Mariette DiChristina oversees Scientific American, ScientificAmerican.com, Scientific American Mind and all newsstand special editions. A science journalist for more than 20 years, she first came to Scientific American in 2001 as its executive editor. She is also the past president (in 2009 and 2010) of the 2,500-member National Association of Science Writers. She has been an adjunct professor in the graduate Science, Health and Environmental Reporting program at New York University for the past few years. DiChristina is a frequent lecturer and has appeared at the 92nd Street Y in New York, Yale University and New York University among many others. In 2011, DiChristina was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for the Section on General Interest in Science and Engineering.
Previously, she spent nearly 14 years at Popular Science in positions culminating as executive editor. Her work in writing and overseeing articles about space topics helped garner that magazine the Space Foundation's 2001 Douglas S. Morrow Public Outreach Award. In spring 2005 she was Science Writer in Residence at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Her chapter on science editing appears in the second edition of A Field Guide for Science Writers. She is former chair of Science Writers in New York (2001 to 2004) and a member of the American Society of Magazine Editors and the Society of Environmental Journalists. DiChristina was honored by New York's Italian Heritage and Culture Committee in its October 2009 celebration of Galileo's contributions to science. In January 2010, she was honored by the National Organization of Italian American Women as one as one of its "Three Wise Women" of 2009.
Under DiChristina's leadership, Scientific American is committed to promoting STEM education and wider engagement of the public with science. In September 2010, Nature Publishing Group, Scientific American's parent organization, became a member of Change the Equation, a CEO-led initiative to cultivate widespread literacy in STEM in the U.S., as part of President Obama's "Educate to Innovate" campaign. Championed by DiChristina, Scientific American is launching several programs in 2011 in support of the initiative's goals.