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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 early-career 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 have now closed. The winner will be announced in the autumn. About the award The Royal Society Kohn award for excellence in engaging the public with science is an annual award that seeks to - foster awareness in the scientific community, and in particular amongst early-career scientists, of the importance of undertaking public engagement with science activities. Early-career is defined for this award to mean those that are five to twenty years into their career.
- reward and recognise early-career scientists and science communicators who have undertaken high-quality public engagement with science activities, especially those that discuss with public audiences the impact of science in broader society, and the social and ethical aspects related to science, and those that take the form of dialogue, and those that connect with decision-making and governance of science-related issues.
- encourage early-career scientists and science communicators to adopt good practice in undertaking public engagement with science activities.
The selection criteria include the strategic impact of the recipient's work on institutions, organisations and cultures and the impact of the award on the future development of the recipient's career. The award consists of a silver gilt medal, a gift of £2500 and a grant of £7500 for science communication activities, and is awarded by the Royal Society with the generous support of the Kohn Foundation. Full details of the nomination process, award criteria and award requirements, including the use of the Grant, are listed in the Terms and Conditions. Most recent winner: Chris Smith  Dr Chris Smith, Clinical Lecturer and Specialist Registrar in virology at the University of Cambridge is the winner of the 2008 Royal Society Kohn award for his work engaging a diverse audience with science through his pioneering radio show, podcasts and website, "the Naked Scientists". His novel, informal approach stripping science down to the bare essentials has captured the imagination of the public, and provides a voice for scientists in the UK and abroad.
In recognising that there was a gap in the market for a science programme that would reach a non-scientific audience, Chris pioneered the Naked Scientists radio show while still a graduate student. Encouraging an enthusiastic team of physicians and researchers from Cambridge University to be involved in the programme, he now successfully manages to juggle his busy career working as a doctor and researcher with his science communication activities.
Each show includes a look at current scientific topics and their impact on society, interviews with high profile scientists and phone-in questions on science from the general public. To encourage debate and add a practical, visual part to the medium of radio, Chris has tested out new ideas such as the weekly kitchen science' experiments. Listeners can take part in simple home experiments alongside the broadcast and compete to be the first through on the phones with their findings and interpretations.
Dr Smith, on winning the award said:"It is an honour to receive the Royal Society Kohn Award as communicating science to the public is so crucial for our society. I enjoy every minute of working on the Naked Scientists radio show talking to scientists from all over the world and producing such diverse content for the show is fascinating.
"Above all, the letters and emails we receive every day from listeners all over the world really make the effort worth it because it's clear that our programmes are helping to enthuse young people about science, which is incredibly satisfying to see and exactly what we set out to do. I'm also proud to work with a terrific team of people without whom none of this would be possible." The Naked Scientists are based at Cambridge University, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EPSRC, and UKFast.net provide technical support. 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." Read more about Carolyn's work.
Selection process Candidates 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. Nominations for the 2009 award have now closed. The winner will be announced in the autumn. 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)
- 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
- Professor Kathy Sykes, University of Bristol
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