David Lawrence - Journalist Profile | Connect with top journalists

Beats

Biography

I am a bit difficult to describe. I am a journalist, author of two books (Upheaval from the Abyss: Ocean Floor Mapping and the Earth Science Revolution, published by Rutgers University Press in 2002; and Huntington's Disease, published by Chelsea House in 2009), scientist, professional scuba diver, volunteer emergency medical technician, and aspiring paramedic. My education is diverse, ranging from biology, ecology, and geography to journalism. I have taught biology, geography, meteorology, oceanography and journalism at several colleges in the Richmond, Virginia. I am now a paramedic with Richmond Ambulance Authority in Richmond, Virginia, and with Mattaponi Volunteer Rescue Squad in Walkerton, Virginia. I am also training to become a firefighter. Because of my desire to focus on emergency medicine, I recently stepped down as sports editor for two newspapers in the Richmond Suburban Newspapers group—The Mechanicsville Local and Ashland-Hanover Local. My journalistic specialties are a rather odd combination of science and sports writing. In addition to my book, my writing has appeared in two anthologies The Science of Dune: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science Behind Frank Herbert’s Fictional Universe and The Science of Michael Crichton: An Unauthorized Exploration into the Real Science behind the Fictional Worlds of Michael Crichton (both published by BenBella Books in 2008), and the periodicals BioInform, Geotimes (now Earth), The Lancet, The Lancet Infectious Diseases, Mercator’s World (sadly no longer with us), Oceanus, Vegetarian Times, and Woods Hole Currents. I have written for encyclopedias and reference works: Biomes and Ecosystems: An Encyclopedia; Diseases and Disorders, Encyclopedia of Genetics, Encyclopedia of Health, History of Cartography, Volume 6. Cartography in the Twentieth Century, Encyclopedia of the Developing World, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, World History Encyclopedia, International Encyclopedia of Human Geography, Magill’s Encyclopedia of Science: Plant Life, Magill’s Medical Guide, and World History Encyclopedia. Having grown up in and with the newspaper business, I have spent much of the past four decades working for newspapers such as The (Charlottesville, Va.) Daily Progress, The (Newport News, Va.) Daily Press, the Miami Herald, the (Parsippany, N.J.) Daily Record, the (Petersburg, Va.) Progress-Index, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch, The (Shreveport, La.) Times, The Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, and the (Norfolk, Va.) Virginian-Pilot. Most of that has been sports, but I have done my share of work on the news and online side. Some of my more challenging writing work has been for the radio programs Our Ocean World and MicrobeWorld. In 2010, I accepted the most challenging writing assignment of my life—working as science writer/editor/photographer for the Sea Education Association's Plastics at SEA: North Atlantic Expedition 2010. We spent more than 30 days at sea, sailed more than 3,000 nautical miles: east from Bermuda, across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and back. During the expedition, I wrote and published more than 33,000 words and took more than 5,000 photos. As a scientist, my interests began primarily in biogeography and forest ecology, with an emphasis on using tree-ring analysis to tackle questions regarding the distribution and environmental history of tree species. I have since added freshwater and marine ecology to my interests. Over the years I have worked as a consultant to the Environmental Protection Agency and the USDA Forest Service, as a staff member of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; and most recently, as an ecological consultant at Lake Rawlings Scuba Park in Brunswick County, Virginia. My academic writing has appeared in the Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America, the Canadian Journal of Forest Research, Tree-Ring Research, and the Virginia Journal of Science. Personally, I'm more than a bit of a flake. My private interests are as diverse as my professional ones, including music (pretty much anything but elevator music), writing (of course, just don't ask me how far I've come with my screenplays or novel), photography, fishing (I've finally learned to fly fish), hiking, genealogy, and more other things than any sensible person could cram into one lifetime. I may get tired, but I’ll never be bored.

Content

Total articles 348

• Available on paid plans

  Cowardice Kills

  By David Lawrence Verified

  Feb. 10, 2022

• Available on paid plans

  Langer keeps cool on 18th green for victory

  By David Lawrence Verified

  Oct. 26, 2021

• Available on paid plans

  Kickers stand up to Red Wolves

  By David Lawrence Verified

  Oct. 06, 2021

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Company Info

Mechanicsville Local

The Richmond Times-Dispatch is a daily newspaper based in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 1850, it serves as the primary newspaper of record for the state. The publication was formed through the merger of the Richmond Dispatch and the Richmond Times in 1903 and adopted its current name in 1914. It is owned by Lee Enterprises and is published in a broadsheet format. The newspaper offers comprehensive news coverage, focusing on local, state, and national issues. It is a key source of news for the Richmond area and has a significant readership in nearby cities such as Charlottesville, Lynchburg, and Waynesboro. The Richmond Times-Dispatch publishes daily and Sunday editions, with a circulation of 48,807 daily and 52,218 on Sundays as of 2023. Additionally, it provides digital content, allowing readers to access news articles online.