Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

The National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications will encourage high-quality science communication and build a diverse community of science communicators, journalists, and research scientists that will help society meet the challenges and realize opportunities posed by complex issues such as climate change, future pandemics, human genome editing, artificial intelligence.

The National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications will encourage high-quality science communication and build a diverse community of science communicators, journalists, and research scientists that will help society meet the challenges and realize opportunities posed by complex issues such as climate change, future pandemics, human genome editing, artificial intelligence.

The program will confer 24 awards totaling $640,000. These awards will go to individuals who were working at the front lines of science communication or journalism who have developed creative, original work that addresses issues and advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine for the general public. Schmidt Futures will additionally partner with journalists and renowned journalistic institutions to create ongoing training and professional development opportunities for the talented communicators recognized through the awards program.

Submission Categories

Submissions are accepted from individuals who were working at the frontlines of science communication or journalism in 2022 in eight subcategories:

• Freelance Journalist
  Developed content for media organizations and were self employed.
  
• Early-Career Journalist
  Were under 30 years of age or had less than 5 years of professional experience developing content for media organizations.
  
• Community Journalist
  Developed content for media organizations that:
  • Report local and/or community-specific issues.
  • Report the effects of wider issues on a locality or community.

• Independent Communicator
  Addressed issues or advances in science, engineering, or medical fields and were self-employed.
   
• Organizational Communicator
  Addressed issues or advances in science, engineering, or medical fields and were employed by an organization.

• Graduate Student Researcher
  Were Master’s or PhD candidates in science, engineering, or medical fields.
   
• Early-Career Researcher
  Were practicing researchers in science, engineering, or medical fields and were 0-5 years post-Master’s or PhD.
   
• Later Career Researcher
  Were practicing researchers in science, engineering, or medical fields and were 6+ years post-Master’s or PhD.

Eligibility Criteria & Submission Guidelines

The application incorporates ways of looking at the individual* holistically through narrative responses and work examples. Both the narrative components of the submission and the work example(s) provided will be included in the evaluation. Reviewers are not only looking at what an applicant has done, but also their commitment to continuing work in the field of science communication and/or journalism.

*We recognize the importance of teamwork to many science communication and journalism endeavors; however, these awards are for individuals who are on the frontlines of science communication or journalism, and who are in career stages or settings where recognition could have a significant impact on their future career trajectory.

About You

• You are encouraged to apply if you work in one of the categories described above, and you:
• Can articulate what motivates you to create work(s) that improve the public’s interest, appreciation, or understanding of science, engineering, or medicine, and their impact on society.
• Have a passion for science communication or journalism and can tell us how you got here and where you are headed.
• Have at least one outstanding example of science communication or journalism that demonstrates your potential or ability to communicate the issues, beauty, societal benefits, complexities, shortcomings, and/or controversies of science, engineering, and/or medicine.
• Can set forth a compelling case for what this award would mean to you.

In addition, you will be asked to submit at least one – and no more than three – outstanding example(s) that clearly support the subcategory to which you are applying, and:

• communicate scientific, engineering, and medical concepts to non-technical audiences
• demonstrate clarity, creativity, originality, and accuracy
• address issues and/or advances in science, engineering, and/or medicine
• cover topics that have an impact on society
• are accessible to a broad public audience
• have been published or released anytime in 2022

A broad range of science communications and journalism are encouraged – from magazine/newspaper articles, documentaries, TV and radio segments to podcasts, newsletters, social media outreach, mixed media works and installations, and public talks.  

Science fiction, reference books, textbooks, peer-reviewed articles, testimony, advertorials, and/or branded corporate content are not eligible for consideration.  Previous winners of this award, National Academies and Schmidt Futures employees, and committee and jury members are not eligible, and posthumous awards are not permitted. This award is not for lifetime achievement.

Ready to Apply?

Given the breadth of this award program – and the volume of submissions – you are encouraged to be selective about the work(s) provided – focusing on the best examples – and include links, uploads, and notes that direct reviewers to a starting point. Mapping out a starting point is especially important with long-form media such as books (pages or chapters), documentaries (beginning/ending timestamps), podcasts (specific episodes), and social media feeds (specific threads or posts), for example.

Entries must be submitted through the online submission form in the category that most closely fits the submitter’s background by May 5, 2023. Works and applications translated into English are welcome. One submitted application per individual. There is no submission fee.