What a scoop! Engineering alumnus thrives in the newsroom

Many people who pursue engineering are driven by an unquenchable curiosity about how things work and a desire to solve problems in the world—but to do that, you have to be able to ask the right questions. For Darius Dixon (MSE 2004), “asking the right questions” took an untraditional form for an engineer, leading him on a path away from the incremental progress of research and into a career that not only seeks, but demands, answers: journalism.

“I grew up in Brooklyn. When you grow up in New York City, current events are always happening all around you,” said Dixon, a materials science and engineering graduate who is now deputy managing editor, policy at POLITICO. “I always paid attention to what was going on, but I never thought of journalism as a profession.”

As a self-described “typical science nerd,” Dixon recalls his days as a high school student who excelled in physics, even though there were no scientists or engineers in his family. His fascination with complex systems would find him opening The New York Times just to pore over the currency table as a proxy for world economies.

“I wanted to be a college professor, that was my goal in coming to Carnegie Mellon,” said Dixon. During his time at CMU, he was exposed to many disciplines and topics across physics and materials science. Much of his work related to energy, but he also got involved in semiconductor research and electrical engineering. “The subject matter diversity in MSE really mattered to me. I loved the variety.”

However, working in a lab taught him something else important about himself: “I didn’t have the patience to be a professor!”

After graduating from CMU, Dixon went on to graduate school in materials science and geology, researching nuclear waste issues. But his obsession with news and information only grew over time. Before he had even finished his master’s program, he applied to journalism school at Columbia University.

Stepping into his first job as a journalist, he felt right at home talking to scientists as he covered advancements in the U.S. Department of Energy’s national laboratories. His engineering background gave him confidence when diving into technical topics; if a story required that he investigate a massive dataset or complicated government system, he was unintimidated.

“Part of being a scientist, at heart, is figuring things out,” said Dixon.

Part of being a scientist, at heart, is figuring things out.

Darius Dixon, Deputy Managing Editor, Policy, POLITICO

He assumed that he would eventually write for a publication like Scientific American or National Geographic but found that he wanted to focus on current events and practical applications of research and science. After all, many readers may struggle to find relevance in an abstract or speculative outcome that may be 50 years down the road.

“Many people want to know why it matters now. You have to connect the dots,” said Dixon. “In materials science, for example, people generally understand things like steelmaking and ceramics, but you need a different type of steel for a building versus an appliance at home. With ceramics, you have health care applications and then you have semiconductors. You need to be able to explain that.” Whether in engineering or journalism, Dixon notes that translating information for your audience is critical for making an impact and building credibility.

He also learned quickly that members of Congress are looking to connect two specific dots: “They want to know if the research you’re spinning a yarn about will lead to jobs in their state or district.”

Dixon relates this skill to his first big scoop on the energy beat for POLITICO. He was covering the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the agency that regulates interstate electric transmission and markets, as well as proposals for new natural gas pipelines. When a presidential nominee to FERC was met with controversy and withdrew his nomination, Dixon was able to beat everyone to the story.

My time at CMU prepared me for hard things.

Darius Dixon, Deputy Managing Editor, Policy, POLITICO

“I had done extensive research and coverage on FERC, so when the nominee pulled his nomination he came and talked to me, and we did a story and Q&A for POLITICO,” said Dixon, who was the first person to cover the agency for the publication. “That was a big deal.”

Dixon’s engineering mindset also informs his approach to workflows in the newsroom. “At POLITICO, we have hundreds of journalists and if we’re covering data centers, for example, that cuts across our energy team, our technology team, our politics team, and our White House team,” said Dixon. As a deputy managing editor, he challenges himself to create systems that allow those many teams to share information, streamline collaboration, and minimize surprises. That’s hard to do as stories emerge and evolve constantly, and often rapidly.

“Carnegie Mellon is still the hardest thing I’ve done,” said Dixon, with a smile. “I have a tough job, but my time at CMU prepared me for hard things.”