Awards honor excellence in science communication [Worldwide]

Posted on Mar 10, 2022 in Specialized Topics

Science journalists worldwide can enter a contest and compete for awards totaling US$600,000.

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, in partnership with Schmidt Futures, are offering the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication. The goal of the new awards is to encourage high-quality science communication.

The awards also seek to build a diverse community of science journalists, research scientists, and institutions who will help society meet the challenges and opportunities posed by climate change, future pandemics, human genome editing, and other issues that can only be understood and navigated with the help of effective science communication. 

The awards will present prizes to science journalists and research scientists who have developed creative, original work that addresses issues and advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine for the general public.

Submissions are accepted in six categories: freelance journalists, early career journalists, and reporting at the local/regional level (science journalism); and graduate students, early career researchers, and later career researchers (science communication by research scientists).

Six top prizes of US$40,000 will be awarded. Eighteen US$20,000 recognition awards will also be presented.

The application deadline is April 3.