Howard J. Lewis; Science Journalist

Howard J. Lewis, 84, a writer, editor, policy adviser and former National Academy of Sciences executive, died of cancer Oct. 13 at his Bethesda home.

As a science journalist and the longtime director of the office of information for the National Academy of Sciences, Mr. Lewis worked to ensure that journalists in the United States and abroad had access to important scientific information. He also raised standards for those who work to communicate vital, albeit difficult, information about science and public policy.

For example, he insisted that journalists be included at the 1975 Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA, an event that Science Magazine described as "the Woodstock of molecular biology, a defining moment for a generation." The conference grew out of concerns some scientists raised in the early 1970s after experiments suggested it was possible to clone DNA segments from virtually any organism.

The landmark conference produced no evidence of serious biohazards from DNA research, but it did establish a set of safety guidelines for laboratory practices and set a precedent for ensuring that journalists were allowed to cover future science conferences.

Paul Berg, a Nobel laureate for chemistry and one of the conference organizers, wrote later: "The public's trust was undeniably increased by the fact that more than 10 percent of the participants were from the news media."

Mr. Lewis was born in Easton, Pa. After graduating from Lehigh University in 1940, he worked as a reporter for the Bethlehem (Pa.) Globe-Times and received a graduate degree in journalism from Columbia University.

During World War II, he served in the Army from 1942 to 1946. As a staff sergeant and squad leader, he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious action during the Allies' final push across the Danube.

After the war, he became editor of the New York Herald Tribune's This Week Magazine from 1946 to 1949 and then editor of Argosy, where he worked from 1949 to 1954. From 1954 to 1957, he was a freelance writer specializing in science and technology.

In 1957, Detlev W. Bronk, president of the National Academy of Sciences, hired Mr. Lewis to create the academy's first office of information. He served as director until his retirement in 1983.

During his years at the National Academy of Sciences, he served on numerous advisory boards, including the American Institute of Physics' Committee on Education and Public Information and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's science and policy programs. He was an editorial and public affairs consultant for a U.N. conference on the application of science and technology for less-developed nations and the Cousteau Society.

He also founded and edited Public Science, a monthly newsletter sponsored by the Science and Public Policy Studies Group, based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After his retirement from the National Academy of Sciences, Mr. Lewis became editor of ScienceWriters, the quarterly publication of the National Association of Science Writers. He also was a founding member of the International Science Writers Association and a facilitator for training and education programs that the association sponsors worldwide.

Survivors include his wife of 47 years, Jo Ann Lewis of Bethesda; two children, Deborah Lewis of Austin and Stephen Lewis of New York City; and three grandchildren.