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SciComm Excellence

@scicommexcellence

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The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine's home for excellence in #scicomm.

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🏆 The 2026 @scicommexcellence awards are now open!

These $20,000 and $40,000 awards, given by @thenasem in partnership with @schmidtsciences, honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists who have developed creative, original work in 2025 that makes #STEM accessible and engaging for general audiences. In total, 24 awards will be given, totaling $640,000.

Deadline: April 3, 2026

Apply now and learn more at nationalacademies.org/awards/excellence-in-communication/for-applicants (or use the link in our bio).

#scicomm #sciencecommunication #sciencejournalism

Featuring @itsjanellie, @drvanessapirotta, @chem.thug, Jesse Nichols, @jeremysamuelfaust, Winnie Karanja, @golda.arthur, @rolliewilliams, @snkt_jain, and @earth.abloom discussing what receiving the award has meant for them. by @scicommexcellence

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8 months ago

Communicator and comedian Rollie Williams uses humor to make complex climate science approachable, engaging, and entertaining.

Through his YouTube channel Climate Town, Rollie takes deep dives into everything from methane and natural gas to the plastic in our clothing, using comedy and carefully researched storytelling to connect people with the science behind climate change and conservation.

🔗 Learn more about the Awards for Excellence in Science Communications and the inspiring work of past winners like Rollie at the link in our bio.

#ScienceCommunication #ClimateCommunication #ClimateTown #ClimateScience #ScienceStorytelling by @scicommexcellence

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15 days ago

Science and environmental journalist Iván Carrillo believes that science stories should reflect the perspectives, languages, research, and experiences of the communities they affect. 🌎 📝

He reports on environmental challenges across Latin America and believes in experiencing the places he covers firsthand: looking, listening, and understanding how science intersects with the realities of people, communities, and ecosystems.

By bringing Latin American stories to the forefront and building bridges across the region, Iván sees journalism as more than a way to share information, it’s also a force for transformation.

🔗 Learn more about the Awards for Excellence in Science Communications and the inspiring work of past winners like Iván at the link in our bio.

#ScienceCommunication #ScienceJournalism #EnvironmentalJournalism #ScienceStorytelling #LatinAmerica by @scicommexcellence

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a month ago

As students head #BackToSchool, these science communicators are reminding us that curiosity, questions, exploration, and even mistakes, are all part of learning about the world around us. 🎒🔬

From encouraging kids to listen closely to the world around them to creating stories that help everyone see themselves in science, these #SciComm award winners are helping young people discover that their curiosity has a place in STEM.

🔗 Learn more about the Awards for Excellence in Science Communications and watch more #STEM stories at the link in our bio.

#STEMEducation #ScienceForKids by @scicommexcellence

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a month ago

Ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes to bring science stories to life? 🔭

From fieldwork and podcast recordings to unexpected moments that shaped their work, the winners of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications are giving us a peek behind the curtain.

This time, we’re going behind-the-scenes with award winner Claire Lamman, a cosmologist and science communicator who finds creative ways to bring the wonder of astronomy to audiences here on Earth.

Take a sneak peek at Claire’s work #BTS:

1 – At the 4-meter Mayall Telescope on Kitt Peak, which Claire uses for her astronomical research.

2 – Behind the camera during a filming trip to Kitt Peak for 5000 Eyes: Mapping the Universe with DESI, a planetarium film about mapping our universe.

3 – In the recording booth narrating the film.

4 – A glimpse of what studying astrophysics looks like most days: working at her computer at the Center for Astrophysics at Harvard.

5 – And finally, introducing her cat, Phlox, to a gingerbread Voyager spacecraft that she baked.

#SciComm #Astronomy #Astrophysics #ScienceStorytelling by @scicommexcellence

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a month ago

Winnie Karanja is inspiring the next generation of scientists by making sure kids see themselves in STEM. 🔬✨

As the founder and CEO of Nakira’s World, Winnie uses animation and digital storytelling to spark early STEM literacy, curiosity, and confidence while helping children, especially girls and students of color, see themselves as explorers, problem-solvers, and creators.

As students head back to school, her work is a reminder of just how important those early experiences can be. By bringing science into the world kids already inhabit Winnie is making STEM engaging, relevant, and accessible from the very beginning.

🔗 Learn more about the Awards for Excellence in Science Communications and the inspiring work of past winners like Winnie at the link in our bio.

#ScienceCommunication #BackToSchool #STEMEducation #RepresentationInSTEM by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago

Ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes to bring science stories to life? 🔬

From fieldwork and podcast recordings to unexpected moments that shaped their work, the winners of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications are giving us a peek behind the curtain.

This time, we’re going behind-the-scenes with award winner Dr. Imari Walker-Franklin, a research scientist and science communicator studying microplastics. Her work brings research on plastics beyond the lab and into conversations about our environment and everyday lives.

Take a sneak peek at Imari’s work #BTS in the lab preparing microplastic extracts for chemical analysis, with PBS North Carolina for a documentary exploring plastics and microplastics with a copy of her book Plastics in view, sharing her research with fellow scientists at a scientific conference, talking about microplastics in our food and PFAS in our cookware on The Tamron Hall Show.

#ScienceCommunication #Microplastics #PlasticPollution by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago

Ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes to bring science stories to life? 🎥

From fieldwork and podcast recordings to unexpected moments that shaped their work, the winners of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications are giving us a peek behind the curtain.

This time, we’re going #BTS with award winner Eli Yetter-Bowman, a documentary filmmaker and science communicator whose work explores the intersection of science, health, environmental justice, and advocacy.

For nearly a decade, Eli and their team have been investigating PFAS contamination for GENX, a documentary project that began with contamination of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina and grew into a much larger story about forever chemicals, public health, and the communities working for change.

These photos take us behind the scenes with Laura Leigh Bransford, a North Carolina firefighter and health and safety advocate working to protect first responders from occupational exposures. Her advocacy has helped push local governments to fund cancer screenings for first responders and replace protective equipment containing toxic contaminants.

🎬 Want to see where the footage went? Watch Eli and the @ethereal__films team’s new short documentary, The War Against Firefighter Cancer, at the link in our bio.

#ScienceCommunication #DocumentaryFilm #PFAS #EnvironmentalHealth by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago

When scientists share not only what they know, but who they are, what they’re still learning, and even what they’ve gotten wrong, they can make science more relatable, accessible, and human.

By speaking to audiences with the same care they would bring to conversations with family, engaging openly with questions, and bringing their full selves to their work, these 2024 #SciComm award winners show how making science personal can help people connect with research, build understanding, and make people feel empowered by information.

Learn more about our #ScienceCommunication program and watch more #STEM videos at the link in @scicommexcellence’s bio.

#Curiosity #STEMeducation by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago

Joss Fong is a video journalist and producer specializing in science and technology explainers. 💬 ▶️

Through her YouTube channel, Howtown, co-produced with Adam Cole, she helps people understand how we know what we know.

By meeting people where they are and reimagining how science is communicated, Joss is building trust and sparking curiosity in a rapidly changing media landscape.

🔗 Learn more about our #scicomm awards and the inspiring work of past winners like Joss at the link in our bio.

#ScienceCommunication #ScienceYouTube #VideoJournalism by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago

Ever wondered what goes on behind-the-scenes to bring science stories to life? 🎤📸

From fieldwork and podcast recordings to unexpected moments that shaped their work, the winners of the National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications are giving us a peek behind the curtain. These awards, given by @thenasem in partnership with @schmidtsciences, honor exceptional science communicators, journalists, and research scientists.

This week we’re featuring Albert Oppong-Ansah, a Ghanaian journalist who covers the environment, science, and development. He is also an editor at the Ghana News Agency (GNA), where he leads the Environment, Science, Energy, and Agriculture desk.

Take a sneak peek at Albert’s work #BTS:

1 – Interviewing Mariama Isshaque, mother of Baba Hawa, featured in a story on air pollution sickening children and harming brain development.

2 – Joining a minibus, popularly called a “trotro”, to interview key people, including Godfred Addo, a bus conductor, and other commuters while developing and investigating a story on commuters’ exposure to vehicular air pollution

3 – Interacting with a pedestrian on the need to protect children from air pollution

4- Being briefed by the team at Afri-Set, based in the Physics Department at the University of Ghana, to use personal sensors to help gather and analyze data.

5 – Touring the area at Afri-Set where air quality sensors had been installed.

6 - Colleagues at the Ghana News Agency newsroom help me choose the most appropriate pictures for a story.

#EnvironmentalJournalism #Journalism #SciComm by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago

Science writer Nicola Twilley shows us how even ancient feces can be fascinating!

Nicola is an LA-based author and contributing writer at The New Yorker. She’s written two award-winning books and is co-host of the podcast, Gastropod, which looks at food through the lens of history and science.

She was a 2025 award winner of our #scicomm awards, which honor excellent science communicators, journalists, and research scientists.

Her recent piece for National Geographic, On the Trail of the World’s Best Mummy Sleuths, follows scientists from the Institute for Mummy Studies as they sample paleofeces more than 2,000 years old, excavated from the oldest continuously operating salt mine. We asked about her reporting and how it changed her perspective on humanity and the past.

You can read the full story and her Nat Geo article in @scicommexcellence’s bio.

#sciencecommunication #archeology #mummies #foodscience by @scicommexcellence

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2 months ago