There always has been fake news, even before the term was coined, but it has become baked into the way many Americans now get their information about the world, science writer Carl Zimmer said in the inaugural AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award lecture.

AAAS Leshner Leadership Fellow Ben Preston started his fellowship year as the Deputy Director of the Climate Change Science Institute at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and he’s ending it as the Director of the Infrastructure Resilience and Environmental Policy Program at the RAND Corporation. Preston studies how adaptation efforts can reduce risk from climate change, especially at the state and city level (such as impacts to critical energy, water and transportation systems). At RAND, he’ll focus particularly on policy-relevant research. He notes that RAND also has a convening function that encourages dialogue and outreach to a wide spectrum of decision-makers, ranging from local to international agencies, organizations, and businesses.