Gina Kolata

Gina Bari Kolata (born February 25, 1948) is an American science journalist, writing for The New York Times.

Life and career

Kolata was born Gina Bari in Baltimore, Maryland. Her mother, mathematician Ruth Aaronson Bari, was of Jewish descent; and her father, Arthur Bari, a diamond setter, is of Italian heritage. One of her sisters was environmental activist Judi Bari; and the other is art historian Martha Bari.

Kolata studied molecular biology as a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a master's degree in mathematics from the University of Maryland. She joined Science magazine as a copy editor in 1973, and wrote for the American Association for the Advancement of Science journal from 1974 until she moved to The New York Times in September 1987. She remains a Health & Science reporter at the newspaper. She is a "self-proclaimed exercise addict (who thinks nothing of a 100-mile bike ride as a reward)," according to a Times advertisement for itself. Kolata has taught writing as a visiting professor at Princeton University and frequently lectures across the country. Her husband, William G. Kolata, has taught mathematics and served as the technical director of the non-profit Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics in Philadelphia, a nonprofit professional society for mathematicians. The couple has two grown children, Therese and Stefan.