Richard Kerr is a Senior News Writer at Science magazine, where he has covered the earth and planetary sciences since 1977. He received the B.A. from The College of Wooster, majoring in chemistry, and a Ph.D. in chemical oceanography from the University of Rhode Island. For his coverage of such stories as the death of the dinosaurs, ozone depletion, and climate change, he has won a half-dozen awards, including the first presentation of the American Geophysical Society's Award for Sustained Achievement in Science Journalism.

A member of the advisory board of the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting, Kerr has served on journalism award selection committees for AAAS, American Geophysical Union, and others. Throughout his career, Kerr has written more than 1,000 pieces for Science, and his freelance pieces have appeared in Discover, Science 8X, The Washington Post, and other publications. He was co-author with astronomer James Elliot of the 1984 book Rings (MIT Press).