LINDA BILLINGS, PH.D.
Linda Billings is a Washington-based research associate with the SETI Institute of
Mountain View, CA. She has been conducting science and risk communication
research for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’s)
Planetary Protection Office since September 2002. From September 1999
through August 2002, she was director of communications for SPACEHAB Inc., a
builder of space habitats. Dr. Billings earned her Ph.D. in mass communication
from Indiana University’s School of Journalism in September 2005. Her
expertise is in mass communication, science communication, risk
communication, rhetorical analysis and social studies of science. Her research
has focused on the role that journalists play in constructing the cultural
authority of scientists and the rhetorical strategies that scientists and journalists
employ in communicating about science. She earned her B.A. in social sciences
from the State University of New York at Binghamton and her M.A. in
international transactions from George Mason University.
Dr. Billings has worked for 25 years in Washington, D.C., as a researcher,
journalist, freelance writer, communication specialist and consultant to the
government. As a researcher, she has worked on communication strategy, risk
communication, and audience studies for NASA’s planetary protection program.
As a corporate communications director, she was responsible for
communications with the media, the public and the financial community. As a
journalist, she covered energy, environment, labor relations, and aerospace,
primarily for the trade press. She was the founding editor of Space Business
News (1983-5) and the first senior editor for space at Air & Space/Smithsonian
magazine (1985-8). She also was a contributing author for First Contact: The
Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (New American Library, 1990). Dr.
Billings was a member of the staff for the National Commission on Space (1985
-86). For the National Science Foundation and NASA, she has worked as a
policy analyst, communications specialist, education and outreach planner, and
writer and editor. Her freelance articles have been published in outlets such as
the Chicago Tribune (“Space station is good for more than star-gazing,” October
8, 1998), Washington Post Magazine (“Realtime: Pre-Life Sciences,” August 11,
1996) and Space News (“Aim for Exploration, Not Exploitation,” October 14-20,
1996).
Dr. Billings served as an officer of Women in Aerospace for 15 years, most
recently as president for 2003. She received an Outstanding Achievement
Award from WIA in 1991. She also received a Media Award from the Washington
Space Business Roundtable in 1988. She was appointed a member of the NASA
Advisory Council’s Biological and Physical Research Advisory Committee (now
the Research and Technology Advisory Subcommittee) in 2004. She is a member
of the National Association of Science Writers, D.C. Science Writers Association,
Society of Environmental Journalists, National Communication Association, and
International Communication Association.
