Geoff Brumfiel Geoff Brumfiel works as a senior editor and correspondent on NPR's science desk.
Geoff Brumfiel, photographed for NPR, 17 January 2019, in Washington DC.
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Geoff Brumfiel

Mike Morgan/NPR
Geoff Brumfiel, photographed for NPR, 17 January 2019, in Washington DC.
Mike Morgan/NPR

Geoff Brumfiel

Senior Editor and Correspondent

Geoff Brumfiel works as a senior editor and correspondent on NPR's science desk. His editing duties include science and space, while his reporting focuses on the intersection of science and national security.

From April of 2016 to September of 2018, Brumfiel served as an editor overseeing basic research and climate science. Prior to that, he worked for three years as a reporter covering physics and space for the network. Brumfiel has carried his microphone into ghost villages created by the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. He's tracked the journey of highly enriched uranium as it was shipped out of Poland. For a story on how animals drink, he crouched for over an hour and tried to convince his neighbor's cat to lap a bowl of milk.

Before NPR, Brumfiel was based in London as a senior reporter for Nature Magazine from 2007-2013. There, he covered energy, space, climate, and the physical sciences. From 2002 – 2007, Brumfiel was Nature Magazine's Washington Correspondent.

Brumfiel is the 2013 winner of the Association of British Science Writers award for news reporting on the Fukushima nuclear accident.

Story Archive

Monday

Wednesday

Tornados have been spotted on every continent except Antarctica, but tornado alley has far more twisters than other spots on the globe. Connect Images/Jason Persoff Stormdoctor/Getty Images hide caption

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Connect Images/Jason Persoff Stormdoctor/Getty Images

Monday

Researchers at Stanford University are training robots to respond to simple tasks using AI. Moo Jin Kim/Stanford University hide caption

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Moo Jin Kim/Stanford University

Wednesday

Lasers shine as part of an advanced atomic clock at NIST. Precise measurements of the colors of light emitted by atoms are essential to everything from atomic clocks to medical devices. N. Phillips/NIST hide caption

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N. Phillips/NIST

Atomic scientist layoffs

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Tuesday

Two astronauts are finally returning from an unexpectedly long stay at the ISS

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Monday

AI Robotics

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Moo Jin Kim sets up an AI-powered robot at Stanford University. Moo Jin Kim/Stanford University hide caption

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Moo Jin Kim/Stanford University

AI Robotics

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Friday

Wednesday

Astronauts Suni Williams (lower) and Butch Wilmore (left) were originally supposed to return to Earth in June of last year. Instead, they've been part of the latest crew of the International Space Station, along with astronaut Nick Hague (right). AP/NASA hide caption

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AP/NASA

SpaceX craft to launch to retrieve 2 astronauts who have been swept up in politics

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SpaceX craft to launch to retrieve 2 astronauts who have been swept up in politics

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Thursday

A view of the moon from Intuitive Machine's Athena Lander. Intuitive Machines hide caption

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Intuitive Machines

Intuitive Machines probe is on the moon but its status is uncertain

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Monday

Wednesday

Rose spent years trying to land her first job in the federal government. It ended up lasting just a few weeks. Ryan Kellman/NPR hide caption

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A Department of Energy employee tells her story of being swept up in mass firings

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A Department of Energy employee tells her story of being swept up in mass firings

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Friday

Members of the Nuclear Emergency Support Team training for a radiological contamination scenario. National Nuclear Security Administration hide caption

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National Nuclear Security Administration

National security and DOGE developments

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Thursday

Tuesday

A tunnel in the underground PULSE laboratory in Nevada, where scientists conduct experiments to test nuclear weapons without detonating them. NNSS/NNSA hide caption

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NNSS/NNSA

Thursday

Sunday

Inside a top-secret US nuclear facility in the Nevada desert

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Wednesday

As global tensions rise, so do fears of new nuclear testing

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The U.S. conducts some of its most sensitive nuclear weapons research in a laboratory deep underground in Nevada. NPR was recently given a tour. National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada National Security Site hide caption

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National Nuclear Security Administration/Nevada National Security Site

How the U.S. determines whether its nuclear weapons still work properly

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How the U.S. determines whether its nuclear weapons still work properly

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Friday