I’m a freelance science writer and editor based in Beckenham, south east London.

My academic background is in natural sciences.  I have a doctorate in chemistry – my research was on magnetic field effects on electron transfer reactions in photosynthetic bacteria.  That means it combined a little bit of physics, a little bit of biology and a bit of chemistry.

It took me a little while to find my way to science writing and editing.  I worked for a while in policy and administration and then tutored school science and maths part-time (GCSE and A-level) before spending a year in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, where I taught English as a foreign language part-time for a year and gained some publishing experience as an editoral assistant for the Biometrical Journal.  Inspired by that, I took a Masters in science communication and and began to freelance as a writer and editor as well as doing a little tutoring.

I also speak German and enjoy baking.

You can contact me at joanna.carpenter @ cantab.net (remove spaces to get the address to work).