Date: Jan. 29, 2007
Contacts: Maureen O'Leary, Director, Public Information
Sarah Morocco, Media Relations Assistant
Office of News and Public Information
202-334-2138; e-mail <commawards@nas.edu>
Call for Nominations for
2007 National Academies Communication Awards
WASHINGTON – On Feb. 1 the National Academies will begin accepting nominations for the 2007 National Academies Communication Awards for excellence in reporting and communicating science, engineering, and medicine to the public during 2006. Three $20,000 prizes will be awarded in three categories:
Nominations must be completed online no later than April 5, 2007. All supporting material must be postmarked by April 7, 2007. The winners will be honored at the National Academies’ Beckman Center in Irvine, Calif., during the Keck Futures Conference to be held Nov. 15-18, 2007. For information on eligibility, submission requirements, and nomination procedures, visit www.keckfutures.org/awards.
The winners of the Communication Awards will be selected by a panel of 10 judges:
· Don Kennedy (committee chair, and member, National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine) editor-in-chief, Science
· Barbara J. Culliton (member, Institute of Medicine) consulting editor, Health Affairs; journalist; former deputy editor, Nature; and former news editor, Science
· Deborah Blum, professor of journalism, University of Wisconsin, Madison
· David Clark, producer/director, David Clark Inc.
· Robert W. Lucky (member, National Academy of Engineering), retired corporate vice president, research
Telcordia Technologies Inc.
· Sherwin B. Nuland, MD, clinical professor of surgery, Yale School of Medicine; 1994 National Book Award Winner
· Joe Palca, science correspondent, National Public Radio
· Cristine Russell, fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University; and president, Council for the Advancement of Science Writing
· Curt Suplee, science writer and former science editor, The Washington Post
· Dan Vergano, science reporter, USA Today
The awards are one component of the National Academies Keck Futures Initiative, a far-reaching initiative designed to realize the untapped potential of interdisciplinary research. Funded by a $40 million grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, the initiative sponsors conferences to bring together outstanding scientists, engineers, and medical researchers to pose new questions and share ideas for interdisciplinary research and communication – among researchers in these fields as well as between researchers and the wider public. More information about the Futures Initiative can be found at www.keckfutures.org.
The National Academies comprise the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and the National Research Council. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under an 1863 congressional charter.
The W.M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 by the late W.M. Keck, founder of the Superior Oil Company. The Foundation's grantmaking is focused primarily on pioneering efforts in the areas of medical research, science, and engineering. The Foundation, based in Los Angeles, also maintains a Southern California Grant Program that provides support in the areas of civic and community services with a special emphasis on children.
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