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National Academies Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

For individuals who are working on the frontlines of science communication, science journalism, or practicing research, and who can demonstrate the potential or ability to develop high-quality, engaging science communications or reporting.

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National Academies Announce 2025 Winners of Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications; $640,000 Awarded

News Release

This year’s recipients of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications have been selected in recognition of their creative and original work in 2024 to communicate issues and advances in science, engineering, and medicine.

Oct 22, 2025
2025 recipients of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, and others, at a celebration in their honor on Nov. 14, 2025 (photo by Marion Meakem Photography)

From Illness to Impact: Turning Science into a Tool for Community Change

Feature Story

Elijah was a 2023 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications with a continued passion for documentary filmmaking, storytelling, public performance, scientific research, communication, impact campaigns, public engagement and restructuring a better society.

Dec 29, 2025

From Neutrinos to Narratives: An Interview with Katrina Miller

Feature Story

As a science reporter for the New York Times, Katrina Miller writes about the universe and how the pursuit of understanding it impacts society. Miller was a 2023 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.

Oct 2, 2025
Katrina Miller at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile
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News and updates

Showing 1–18 of 24 items
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Civic Science Media: Reimagining How We Communicate Science

Feature Story

A 2022 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, J.D. Allen discusses his civic science media framework, his nuclear energy broadcast initiative, and how incorporating community engagement and solutions-focused journalism improves science storytelling.

Jan 29, 2026

From Illness to Impact: Turning Science into a Tool for Community Change

Feature Story

Elijah was a 2023 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications with a continued passion for documentary filmmaking, storytelling, public performance, scientific research, communication, impact campaigns, public engagement and restructuring a better society.

Dec 29, 2025

National Academies Announce 2025 Winners of Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications; $640,000 Awarded

News Release

This year’s recipients of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications have been selected in recognition of their creative and original work in 2024 to communicate issues and advances in science, engineering, and medicine.

Oct 22, 2025

From Neutrinos to Narratives: An Interview with Katrina Miller

Feature Story

As a science reporter for the New York Times, Katrina Miller writes about the universe and how the pursuit of understanding it impacts society. Miller was a 2023 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.

Oct 2, 2025

Steven Strogatz Sees Hidden Unity in a World Full of Math

Feature Story

Cornell professor and researcher Steven Strogatz sees math everywhere. We asked Strogatz — a 2023 top award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications — about his love of math, where it shows up in his everyday life, and what sparked his efforts to communicate about it.

Aug 27, 2025

What Shapes What We Believe: Andy Luttrell on Opinion Science

Feature Story

What shapes what we believe? We spoke with social psychologist Andy Luttrell, a 2024 winner of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, about communicating social science, and what he’s learned from his podcast with over 100 episodes featuring interviews with social scientists and professional communicators about their work.

Aug 21, 2025

Science Communicator Sarah Goodwin Sparks Curiosity Through Film

Feature Story

Sarah Goodwin started the Science Communication Lab to create short and feature-length documentaries that demystify science through the power of film. A top award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications in 2023, Goodwin has worked with hundreds of scientists to share their stories.

Jul 16, 2025

Explaining the Brain: Scientist & Writer Grace Huckins Shares the Depth and Wonder of Our Minds

Feature Story

As a gifted science communicator, Grace Huckins — a lecturer at Stanford University and freelance science writer — recently won The Nine Dots Prize for their exceptional response to the question, “Is data failing us?” Huckins is also a 2024 top award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications.

Jun 18, 2025

Freelance Journalist Sofia Quaglia Tells Nature’s Untold Stories

Feature Story

Freelance journalist Sofia Quaglia, a 2023 award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, spoke to us about her experiences covering biodiversity, traveling the world, and telling nature’s untold stories.

Apr 28, 2025

Submission Period Now Open for the 2025 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications; $640,000 to Be Awarded

News Release

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2025 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, given by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in partnership with Schmidt Sciences.

Feb 28, 2025

Science in Everyday Life with Alex Dainis

Feature Story

A 2024 winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, Alex Dainis makes science approachable, accessible, and fun through videos that show science as not just a solution to big problems but also the most fun lens with which to view the world.

Jan 31, 2025

Celebration of 2024 Science Communication Award Recipients

Feature Story

The 2024 winners of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications gathered for a celebration of their outstanding achievements in transformative science storytelling.

Dec 18, 2024

Celebrating Native American Heritage Month with Cynthia-Lou Coleman

Feature Story

Cynthia-Lou Coleman is a professor of communications at Portland State University, and an enrolled tribal citizen and a descendant of Osage and Lakota peoples. She has served on the Awards for Excellence in Science Communication selection committee for the past three years. In celebration of Native American Heritage Month, we asked her about her work in science communication and bridging multiple knowledge systems.

Nov 25, 2024

National Academies Announce 2024 Recipients of Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications

News Release

The 2024 recipients of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications have been selected in recognition of their creative and original work communicating issues and advances in science, engineering, and medicine.

Oct 24, 2024

Involving LatinX Communities in Science Journalism: An Interview with Yvette Cabrera

Feature Story

We spoke with Yvette Cabrera about her experiences in science journalism and involving Latino communities in her storytelling. Cabrera has reported extensively on toxic lead contamination in Santa Ana neighborhoods and covers inequality in economic and social well-being with a focus on environmental justice issues.

Sep 30, 2024

From Cancer Research to Science Writing: Kristel Tjandra’s Science Communication Journey

Feature Story

Kristel Tjandra’s writing has appeared in Science, Drug Discovery News, and Live Science, among other outlets. But before pivoting into science journalism, Tjandra was a postdoctoral scholar in the emergency medicine department at Stanford. We asked Tjandra about her journey from chemist to journalist and her experiences since winning an Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications in 2022.

Jul 29, 2024

Celebrating Pride with Andrea Bandelli

Feature Story

In recent interview, we asked Andrea Bandelli, chairman and managing director of Woven Foundation for Creative Climate Communication, about his experiences with including LGBTQIA+ perspectives in science communication. Bandelli has also been a member of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications selection committee for the past three years.

Jun 25, 2024

Communicating the Effects of Climate Change with Britt Wray

Feature Story

Research scientist Britt Wray, who directs the special initiative Community-minded Interventions for Resilience, Climate Leadership, and Emotional well-being (CIRCLE) at Stanford Medicine, writes and speaks about climate change and mental health. A 2023 top award winner of the National Academies’ Eric and Wendy Schmidt Awards for Excellence in Science Communications, Wray discusses her experiences communicating about the mental health impacts of climate change.

May 7, 2024

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