A Secretive Group of Science Advisors,
Physicists at the Dawn of Nazi Germany,
Vigilance Against a Potential Asteroid Disaster,
And the Microscopic Things that make Children Sneeze,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, please contact:
Jason Socrates Bardi (American Institute of Physics)
301.209.3091, jbardi@aip.org
College Park, MD, February 24, 2009 -- The American Institute of Physics (AIP) announced the winners of its 2008 Science Writing Awards today. The winners -- two scientists, a journalist, a children's book author, and a public television producer -- will receive four prizes of $3,000, engraved Windsor chairs, and certificates of recognition.
"These outstanding science communicators have each improved the general public's appreciation of physics, astronomy, and related sciences through their wonderfully creative endeavors," says Catherine O'Riordan, AIP Vice President, Physics Resources. "We are pleased to be able to recognize such excellent work."
The winners and their award-winning pieces are:
Ann Finkbeiner, a freelance journalist and writing professor at Johns Hopkins University, has won the 2008 AIP Science Writing Award in the Journalist category for her book, "The Jasons" (Viking/Penguin, 2006). It profiles a secretive group of some of the country’s smartest scientists who have met every summer for the last 45 years to work on mostly classified problems for the U.S. government.
Gino Segre, an author and emeritus physics professor at the University of Pennsylvania has won the 2008 AIP Science Writing Award in the Scientist category for his book "Faust in Copenhagen" (Viking/Penguin, 2007). This book is about a meeting in April 1932 where some thirty of the world’s leading theorists discussed all the great physics problems of the day then concluded the gathering with parody of Goethe’s "Faust."
Julia Cort, an Emmy-award winning senior producer for "NOVA" and "NOVA scienceNOW" (produced out of WGBH, Boston), is the winner of the 2008 AIP Science Writing Award in the Broadcast category for her production "NOVA scienceNOW: Asteroid," which poses the question: will a doomsday rock the size of the Rose Bowl hit Earth in 2036? It aired on PBS stations across the country in 2006-2007.
Alexandra Siy and Dennis Kunkel have won the 2008 AIP Science Writing Award in the Children's category for their book "SNEEZE!" (Charlesbridge, 2007). Siy is a photographer and children's book author in upstate New York and Kunkel is a scientist in Hawaii who specializes in imaging the invisible microscopic world. Combining Siy's photographs and prose with Kunkel's electron micrographs of pollen, mold, dander, mites, and other invisible irritants, "SNEEZE!" is about nine kids discovering nine different reasons for sneezing.
The purpose of the AIP Science Writing Awards is 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. For more information, please contact: Jason Bardi or visit the AIP website.
About AIP
The American Institute of Physics (AIP) is a not-for-profit organization chartered in 1931 for the purpose of promoting the advancement and diffusion of the knowledge of physics and its application to human welfare. It is the mission of the Institute to serve physics, astronomy, and related fields of science and technology by serving its ten Member Societies and their associates, individual scientists, educators, R&D leaders, and the general public with programs, services and publications.
| 
|
