Maya Wei-Haas is an award-winning science reporter who writes about all things science with a particular affection for rocks and reactions. She was previously a staff writer at National Geographic for nearly five years and an assistant editor at Smithsonian digital news for almost three years. Now she’s a freelancer working with many outlets, including the New York Times and News from Science. In addition to science news and features, she authored the solar system section of the National Geographic Stargazer’s Atlas and the children's book What a Rock Can Reveal, which guides young through the exciting stories hidden in every stone.

Maya earned a bachelor's degree in Geology from Smith College and a PhD in Earth Science from The Ohio State University as an NSF Graduate Research Fellow. Her dissertation research focused on the environmental fate of flame retardants (PBDEs). She traveled the world in the name of science, scooping ice melt from the top of Antarctic glaciers, hauling up sediments from Svalbard lakes, and monitoring water chemistry in Alaskan rivers. This journey helped her realize that the part of science she loves most is communication. She made the jump to journalism as a fellow for the AAAS Mass Media program.