Walter Sullivan; Science Writer for N.Y. Times

Walter Sullivan, considered the dean of news media science writers whose stories on complicated topics impressed even the scientists whose work he chronicled, is dead at age 78.

Sullivan, who spent his entire career as a writer and editor at the New York Times, died Tuesday from pancreatic cancer at his home in Riverside, Conn.

A native of New York City, Sullivan graduated from Yale University and joined the Navy at the start of World War II, interrupting his stint as a copy boy at the Times.

Before turning to science writing, he was a foreign correspondent for the paper in China, Korea and Berlin.

One of his first science writing assignments was Operation Highjump, a Navy expedition to Antarctica under Rear Adm. Richard E. Byrd.

Sullivan visited Antarctica seven times. The Sullivan Range of mountains there was named for him.

He also wrote several books, including “Quest for a Continent,” about Antarctic exploration, and “We Are Not Alone,” a best-seller that described the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.

Sullivan was named science news editor of the New York Times in 1962 and science editor in 1964. He retired from the paper in 1987, but continued to contribute, dropping by his office up until two months ago.

He earned dozens of awards, including the George Polk Award, the Daly Medal of the American Geographical Society, and last month a lifetime achievement award from the National Assn. of Science Writers.