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I’d like to thank the academies…

By Ed Yong | October 14, 2010 11:00 am

One-week-in-America-and-I-f

For a few weeks now, I’ve been cryptically hinting at some good news and I can finally reveal what it is: I’ve won one of the 2010 National Academies Communication Awards.

These awards are jointly presented by the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. They consist for four $20,000 prizes (seriously) for “creative, original works that address issues and advances in science, engineering and/or medicine for the general public”, in the categories of book; magazine/newspaper; broadcast; and online. I won the online category for this blog (press release here).

I’m incredibly honoured, rather blown away and very humbled. Past winners have included Carl Zimmer, Neil Shubin, Andy Revkin and Steven Johnson, and I assume competition is fierce.

I also regard this as a decent victory for science blogs as a medium. Over the last year, I seem to have been stuck in a strange Groundhog Day where I’m destined to recursively defend the idea that blogs can be a worthy avenue for science journalism and communication. The fact that blogs can win competitions like this will, I hope, do good things for the medium’s credibility.

So, thanks to the judges and congratulations to the other winners. I’ll be picking up the prize at the awards ceremony in Washington D.C. next Friday, which I’m especially looking forward to because my wife gets to join me. For all the support that she provides, it’s only fitting.

These, by the way, are the six pieces that I entered for the competition (yes, it includes the duck sex post. Next year’s goal is to get knighted for the one about masturbating squirrels).

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Comments (52)

  1. Phil Plait

    WOW! Congrats! This is fantastic news, and well deserved.

    October 14, 2010 at 11:12 am
  2. Scicurious

    YAY!!! This is so awesome!! They could not have chosen better. :)

    October 14, 2010 at 11:23 am
  3. Anne Jefferson

    Congratulations, Ed, on an awesome award for a wonderful blog. Plus, now I can say that I know National Academies award winner. 😉

    October 14, 2010 at 11:25 am
  4. Peter Janiszewski

    Congrats Ed! Very well deserved, indeed. And a nice paycheck to boot:)

    October 14, 2010 at 11:30 am
  5. Emily Anthes

    Congratulations! What a great honor.

    October 14, 2010 at 11:37 am
  6. thingsbreak

    Congratulations. Incredibly well-deserved!

    October 14, 2010 at 11:40 am
  8. Coturnix

    Incredibly awesome!!!!! Congratulations!!!!!

    October 14, 2010 at 11:46 am
  9. Raven Yu

    Congratulations! :) Well deserved award.

    October 14, 2010 at 11:48 am
  10. Alexis Madrigal

    Congrats, Ed! Hope to see you in, DC. You can buy me a beer.

    October 14, 2010 at 11:49 am
  11. Andrew Maynard

    Congratulations – pity I’ll miss you, having escaped from DC!

    October 14, 2010 at 11:54 am
  12. Brian Switek

    Fantastic, Ed! Congratulations!

    October 14, 2010 at 12:00 pm
  14. Amos Zeeberg (Discover Web Editor)

    Nice! Impressed, proud, not surprised.

    October 14, 2010 at 12:15 pm
  15. Tracey Switek

    Wow, that’s amazing! Congratulations!

    October 14, 2010 at 12:17 pm
  16. CW

    Congrats! You’re one of my favorite science bloggers!

    October 14, 2010 at 12:17 pm
  17. Rhacodactylus

    Well deserved, you have one of my favorite blogs!

    ~Rhaco

    October 14, 2010 at 12:28 pm
  19. Walter S. Andriuzzi

    I read only a small proportion of the scientific blogs on the web, so to be “scientifically” honest I should say that I am not sure whether you deserve this award… But to be even more honest, I am SURE you do 😉

    October 14, 2010 at 12:53 pm
  20. arensb

    Alexis Madrigal had an idea simiilar to mine. Will there be a get-together with your readers, preferably in some venue suitable for dispelling any misconceptions you might have about the quality of American beer?

    October 14, 2010 at 12:59 pm
  22. Khalil A.

    Congrats Ed. Awesome. And quite a considerable amount of money in the bank 😛

    October 14, 2010 at 1:34 pm
  23. Zach Miller

    How wonderful is this? Congrats, Ed, I couldn’t think of a better recipient!

    October 14, 2010 at 1:52 pm
  24. Wim

    I’ve never heard of this award but it’s most certainly well deserved! In my opinion, your blog is the best science blog around. Congratulations!

    October 14, 2010 at 2:08 pm
  25. Berto

    You totally deserve it! Keep up the excellent work.

    October 14, 2010 at 3:00 pm
  26. "Shecky R."

    I think this means Discover now has to pay you more than Zimmer and Plait, right! 😉 Congrats!!
    (…now excuse me while I go read about squirrels).

    October 14, 2010 at 3:06 pm
  27. Old Geezer

    Congrats! If we want to have a beer with you will it have to be room temperature?

    October 14, 2010 at 4:10 pm
  28. William

    I’d almost forgotten about that ape tickling post… and the duck sex… good memories!

    Congrats on the award, very well deserved.

    October 14, 2010 at 5:27 pm
  29. Gary Schwitzer

    You deserve it.

    And, yes, you’ve shown that blogs can be a worthy avenue for science journalism and communication.

    However, you should be cautious about using the term “blown away” in the same post that links to items on “glowing bombs,” “electrical stimulation,” “sexual battles of ducks” and “scientists tickle apes.”

    October 14, 2010 at 5:38 pm
  30. Vicki Hyde

    Congratulations Ed — I don’t get to check out as many science blogs as I should, but it’s always fun and stimulating to read yours (I still shake my head in awe over those ducks — great conversation-stopping dinner subject!).

    October 14, 2010 at 5:54 pm
  31. Jason Goldman

    Awesome! Now I know why you were being all top-secret!

    October 14, 2010 at 7:07 pm
  32. Travis

    Wow, congrats!!! Been a longtime follower of your fantastic writing… congratulations on a well deserved award!!!

    October 14, 2010 at 9:24 pm
  34. zackoz

    Congratulations Ed, well merited.

    October 15, 2010 at 1:40 am
  37. Charles Sullivan

    You go, Eddie!

    October 15, 2010 at 3:39 am
  38. Nic O'Connor

    Huge congrats Ed, academy award winner. Awesome news, you are a proper ‘sleb now. We are awaiting beers on your return :-) x

    October 15, 2010 at 5:11 am
  39. Abi Brown

    Congratulations Edmundo! Don’t forget to come back soon! ;o)

    October 15, 2010 at 5:39 am
  40. Laura Bang

    That is so awesome! Congratulations!!

    October 15, 2010 at 9:36 am
  41. MattK

    Way to go Ed!

    October 15, 2010 at 12:56 pm
  42. Deborah Blum

    Congratulations. But even more, congratulations on such amazingly good work.

    October 15, 2010 at 2:55 pm
  43. Ed Yong

    Thanks for the congratulations everyone! I’ve been sitting on this news for a month now which is about long enough to get over the shock. For those who asked, I’m not in DC for that long and it’s sort of a hit-and-run job, collecting the award, seeing as much of the Smithsonian as I can, and then flying back. But we’ll see…

    October 15, 2010 at 6:12 pm
  44. Daniel J. Andrews

    Late to the show…sigh…but Excellent, Ed! Congratulations!! I’m still using the info from the duck sex post to awe and amaze various folks. Last time was just two weeks ago. That’s a post that just keeps on giving.

    October 17, 2010 at 12:17 am
  45. Captain Skellett

    Arr, a hearty congratulations! Have a mug o’ rum!

    October 17, 2010 at 12:45 am
  46. CK

    I only have time to regularly read a handful of blogs, but you have been on my shortlist from the beginning. It’s great to see your exceptional talent recognized so publicly. Well-deserved congratulations!!!!

    October 18, 2010 at 10:38 am
  47. Clertar

    Congrats man, it’s well deserved. Your blog is proper bo.

    October 18, 2010 at 10:54 pm
  48. yogi-one

    Duck sex rules!!!
    (Just Kidding!)
    You totally deserve it Ed. You are fantastic science writer. Keep up the great work!

    October 21, 2010 at 12:46 am
  49. Isis the Scientist

    Congrats, Ed. If anyone deserves this level of recognition, it’s you.

    October 21, 2010 at 11:00 am
  50. Jenny Morber

    As a long-time reader, I also offer congratulations on this well-deserved award. It was an honor to meet you Friday night.

    October 25, 2010 at 11:50 am
  51. Paul Knoepfler

    Congrats! Well deserved. I recently blogged a piece on why scientists in academia tend not to blog and why they should be advocates for their research and the patients who could be helped by it.

    http://www.ipscell.com/
    Paul

    October 26, 2010 at 6:39 pm
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