After 15 years as a staff science reporter for Canadian daily newspapers Peter Calamai now writes a weekly science column for the Toronto Star and freelances magazine science articles. A contributing editor of Australia’s Cosmos magazine, Calamai is a member of the steering committee of the Science Media Centre of Canada. A founding member of the Canadian Science Writers’ Association, he is also is a three times winner of Canada's highest journalistic honour, the National Newspaper Award, and an adjunct research professor in the School of Journalism and Communication at Carleton University in Ottawa. Calamai graduated with a B.Sc. in Physics from McMaster University in 1965 and worked as a correspondent and editor with the Southam company for 30 years, with postings to Ottawa, London (U.K.), Nairobi and Washington. His quasi-scientific pursuits include conchology with specialization in the cowry (Cyprae), ornithology, astronomy and the genetic engineering of tomatoes. April, 2009