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.
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Engineers testify before the Senate that downtown New Orleans should not have flooded during Hurricane Katrina. The flooding occurred because walls along canals had faulty foundations and collapsed. The investigators said it's unclear whether the walls were poorly designed or shoddily constructed.
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Scientists studying anthrax say they are making progress understanding the bacteria and developing new vaccines. But the field is much larger than it once was, and some wonder if that's wise or necessary.
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Two Americans and a German share the prize for work that used light to make some of the most precise measurements ever performed. Engineers have used the observations of Roy Glauber, John Hall and Theodor Haensch to improve lasers, Global Positioning System technology and other instruments.
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German Theodor Haensch and Americans John Hall and Roy Glauber win the Nobel Prize in Physics for their research on the physics of light. Their work with lasers has helped redefine how distance is measured and allowed physicists to measure the atom's internal structure with new precision.
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Researchers are suggesting that flawed construction -- not storm surges -- likely caused key floodwalls around New Orleans to fail. They say the waters of Lake Pontchartrain never got high enough to rise above the walls and erode their foundations, the early explanation for the levee collapses.
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NASA releases plans for a new spacecraft that would replace the space shuttle. The vehicle is part of a system that will be capable of putting astronauts on the moon by 2018, laying the groundwork for space travel to Mars. NASA says the new system is designed to be 10 times safer than the space shuttle.
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The panel that oversaw NASA's effort to relaunch the space shuttle after the Columbia disaster issues its final report, giving NASA high marks. Still, critics outline problems with the agency's ability to manage the safety and reliability of the shuttle.
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The Space Shuttle Discovery was forced to postpone landing in Florida Monday morning because of low clouds and poor visibility. NASA has set the landing for early Tuesday, and is contemplating alternative landing sites.
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Astronaut Stephen Robinson pulled out two pieces of filler material that were protruding from Space Shuttle Discovery's belly. Robinson was tethered to a boom arm to reach the underside of the craft.
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Astronaut Steve Robinson successfully removes two small pieces of fabric that were poking out of the shuttle's heat shield. NASA engineers worried the fabric could cause superheated air to damage the shuttle when it returns to Earth next week.