Joseph Thompson Chew, Jr.

Accelerator and Fusion Research Division
and previously the Technical and Electronic Information Department of
Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
1 Cyclotron Road, 50-4049
Berkeley, CA 94720

510/486-5374 voice, -6003 fax
E-mail link to my business address

Qualifications Brief

Clear, simple explanations of complicated things and ideas.

  • Science and technology writing for lay and peer audiences.
  • Editing and coordination of proposals and conceptual design reports;
    technology transfer writing and opportunity analysis.
  • Decision support and administrative problem-solving.
  • Computer documentation.
  • Editing of technical and nontechnical documents.
    • To learn more about this profession, see Joe's Technical Communication Page.

    Other professional interests include rhetoric and sociology of electronic interaction.

    Recent Experience

    December 1988-present: Scientific coordinator, Accelerator and Fusion Research Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Member of central management staff for 600- employee research division. Major specific responsibilities include writing the aforementioned Web pages and maintaining the Web server; editing, advising on, and coordinating the review and production of proposals; and editing the research-highlights document for the Division's annual review. Other duties include ghosting and critiquing presentations; writing environment, health, and safety information; performing policy and substantive review of documents; and editing, from the advisory to the sentence level, of widely varied technical and managerial documents. Presently serving as editorial coordinator of Symposium on Radiation Measurements and Applications (SORMA West 2008) and the 2008 Beam Instrumentation Workshop (BIW08).

    December 1994-September 1996 (part-time): Coordinator, Imaging and Distributed Computing Group, LBNL. Duties include writing and editing of Web and hardcopy reports, proposals, and manuals, contract administration, and trade-show exhibit development and coordination.

    October 1986-November 1988: Staff information developer, San Francisco office, Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc. User and technical documentation of data communication products, primarily for IBM PC and Apple Macintosh. Job included software user interface design assistance and writing of on-line help files. Emphasis on writer as member of design team and on manuals as integral part of final product. Additional duties included advising on rhetorical strategy, content, and format for executive presentations; assistance with product and marketing planning; and proposals.

    May 1985-October 1986: Technical writer, Hayes Microcomputer Products, Inc., Norcross, GA. User documentation of data communication products.

    September 1981- May 1985 (academic years): Staff writer, New Mexico Tech Information Services Office, Socorro, NM. Science and news writing and photography.

    Education

    New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, Bachelor of Science in Technical Communication, an interdisciplinary program emphasizing both writing skills and technical knowledge, and Bachelor of Science in Basic Sciences with minors in physics and mathematics.

    Awards and Recognition

    Award of Achievement, Trade/News Articles, at 1988 International Technical Publications Competition sponsored by Society for Technical Communication.

    Best in Category award for Accelerator and Fusion Research Division 1988 Summary of Activities in 1989 Northern California Technical Publications Competition.

    Selected Independent Publications

    Storms Above the Desert: Atmospheric Research in New Mexico, 1935-1985. Principal researcher and author of book about thunderstorm research and history of Langmuir Laboratory. University of New Mexico Press, 1987.

    " An Electronic Stroll through the Global Village," in Proceedings of the 1992 IEEE Professional Communication Conference (Santa Fe, NM).

    Perspectives in Software Documentation. Contributor of chapter on writer involvement in user interface design of this collection of papers. Baywood Publishing, 1991.

    "The Ultimate Link," Byte Magazine, July 1988. Co-author of feature article on Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN).

    Other publications include product reviews, book reviews, and column for Society for Technical Communication chapter newsletter.

    Other Professional Activities

    Administrative Information: This is not a reviewed Berkeley Lab report. Joe Chew is responsible for this WWW document. Steven A. Gourlay is the cognizant supervisor. To report technical problems, e-mail the www-afrd webmaster.

    The Laboratory is supported by the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract No. DE-AC03-76SF00098.

    Disclaimers and Legal Notices apply to this document and its uses, and access to and uses of the system on which it resides at Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Like all Web pages, it may be linked with pages and systems beyond Laboratory jurisdiction. Their contents and uses are the responsibility of their authors and administrators.
    Please visit the Berkeley Lab Home Page.