Science Writing Award Explained

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) instituted their Science Writing Award to "promote effective science communication in print and broadcast media in order to improve the general public's appreciation of physics, astronomy, and allied science fields."^[1] The winner receives $3000, and an engraved Windsor chair. The award is given in three broad categories: 1) science writing, 2) work intended for children, and 3) work done in new media. The AIP stopped issuing awards to three categories: 1) work by a professional journalist (last awarded in 2011) 2) work by a scientist (last awarded in 2009), and 3) broadcast media (last awarded in 2009)

Winners of this Science Writing Award include Nobel Prize winners Charles Townes, Steven Weinberg, and Kip Thorne; other notable winners include Simon Singh, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Lawrence Krauss, John Wheeler, Leonard Susskind, Clifford Martin Will, Abraham Pais, Heinz Pagels, Banesh Hoffmann, and Martin Gardner. Marcia Bartusiak has won the award three times, twice for her books (in 2019 and 2001) and once for her journalism (in 1982).

Winners: New Media

• 2012: - Anna Rothschild for Nova, "The Amazing Atomic Clock"

Past Winners: Books

• 2020: Susan Hockfield for The Age of Living Machines (W.W. Norton & Company).^[2]
• 2019: Marcia Bartusiak for Dispatches from Planet 3 (Yale University Press).^[3]
• 2019: David Hu for How to Walk on Water and Climb Up Walls (Yale University Press).^[4]
• 2018: David Baron for American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World (Liveright Publishing Corporation/W. W. Norton & Company).^[5]
• 2017: Timothy Jorgensen for Strange Glow: The Story of Radiation (Princeton University Press).^[6]
• 2016: Chris Woodford for Atoms Under the Floorboards: The Surprising Science Hidden in Your Home (Bloomsbury).^[7]
• 2015: Charles Adler for Wizards, Aliens, and Starships: Physics and Math in Fantasy and Science Fiction (Princeton University Press).^[8]
• 2014: Lee Billings for Five Billion Years of Solitude: the Search for Life Among the Stars (Current/Penguin).^[9]

Past Winners: Journalist

• 2011: George Musser for Scientific American magazine,"Could Time End?"
• 2010: Tom Zoellner for Penguin Group, "Uranium: War, Energy, and the Rock that Shaped the World"
• 2008: Ann Finkbeiner for Viking/Penguin,"The Jasons"
• 2007: Tim Folger, Discover Magazine,"If an Electron can be in Two Places at Once, Why Can't You?"
• 2006: Barbara Goldsmith for WW Norton and Atlas Books, "Obsessive Genius"
• 2005: Michael Moyer for Popular Science, "Journey to the 10th Dimension"
• 2004: J. Madeleine Nash for Warner Books, El Niño: Unlocking the Secrets of the Master Weather-Maker^[10]
• 2003: Diane Tennant for The Virginian-Pilot,"A Cosmic Tale"^[11]
• 2002: No award given
• 2001: Marcia Bartusiak for Joseph Henry Press, Einstein's Unfinished Symphony^{[12] [13]}
• 2000: Ron Cowen for USA Today, "Quantum Leap in Research Draws Cosmic Insight Closer"; Science News "Travelin' Light"; The Washington Post "Now Hear This!"
• 1999: Michael Lemonick, , Simon & Schuster
• 1998: Robyn Suriano and Todd Halvorson for Florida Today, "Cassini: Debating the Risks"
• 1997: Hazel Muir for New Scientist Magazine "Watch Out, Here Comes the Sun" and "A Fast Rain's Going to Fall"
• 1996: K.C. Cole for The Los Angeles Times,(3 newspaper articles)
• 1995: Gary Taubes for Discover Magazine, "Welcome to Femtoland"
• 1994: Dick Teresi for Omni Magazine, "The Last Great Experiment of the 20th Century"
• 1993: Billy Goodman for Air & Space Magazine, "The Planet Hunters"
• 1992: Dennis Overbye for Harper Collins Publishers, Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos
• 1991: Charles Petit for Mosaic Magazine, "Vanishingly Close to Absolute Zero"
• 1990: Jerry E. Bishop for The Wall Street Journal, "Cold Fusion"
• 1989: Timothy Ferris for William & Morrow Inc, Coming of Age in the Milky Way
• 1988: Richard Preston for The Atlantic Monthly Press, First Light
• 1987: Shannon Brownlee and Allan Chen for Discover Magazine, "Waiting for the Big One"
• 1986: Arthur Fisher for Mosaic, "Chaos: The Ultimate Asymmetry"
• 1985: Ben Patrusky for World Book Yearbook, "The Wandering Continents"
• 1984: John Tierney for Discover Magazine,"Perpetual Commotion"
• 1983: Martin Gardner for Discover Magazine, "Quantum Weirdness"
• 1982: Marcia Bartusiak for Discover Magazine, "The Ultimate Timepiece"
• 1981: Leo Janus for Science 80 Magazine,"Timekeepers of the Solar System"
• 1980: Dennis Overbye for Omni Magazine, "The Wizard of Time and Space"
• 1979: Robert C. Cowen for The Christian Science Monitor, "The New Astronomy"
• 1978: Timothy Ferris for The Red Limit: The Search for the Edge of the Universe
• 1977: William D. Metz for Science Magazine, "Fusion Research"
• 1976: Frederic Golden for Time Magazine, "Forecast: Earthquake"
• 1975: Tom Alexander for Fortune Magazine, "Ominous Changes in the World's Weather"
• 1974: Patrick Young for The National Observer, "A Quake Is Due at..."
• 1973: Edward Edelson for The New York News, "The Mystery of Space"
• 1972: Jerry E. Bishop for The Wall Street Journal, "Celestial Clue"
• 1971: Kenneth Weaver for National Geographic, "Voyage to the Planets"
• 1970: C.P. Gilmore for Popular Science, "Can We Stop Earthquakes from Happening"
• 1969: Walter S. Sullivan for The New York Times, "Flight of Apollo 8"
• 1968: William J. Perkinson for The Baltimore Sun, "ABM Primer: Physics for Defense"

Past Winners: Scientist

2011: Dan FalkScientific magazineCould Time End?

2009 - Dan FalkCOSMOS magazineEnd of Days: A Universe in Ruins

2008 - Gino SegreViking/PenguinFaust in Copenhagen

2007 - James TrefilAstronomy magazineWhere is the Universe Heading?

2006: Simon SinghHarper CollinsBig Bang

2005: Neil DeGrasse TysonNatural History MagazineIn the Beginning

2004: Len FisherArcade Publishing, Inc.How to Dunk a Doughnut: The Science of Everyday Lifewww.lenfisher.co.uk^[10]

2003: Ray JayawardhanaAstronomy MagazineBeyond Black

2002: Lawrence KraussLittle, Brown & Co

Honorable Mention: Ken CroswellThe Free PressThe Universe at Midnight

2001: Neil de Grasse Tyson, Charles Liu, and Robert IrionJoseph Henry PressOne Universe^[12]

2000: Charles H. TownesOxford University PressHow the Laser Happened

1999: John Wheeler and Kenneth Ford, W.W. Norton, Geons, Black Holes & Quantum Foam

1998: Leonard Susskind, Scientific American, Black Holes and the Information Paradox

1997: Award postponed until 1998

1996: Mitchell Begelman & Martin ReesW.H. Freeman & Co. Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe

1995: Eric ChaissonHarperCollins PublishingThe Hubble Wars

1994: Kip S. ThorneW.W. Norton & Company

1993: Hans C. von BaeyerRandom HouseTaming the Atom

1992: David C. CassidyW.H. Freeman & Co.

1991: Harold LewisW.W. Norton & Co.Technological Risk

1990: Bruce MurrayW.W. Norton & Co.Journey Into Space

1989: Mark LittmannJohn Wiley & SonsPlanets Beyond: Discovering the Outer Solar System

1988: Michael RiordanSimon & SchusterThe Hunting of the Quark

1987: Clifford Martin WillBasic BooksWas Einstein Right?

1986: Donald GoldsmithWalker and CompanyNemesis: The Death Star

1985: Edwin C. KruppMacmillan Publishing CompanyThe Comet and You

1984: George GreensteinFreundlich BooksFrozen Star

1983: Abraham PaisOxford University PressSubtle is the Lord...The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein

1982: Heinz PagelsSimon & SchusterThe Cosmic Code: Quantum Physics as the Language of Nature

1981: Eric ChaissonLittle, Brown & CompanyCosmic Dawn

1980:, W.H. Freeman & CompanyBlack Holes and Warped Spacetime

1979: Hans C. von BaeyerAlumni Gazette, College of William & MaryThe Wonder of Gravity

1978: Edwin C. KruppDoubleday & CompanyIn Search of Ancient Astronomies

1977: Steven WeinbergBasic Books, Inc.The First Three Minutes

1976: Jeremy BernsteinThe New YorkerPhysicist: I.I. Rabi

1975: Robert H. MarchScience YearThe Quandary Over Quarks

1974: Robert D. ChapmanNASA/Goddard Space Flight Center'Comet Kohoutek

1973: Banesh HoffmannViking Press

1972: Dietrich SchroeerAddison-WesleyPhysics & Its Fifth Dimension: Society

1971: Robert H. MarchMacGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.Physics for Poets

1970: Jeremy Bernstein(written for) Atomic Energy CommissionThe Elusive Neutrino

1969: Kip S. ThorneScience YearThe Death of a Star

Past Winners: Children's

2011: Vicki WittensteinBoyds Mills Press"Planet Hunter: Geoff Marcy and the Search for Other Earths"

2010: Gillian RichardsonAnnick Press Ltd."Kaboom! Explosions of All Kinds"

2009: Cora Lee and Gillian O'ReillyAnnick Press"The Great Number Rumble: A story of Math in Surprising Places"

2008: Alexandra Siy and Dennis KunkelCharlesbridge"SNEEZE!

2007: Jacob BerkowitzKids Can Press"Jurassic Poop"

2006: David Garrison, Shannon Hunt and Jude IsabellaKids Can Press"Fantastic Feats and Failures"

2005: Bea Uusma SchyffertChronicle Books"The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon"

2004: Marianne DysonNational Geographic"Home on the Moon: Living in the Space Frontier"^[14]

2003: Ron MillerTwenty-First Century Books, a Division of The Millbrook PressWorlds Beyond Series: Extrasolar Planets, The Sun, Jupiter, and Venus

2002: Fred BortzThe Millbrook PressTechno-Matter: The Materials Behind the Marvels

2001: Cynthia Pratt NicolsonKids Can PressExploring Space^[12]

2000: Jill Frankel HauserWilliamson PublishingScience Play!Gizmos & Gadgets

1999: Elaine ScottHyperion Books for ChildrenClose Encounters

1998: Barbara TaylorHenry Holt and CompanyEarth Explained

1997: Donald SilverSilver Burdett PressExtinction is Forever

1996: Steve TomecekW.H. Freeman and CompanyBouncing & Bending Light

1995: Sally Ride and Tam O'ShaughnessyCrown Publishers, Inc.The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space

1994: Wendy Baker, Andrew Haslam, and Alexandra ParsonsMacmillanMake it Work!

1993: Gail GibbonsHoliday HouseStargazers

1992: Gloria SkurzynskiBradbury PressAlmost The Real Thing

1991: Richard MaurerSimon & Schuster Inc.Airborne

1990: David MacaulayHoughton Mifflin CompanyThe Way Things Work

1989: Gail Kay HainesPutnam & GrossetMicromysteries

1988: Susan Kovacs Buxbaum, Rita Golden Graham, and Maryann Cocca-LefflerBasic BooksSplash! All About Baths

Past Winner: Broadcast Media

2009: Tom Shachtman and David DuganWindfall Films in collaboration with Meridian Productions and broadcast on WGBH/NOVA in association with TPT/Twin Cities Public Television"Absolute Zero"

2008: Julia CortWGBH/NOVA scienceNOW"Asteroid"

2007: Jim Handman, Pat Senson, and Bob McDonaldCBC Radio"Multiple Worlds, Parallel Universes"

2006: David KestenbaumNational Public Radio"Einstein's Miraculous Year: How Smart was Einstein?"

2005: Jon PalfremanWNET New York"Innovation: Light Speed"

2004: William S. Hammack"Public Radio Pieces" WILL-AM Radio2003: Jim Handman, Pat Senson, and Bob McDonaldCBC Radio"It's About Time"

2002: David KestenbaumNational Public Radio"Measuring Muons" (RealMedia file)

2001: Jon PalfremanWGBH- Frontline/NOVA"What's Up with the Weather?"^[12]

2000: Craig HeapsKTVU- TVTime & SpaceSpace Weather

1999: Dan FalkCBC RadioFrom Empedocles to Einstein

1998: Sandy Rathbun and Dave GreenleafKVOA-TVAsteroid: The Real Story

External links

• Science Communication Awards at AIP

Notes and References

1. Web site: Science Writing Award . American Institute of Physics . June 6, 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20130102171649/http://www.aip.org/aip/writing/. January 2, 2013 . dead.
2. Web site: 2020 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
3. Web site: 2019 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
4. Web site: 2019 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
5. Web site: 2018 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
6. Web site: 2017 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
7. Web site: 2016 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
8. Web site: 2015 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
9. Web site: 2014 Science Communication Award: Books . American Institute of Physics . 7 August 2021.
10. http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA504636.html Best Sci-Tech Books 2004: The Masters of Science Writing: 3/1/2005: Library Journal
11. http://niemanstoryboard.us/2007/02/13/a-cosmic-tale/ Diane Tennant, Virginian Pilot, "A Cosmic Tale", February 13, 2007. Retrieved May 28, 2011
12. https://web.archive.org/web/20040218201048/http://physicstoday.org/pt/vol-54/iss-12/p68a.html Physics Today December 2001
13. http://www.insidescience.org/isns/reports/2007/001.html Science Writer Awarded AIP Cultural Prize
14. http://www.agu.org/inside/honors.html#Sullivan AGU Honors