S. Heather Duncan

S. Heather Duncan is a science writer and communications specialist in the ORNL Communications Division. She supports the Energy Science and Technology Directorate, particularly topics related to electrification and energy infrastructure, as well as the Grid Research Innovation and Development Center (GRID-C).

She researches, writes and edits press releases, feature stories, researcher profiles, video scripts, social media, web content and more to share the groundbreaking research of ORNL’s scientists and to build ORNL relationships with sponsors, industry and research collaborators.

Before joining ORNL, Duncan spent half her career as a daily newspaper reporter before becoming a freelance reporter, writer and book editor. She reported and wrote regularly for public radio, regional and national news publications, and university publishing houses. She has won more than 20 state and national reporting awards and contributed to Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage of the Mississippi Gulf Coast after Huricane Katrina. Duncan holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a master’s degree in storytelling.