Jake Parks is a freelance science writer and editor who covers everything from the mysteries of the cosmos to the latest in medical research. He has written for Astronomy Magazine, Discover Magazine, The Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and more. 

Jake has a bachelor's degree in astronomy and physics from The Ohio State University, where he also minored in professional writing. After graduation, he worked as a temporary lecturer for undergraduate physics at Ohio State before moving to Wisconsin for a role as a project manager and social media specialist in the healthcare industry. But his curiosity about the universe eventually drew him back to science, which led him to earn a master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a focus on science reporting and multimedia journalism. 

After earning his master’s degree, Jake worked in the Department of Astronomy at UW-Madison as a science writer and outreach specialist. He then spent the better part of a decade as Associate Editor and Digital Editor at Astronomy Magazine, where he focused on making complex research accessible to a broad and knowledge-thirsty audience. Since then, Jake has written about topics ranging from human spaceflight to animal behavior to archeological discoveries. Today, in addition to writing for Discover and other outlets, he also writes and edits technical and educational content for the maintenance and engineering industries.