In addition to his science communication efforts, Michael E. Mann continues to conduct research and has authored more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications. | Neil Orman/AAAS
Pennsylvania State University professor and climate scientist Michael E. Mann has been selected to receive the 2018 AAAS Public Engagement with Science Award. The honor recognizes Mann’s “tireless efforts to communicate the science of climate change to the media, public and policymakers.”
In the past year, Mann has had 500 media interviews and appearances and directly reached public audiences via social media. His op-eds and commentaries have been published in dozens of outlets, including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde, CNN and The New York Times. He has also advised actor Leonardo DiCaprio, who spoke about climate change during a 2014 speech delivered to the United Nations.
Mann was nominated by Susan Hassol, director of Climate Communication, a nonprofit science and outreach project. In her nomination letter, Hassol wrote that in one year, “Mann has done more to engage with the public on science than most active scientist-communicators do in an entire career.”
“There is no scientist reaching greater numbers of people with such depth of communication as Michael Mann,” Hassol wrote.
Mann has used a variety of media to communicate about the effects of climate change, including the 2017 publication of his third book, The Madhouse Effect. For this effort, he teamed up with Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist Tom Toles to explore public perception of climate change. “[Mann’s] understanding of how to combine humor, art and science for effective outreach is part of what makes him such an effective communicator,” wrote Hassol.
He was also a featured speaker during the 2017 March for Science in Washington, DC, and has testified before Congress. In addition to outreach efforts, Mann continues to conduct and publish research. He is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed and edited publications and serves as director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University.
In 2017, Mann was recognized with the Schneider Award from ClimateOne and the National Association of Geoscience Teachers’ James H. Shea Award. He was also inducted into the Green Industry Hall of Fame. He was elected a AAAS fellow in 2015.
Mann earned a bachelor of arts degree in physics and applied mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley and a master of science degree, as well as two master of philosophy degrees, at Yale University. He completed his Ph.D. at Yale University in 1998.
The AAAS Award for Public Engagement with Science, established in 1987, recognizes scientists and engineers who make outstanding contributions to the “popularization of science.” The award conveys a monetary prize of $5,000, a commemorative plaque and complimentary registration and travel to the AAAS Annual Meeting.
The award will be bestowed upon Mann during the 184th AAAS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas on Feb. 17, 2018.
[Associated image: Michael E. Mann]