Max Barnhart

Digital Editor

Max Barnhart is the 2022 AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellow at NPR. He is a 5th year Ph.D. candidate and science journalist studying the evolution of heat stress resistance in sunflowers at the University of Georgia. He was co-editor-in-chief for the Athens Science Observer, a graduate student-run science blog aimed at writing science for the general public, from 2020-2022. Barnhart is also the Head of Science Communication for the American Society of Plant Biologist's Early Career Plant Scientists Section and was awarded an educational grant to produce science zines for the community of Athens, Ga. These zines have included discussions on Diversity in the Sciences and the Plant Life of Athens. Barnhart is originally from Buffalo, N.Y., and received his B.S. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from SUNY University at Buffalo. In his free time, Barnhart practices martial arts (he's a 2nd Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo), obsessively follows Buffalo sports and spends time with his two cats, Benny and Mochi.