New NAS Awards Honor Science Communication in “Post-Truth World”

The Scientist speaks with paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill, who won one of the 24 awards recognizing efforts to communicate scientific issues to the general public.

Written byChristie Wilcox, PhD

| 7 min read

Save for Later

Paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill sitting next to museum collection bones

Awardee and paleoecologist Jacquelyn Gill

Image credit:COURTESY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MAINE

Listen with Speechify

0:00

7:00

Earlier this month, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced the recipients of the inaugural Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communication. The 24 awards, totaling $600,000, were funded by Schmidt Futures and recognize “creative, original work that addresses issues and advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine for the general public.”

“It takes great skill to effectively communicate the wonder and complexity of science, engineering, and medicine, and we hope these new awards will not only recognize such talent, but also help nurture the next generation of leaders in science journalism and communication,” National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt said in a press release announcing the awards back in February.

Half of the awards are given to science journalists, while the other half go to researchers. The latter group’s 12 awards are divided into a $40,000 top prize and three $20,000 awards of recognition ...

Interested in reading more?

The Scientist ARCHIVES

Become a Member of

Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!

Join for free today

Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Christie Wilcox, PhD
Christie was a well-established science blogger and writer when she was awarded a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology with a specialization in ecology, evolution and conservation biology from the University of Hawai‘i in 2014 for her research on the genetics of lionfishes. A short two years later, she published her debut book Venomous: How Earth’s Deadliest Creatures Mastered Biochemistry, which received widespread acclaim, and after that, she fully left academia behind and established herself as a science writer and editor. She joined The Scientist in 2021 as newsletter editor and left as senior editor in 2023. She is a member of the Author’s Guild, the Northwest Science Writers Association, and the National Association of Science Writers.
View Full Profile