The AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 2010, recognizes early-career scientists and engineers who demonstrate excellence in their contribution to public engagement with science activities. The recipient receives a monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque, and recognition at the AAAS Annual Meeting.
Visit the award nominations site from April 15 through June 30, 11:59PM ET, for more information about the nomination process and to nominate yourself or another scientist. Inquiries may be directed to public_engagement@aaas.org.
2022 Award Recipient: Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett
Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett is honored for her engagement about SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations and for her particular focus on underserved, higher risk Black communities. She is a model for how scientists, whose research touches upon important and timely social issues, can engage the public in effective and impactful ways.
As a postdoctoral researcher at the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Corbett was instrumental in developing the lifesaving Moderna mRNA vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the infection that leads to COVID-19. She also played a central role in the effort to address vaccine inquisitiveness in communities of color.
Finalists
• Alexandra Colón-Rodríguez, University of California, Davis
• Benjamin Rein, Stanford University
• James O'Donoghue, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
• John Cook, Monash Climate Change Communication Research Hub
Finalists are listed in no particular order
Past Recipients and Finalists
2021
Dr. Annette S. Lee is honored for her innovative and culturally responsive work creating long-lasting replicable approaches to engaging underserved populations about astronomy and for working collaboratively with native communities, educators, and museums to increase access and share best practices
Finalists
- Mayank Kejriwal, USC Information Sciences Institute
- Dorsa Amir, Boston College
- Elena Maria Blanco-Suarez, Salk Institute
- Bárbara Isabela Escobar Anleu, Jaguar Corridor Initiative
- Katherine L. Bouman, California Institute of Technology
- Natalie Exner Dean, University of Florida
- Elise S. Gornish, University of Arizona
Finalists are listed in no particular order
2020
Dr. John Drazan is honored for his creative and dedicated approach to creating long-lasting scalable approaches to directly engaging underserved populations about biology, engineering, and statistics and for working collaboratively to increase diversity in biomechanics research. Video.
Finalist
- Julie Maldonado, Associate Director for the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network (LiKEN)
2019
Monica Ramirez-Andreotta is honored for her innovative approach to engaging stakeholders in environmental contaminants research, collaboratively developing and implementing programs with affected underserved communities. Her commitment to social justice is shown by making her science responsive to audience concerns, being culturally relevant, and accessible.
Finalists
- David Hondula, Arizona State University
- Siddhartha Roy, Virginia Tech
- Jessica Wade, Imperial College London
2018
Johanna Varner is honored for infusing her public engagement with multi-directional dialogue, reaching diverse audiences, and empowering participants to join in the entire process of science. Johanna is an assistant professor of biology at Colorado Mesa University, where she teaches courses for both biology majors and non-majors and studies the response of small rabbit-relatives, called pikas, to environmental change. Varner’s primary public engagement is through citizen science engagement programs, which she views as an opportunity help volunteers appreciate the natural world, consider local consequences of climate change and participate in all aspects of science.
Finalists
- John Drazan, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
- Jacquelyn Gill, University of Maine
- Cameron Hummels, California Institute of Technology
- Daniel Swain, The University of California at Los Angeles
- Alice Williamson, The University of Sydney at Camperdown
2017
Due to a change in naming convention, there is not a 2017 award recipient.
2016
Suzi Gage is honored for her generous public engagement activities that center on evidence-based approaches with the potential to build long-term critical thinking skills in her audiences. Gage writes a science blog for the Guardian newspaper’s website, and frequently gives public lectures and talks. In 2016 she launched podcast “Say Why to Drugs” with rapper and actor Scroobius Pip, discussing the scientific evidence around the effects of recreational drugs, busting myths that exist around them, and discussing the harms but also potential benefits of the substances. Suzi completed her PhD at the University of Bristol in 2014, which used a large birth cohort to look at associations between cannabis and cigarette use, and psychosis and depression.
Finalists
- Elyse Aurbach, University of Michigan
- Paula Croxson, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
- Kenneth Hanson, Florida State University
- Johanna Varner, Colorado Mesa University
2015
Mark Rosin is honored for his broad range of creative and sustainable public engagement strategies that target audiences who may not be actively seeking science information. As director and co-founder of Guerilla Science, Rosin has reached over 15,000 people directly through events such as the Intergalactic Travel Bureau, multi-day events at math and art festivals, and a section of the first National Math Festival. His Fire Organ, which builds on the Rubens’ tube to visualize connections between math and music, has toured the United States, including visits to Maker Faire and Burning Man Festival. In addition to direct implementation, Rosin has trained over 100 scientists to engage public audiences.
Finalists
- Raychelle Burks, Doane College
- Kenneth Hanson, Florida State University
- Katherine Mack, University of Melbourne
- Michael VanElzakker, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital & Tufts University
2014
Shane Bergin is honored for his commitment and demonstrated impact to engaging the public in science through innovative methods that bring science into the daily lives of his local community. In particular, Bergin was recognized for spearheading a public-engagement campaign on Dublin's rapid-transit system (the DART) — an effort to generate interest in science and science careers. His "DARTofPhysics" project sought to change the perception of physics in Ireland by prompting commuters to ponder intriguing questions about physical phenomena. Though still at an early stage of his career, Bergin has developed many other educational and communication-focused activities, including the Trinity College Pitch Drop.
Finalists
- Donna-Mareè Cawthorn, Stellenbosch University
- Kevin Charles Fraser, University of Manitoba at Winnipeg
- Julie Godbout, Natural Resources Canada
- Gregory Goldsmith, Paul Scherrer Institute
- Ronald Hunter Jr., United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Adria LeBoeuf, University of Lausanne
- Katherine Mack, University of Melbourne
- Joana Alves Moscoso, Imperial College London
- Ernesto Schwartz-Marín, University of Durham
2013
Mary Helen Immordino-Yang is honored for her sustained commitment and novel approach to integrating public engagement with science into her extensive research and scholarly activities and for using public interactions to inform her research. She engages K-12 students in her neuroscience research through lab visits and internships for students from low-performing schools, and compliments her research by meeting with each study participant to discuss their brain scans, as well as their college plans and potential interest in a science career.
Finalists
- Shane Bergin, Trinity College Dublin
- Julia Gray, University of Kansas
- Rhys Phillips, EADS Innovation Works United Kingdom
- Amy Rowat, University of California at Los Angeles
2012
Baratunde Cola is honored for his commitment to an exceptional research career while sharing his passion for science and engineering by engaging in creative and collaborative outreach with teachers and students in underrepresented communities. He works with K-12 teachers to create broadly dispersed education materials in the fields of nanotechnology and energy conservation, from hands-on engineering competitions to nanotechnology-inspired art displays.
Finalists
- Nicole Garneau, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
- Amy Rowat, University of California at Los Angeles
2011
Daniel Colón-Ramos is passionate about contributing to the development of future scientists and has spoken broadly about his experience on the academic path to a research career, the importance of mentoring and role models in science education, and the need for an open dialogue between scientists and the general public. He is editor of a collection of short stories and essays about science written by Puerto Rican scientists and is currently piloting a project engaging K-12 students in learning and conveying, through podcasts of their own, the concepts taught in the book.
Finalists
- Maxwell Boykoff, University of Colorado
- Jonathan Butcher, Cornell University
- David Gruber, City University of New York & American Museum of Natual History
- Daniel Heller, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Robert Langer Group & Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Marie-Claire Shanahan, University of Alberta
- Bradley Voytek, Unviersity of California at San Francisco
- Albert Yu-Min Lin, University of California at San Diego & National Geographic Society Engineers for Exploration Program
2010
Lynford L. Goddard is honored as the first recipient of the AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science for exemplifying an early career scientist eager to share his excitement about science and demonstrating excellence in reaching high school students with activities in electrical engineering, while simultaneously pursuing a competitive research career.
Finalists
- Shahzeen Attari, Columbia University
- Yarrow Axford, Northwestern University
- Jonathan Butcher, Cornell University
- Nicole Garneau, Denver Museum of Nature and Science
- Maureen Gwinn, United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Lekelia Jenkins, University of Washington
- Lisa Kalteneggar, Max Planck Institute for Astronomy at Heidelberg & Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
- Sheril Kirshenbaum, University of Texas at Austin
- Jennifer Moon, University of Texas at Austin & Greenseedling.com
- Marc Russell, United States Environmental Protection Agency
- Sarah Trainor, University of Alaska at Fairbanks
- Josh Willis, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory