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

Friday

Researchers found that AI could increase the creativity of individual writers, but it also led to many similar stories. Moor Studio/Getty Images hide caption

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Moor Studio/Getty Images

Research shows AI can boost creativity for some, but at a cost

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Wednesday

The Starliner spacecraft docked with the International Space Station and orbiting 262 miles above Egypt's Mediterranean coast on June 13. NASA says additional testing is needed before Starliner can return to Earth. NASA/AP hide caption

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NASA/AP

Friday

Boeing's new spacecraft is forced to extend its stay at the International Space Station

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Thursday

Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system (left) intercepts rockets (right) fired by Palestinian militants from Gaza on May 14, 2021. Over the years, Iron Dome has stopped thousands of rockets headed for Israeli cities, but experts warn that in a war with Hezbollah, new tactics and sheer numbers could cause it to fail. Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images

Could Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system hold up in a war with Hezbollah?

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Tuesday

The Chang'e 6 capsule landed in the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia on Tuesday. CCTV Screenshot by NPR hide caption

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CCTV Screenshot by NPR

Chang'e 6 Sample Return

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Friday

Could Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system hold up in a war with Hezbollah?

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Wednesday

Palestinians are walking along Salah al-Din Road in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, on Feb. 11, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas. Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images hide caption

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Majdi Fathi/NurPhoto via Getty Images

How is Israel Using Facial Recognition in Gaza?

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Saturday

The week in space: Two lessons for NASA and their private space partners

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Thursday

SpaceX's mega rocket Starship launched from SpaceX's Starbase in Boca Chica, Texas on Thursday, June 6, 2024. Screenshot by NPR/SpaceX hide caption

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Screenshot by NPR/SpaceX

SPACEX'S STARSHIP SUCCESS

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Wednesday

Boeing's Starliner launches into space after years of delay

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Monday

FAUCI COVID HEARING

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Sunday

Dr. David Morens, a former top adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci, appears during a House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic hearing on Capitol Hill. Andrew Harnik/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Harnik/Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

House committee grills former NIH advisor over his conversations about COVID origins

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Saturday

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with Boeing's Starliner spacecraft aboard is rolled to the launch pad on Thursday ahead of the NASA's Boeing Crew Flight Test. NASA/Getty Images hide caption

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NASA/Getty Images

Friday

Palestinians walk along Salah al-Din Road in Deir Al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip. NurPhoto/Getty Images hide caption

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NurPhoto/Getty Images

Thursday

House committee grills former NIH advisor over his conversations about COVID origins

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Saturday

Crosby Beach, Liverpool, England: The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at Another Place by Anthony Gormley. Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images hide caption

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Peter Byrne/PA Images/Getty Images

Friday

NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of solar flares early Saturday afternoon. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says there have been measurable effects and impacts from the geomagnetic storm. Solar Dynamics Observatory hide caption

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Solar Dynamics Observatory

The huge solar storm is keeping power grid and satellite operators on edge

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Monday

Boeing launches its Starliner spacecraft with two astronauts on board tonight

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Sunday

A relative points to a hole in the roof of Mohammed al-Hassouni's family home. It was caused by an Iranian missile fragment that injured his 7-year-old daughter on the night Iran attacked Israel. Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Ahmad Gharabli/AFP via Getty Images

When rockets fall, Bedouin Israeli citizens have nowhere to hide

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Saturday

One community in Israel didn't have access to rocket shelters. They say it's been deadly

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Tuesday

Physicist Peter Higgs, whose subatomic particle research changed the world, has died

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Monday