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Royal Society Kohn Award for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science

The Royal Society Kohn Award for Excellence in Engaging the Public with Science is for UK-based scientists or science communicators who have undertaken high-quality public engagement activities which has had (or will have) a strategic impact on institutions, organisations and cultures, and whose career and future public engagement activities will benefit from the award.

Nominations for the 2009 award will be accepted in late 2008. The announcement of the winner of the 2008 Royal Society Kohn Award will be made in Summer 2008.

About the award

The Royal Society Kohn award for excellence in engaging the public with science is an annual award to reward UK-practising scientists or science communicators in their engagement with society in matters of science and its societal dimension.

The societal dimension of science includes, but is not limited to the social and ethical aspects related to the science. The selection criteria include the strategic impact of their work on institutions, organisations and cultures and the impact of the award on the future development of the recipient's career.

Preference will be given to engagement that takes the form of dialogue, where the views and opinions of the public are respected and reflected upon.

The award consists of a silver gilt medal, a gift of £2500 and a grant of £7500 for science communication activities, and has been created by the Royal Society with the generous support of the Kohn Foundation.

Previous winners

• 2005 winner Colin Pulham with Lord May and Ralph Kohn

  2005: Colin Pulham, a chemist at the University of Edinburgh, who set up and championed in his department a programme of school and community workshops on chemistry that toured through local communities in Scotland. The department now has an active programme of science communication activities involving staff at all levels. Read more about Colin's work and the impact of the award.   
• 2006: Kathy Sykes, at the University of Bristol, for leading a programme to encourage the University of Bristol to become "the engaged university" - encouraging and enabling scientists to participate in engagement activities. Read more about Kathy's work.
• 2007: Carolyn Stephens, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, for creating and championing a programme of work experience and summer schools. LSHTM's director Andy Haines, commented "She's persuaded many, including me, to consider community and public engagement as a fundamental part of our scientific institution's role."

Most recent winner: Carolyn Stephens

The 2007 Kohn Award was presented on 30 November 2007 to Dr Carolyn Stephens from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) for a programme of work experience and summer schools. She started these in 2000 in response to requests from young people at a Barking and Dagenham youth club who heard her talk about her work. Today over 300 disadvantaged teenagers from across London have had the opportunity to develop and undertake their own scientific research at the LSHTM.

The young people have undertaken projects looking at questions such as, "Why can't people in less economically developed countries get as easy access to vaccines as people in more economically developed countries?", "Will global warming affect malaria worldwide?" and "If we're all so rich, why are we all so unhappy?". Some of them have travelled with Carolyn to international conferences and visited her research sites in developing countries.

Dr Carolyn Stephens said: "I'm very proud of these young people. They brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to their work.  Five out of the ten original participants have gone on to study medicine and health related courses and others are now following. They have all had their horizons broadened because of their work with us, experiencing what it's like to be an international health scientist even down to quizzing UN scientists." 

Carolyn Stephens with President, Martin Rees and Dr Ralph Kohn

Professor Andy Haines, Director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said: "Culturally Carolyn's work has changed the LSHTM. We have gone from a post-graduate institution that had no teenagers coming through our doors to a situation where they regularly present seminars, work with us and challenge our ideas. She's persuaded many, including me, to consider community and public engagement as a fundamental part of our scientific institution's role."

Carolyn is a Senior Lecturer in International Environmental Health at LSHTM, and a Visiting Full Professor in the Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, in Argentina.  She works with indigenous peoples and in low income urban settlements on the links between environment, poverty and health in developing countries, and supports the same science engagement work with young people in Argentina, Brazil, India and Nigeria.

Selection process

Nominees are able to nominate themselves, or be nominated by other people.

Nominations will be assessed by a selection panel on criteria including the quality of the nominee's engagement activities and the current or perceived future impact of their work.

Selection panel

The selection panel advises the Council of the Royal Society on who would be the most suitable candidate for the Award, and consists of:

• Professor Uta Frith FRS (Chair) 
• Professor Jacquie Burgess, UEA
• Dr Jason Chilvers, University of Birmingham
• Professor Marcus du Sautoy, University of Oxford 
• Dr Ralph Kohn FRS, The Kohn Foundation
• Ms Clare Matterson, Wellcome Trust