social and the folks at @sciencewriters.org for sponsoring me as a travel fellow. Check out my coverage of a conference session below 👇 if you weren't able to attend!

Whoops, changed my DM settings so should be good to go now!

DM me if you've ever lacked the educational tools to learn a research-specific technique and/or have created your own educational tool (like a Youtube vid, How-to guide, tutorial, etc) to learn or teach a technique. Looking for stories from grad students/post docs/PIs

Hi #Chemsky! I'm looking for sources for a story I'm working on about technical and research-relevant open source educational resources. 👇More below

".. some science is polarizing. But that does not make it not science." 💯 great piece from @sabs.bsky.social

It's trans day of remembrance where we remember all of our siblings we've lost this year to violence and hate. We know we've lost at least 350 trans and nonbinary people have been murdered in the last year.

We honor the dead and fight like hell for the living.

Hi! Could you add me?

I can’t say enough good things about this fellowship! Apply! Seriously do it.

And any queer & trans folks out there — DM me and I’ll read over your application! 🦋

Anabella Villalobos has redefined how we treat neurological diseases This medicinal chemist has led decades of research on the central nervous system, pushing dozens of compounds into the clinic

In my third profile, I spoke with pharmaceutical executive Anabella Villalobos about her career redefining how we treat neurological diseases. At Biogen, she's finally finding success in bringing disease-modifying treatments for Alzheimer's to the clinic.
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Carlos A. Martinez used nature’s catalysts to make Paxlovid a reality This process chemist helped scale up production of a key component of the COVID-19 antiviral

In my second profile, Carlos A. Martinez shares the story of how he used enzymes, aka nature's catalysts, to make a key starting material for Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral, Paxlovid. He's been using enzymes in major scale-ups at Pfizer for 20+ years.
cen.acs.org/pharmaceutic...

Alán Aspuru-Guzik blurs the boundaries between chemistry, AI, and robotics The 2024 Trailblazers guest editor also gives chemists the tools to accelerate their science

In my first profile, I spoke with guest editor Alán Aspuru-Guzik about how he pushes boundaries in quantum computing and machine learning research by refusing to adhere to the stiffness of disciplines.
cen.acs.org/physical-che...