Other Writing
Diana has published journalistic work in a wide range of print and online media. Her diverse portfolio also includes travel guide content, annual reports, executive summaries, newsletters and map legends. Today she does freelance writing and editing for various clients. A sample follows.
Book-Related Articles
“Japan as Seen by Eliza Scidmore” [photo essay in French], GEO Magazine, October 2020
“From Early ‘Lady Writer,’ Washington Cherry Blossoms and a National Geographic Legacy,” National Geographic, 1/16/2018
“Eliza Ruhamah Scidmore,” Sierra Club’s John Muir Website, 5/2018
“Cherry Tree Planting in March 1912 Shaped Public Face of Washington, D.C., ” National Geographic, 3/26/2012
“Eliza Scidmore, the Woman Behind the Planting of Washington’s Cherry Trees in 1912,” Viral History, 3/28/2012
Washington Independent Review of Books
Q&A with Janice P. Nimura, author of Daughters of the Samurai, 5/27/2016
Without You There Is No Us: My Times With the Sons of North Korea’s Elite, 1/1/2015
Eating Mud Crabs in Kandahar, 11/2011
Indigo: In Search of the Color That Seduced the World, 8/12/2011
A Covert Affair: Julia Child and Paul Child in the OSS, 5/10/2011
Ravenous: A Food Lover’s Journey From Obsession to Freedom, 3/23/2011
National Geographic News/Selected Articles
“In Africa, Decoding the Language of Elephants,” 2/21/2003
“Maya Hieroglyphics Recount ‘Giant War,’ ” 10/19/2002
“Crossbow Rivalry of Two Italian Towns Dates to Middle Ages,” 9/6/2002
“Skull Fossil Opens Window onto Early Human Origins,” 7/11/2002
“City Occupied by Inca Discovered on Andean Peak in Peru,” 3/18/2002
“High-Tech Fishing Is Emptying Deep Seas, Scientists Warn,” 2/26/2002
” ‘SuperCroc’ Fossil Found in Sahara,” 10/25/2001
“Skeleton of New Dinosaur ‘Titan’ Found in Madagascar,” 8/1/2001
“Tiny Fossil From Early Jurassic Fills New Niche in Mammal Evolution,” 5/24/2001
Other Selected Articles
“Giant Footprint,” Smithsonian.com, 1/28/2008
“Monumental Shift,” Smithsonian.com, 7/31/2007
“Remnants of the Past: High-Tech Analyses of Ancient Textiles Yield Clues to Cultures,” Science News, 12/11/2004
“Assault on Autism,” Science News, 11/9/2004
“Palm-Nut Problem: Asian Chewing Habit Linked to Oral Cancer,” Science News, 1/15/2005
“Design College’s New Provost Hopes to Contribute to Another Detroit Renaissance,” Chronicle of Higher Education, 1/6/2014
“New Signs of Hope in the Struggle for Human Rights: Indonesia,” Ford Foundation Report, Fall 1998
“Maternal Death Rate Tough to Reduce,” Indonesian Observer, 4/12/1998
“Grand Experiment” (on science discovery center), Baltimore Style, March–April 1997
“Project Seeks to Shed Light on Human Rights Abuses in Haiti,” Science, 6/30/1995
“Helping Students Learn Science the Way Science Works,” Science, 9/30/1994
“Medicine and the Humanities,” Humanities, Jan.–Feb. 1992
“Exploring America’s Oral Traditions: the Encyclopedia of Popular Beliefs and Superstitions,” Humanities, Jan.–Feb. 1991
“Charles Peirce: An American Original,” Humanities, May/June 1989
“Human Retooling” (on K-12 school reform in West Virginia), Scholastic’s Agenda, Winter 1992
“The Animal Rights Movement Has Closed Down and Stalled Research,” NIDA Notes, Spring/Summer 1989
“Laser Joins Fight Against Cancer, Heart Disease,” NIH Record, 2/7/1989
“Community Colleges Exhibit New Spirit of Fund-Raising Aggressiveness,” Trustee Quarterly, Winter 1989
“Educators Call for Bold New Approach to Science Education,” Education Daily, 2/9/1987
“Nixon’s Ghosts Haunt the Archives,” Common Cause, July/August 1986
“Putting Geography Back on the Map,” The Washington Post, 4/20/1986
“Crossroads (South Africa): In a Rural Settlement, Medical Students Are Learning Both Medicine and the Realities of Politics,” The New Physician, 7/8/1984
Essays
“On the Porch,” Washingtonian, 8/1/2009
“Carried Away,” Potomac Review, Fall 2007
Travel Guides
National Geographic Traveler: Washington, D.C.
Lead writer for updates of 2005, 2007 and 2010 editions
The Jakarta Explorer, 1999
Editorial coordinator and contributing writer and photographer
Reports and Newsletters
National Institutes of Health/Sigma Health Consulting
- Executive summaries of 4 investigator workshops on topics in aging, Alzheimer’s disease, digital technology in medicine and hormone therapy, April-November 2019
World Fish Center, Penang, Malaysia
Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), Bogor, Indonesia
- Annual Report 1998
- CIFOR News, Nos. 19–27, June 1998 to March/April 2001
- Workshop Report, Integrated Natural Resource Management in the CGIAR, August 2000
- CIFOR in Indonesia, 1999
American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)
- Annual Report 1994
- Annual Report 1995
Legends for National Geographic Maps
- Special Places of the World: New York City, Sept. 1990
- Special Places of the World: Holy Land, Dec. 1989
“There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place.”