The Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing was established in 2012 to recognise excellence in Australian

science writing Science journalism conveys reporting about science to the public. The field typically involves interactions between scientists, journalists, and the public. Origins Modern science journalism dates back to '' Digdarshan'' (means showing the d ...

. The annual prize of A$7,000 is awarded to the best short non-fiction piece of science fiction with the aim of a general audience. Two runners up are awarded $1,500 each. The prize is named in honour of Australia's first

Nobel Laureates The Nobel Prizes ( sv, Nobelpriset, no, Nobelprisen) are awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, the Swedish Academy, the Karolinska Institutet, and the Norwegian Nobel Committee to individuals and organizations who make out ...

, father and son team

William Henry Bragg Sir William Henry Bragg (2 July 1862 – 12 March 1942) was an English physicist, chemist, mathematician, and active sportsman who uniquelyThis is still a unique accomplishment, because no other parent-child combination has yet shared a Nobel ...

and

William Lawrence Bragg Sir William Lawrence Bragg, (31 March 1890 – 1 July 1971) was an Australian-born British physicist and X-ray crystallography, X-ray crystallographer, discoverer (1912) of Bragg's law, Bragg's law of X-ray diffraction, which is basic for t ...

. The prize is supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund and the UNSW Faculty of Science. An associated anthology, ''The Best Australian Science Writing'' (NewSouth Publishing) collects the best of the year's science writing.

Winners

* The 2012 winner of the first prize was Jo Chandler, for her piece "Storm front", an excerpt from her book ''Feeling the Heat'' (MUP 2011). The runners up were Peter McAllister, for his article "The evolution of the inadequate modern male" in ''

Australasian Science ''Australasian Science'' was a bimonthly science magazine published in Australia and was the longest-running scientific publication in the country, from 1938 to 2019. It contained a mixture of news items, feature articles, and expert commentary. ...

'' and

Ashley Hay Ashley Hay (born 1971) is an Australian writer. She has won awards for both her nonfiction science writing and her novels. she is editor of the Griffith Review. Career Hay is the author of three novels, including ''The Railwayman's Wife'', ...

, for her feature article "The Aussie Mozzie Posse" in the '' Good Weekend'' * The 2013 winner of the first prize was Fred Watson, for his piece "Here come the ubernerds: Planets, Pluto and Prague" from his book ''Star-Craving Mad: Tales from a travelling astronomer'' (Allen & Unwin). The runners up were Gina Perry, for "Beyond the shock machine", an excerpt from ''Behind the Shock Machine: The untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments'' (Scribe) and Professor

Chris Turney Christian S. M. Turney is the Pro Vice-Chancellor for Research at the University of Technology Sydney. He was previously the Professor of Climate Change and Earth Science and Director of thEarth and Sustainability Science Research Centreand thC ...

for his piece "Martyrs to Gondwanaland: The cost of scientific exploration", an excerpt from his book ''1912: The year the world discovered Antarctica'' (Text Publishing) * The 2014 winner of the first prize was Jo Chandler, for her piece "TB and me: a medical souvenir" ('' The Global Mail''). The runners up were Frank Bowden, for "Eleven grams of trouble" ('' Inside Story'') and Peter Meredith, for "Weathering the storm" (''

Australian Geographic Australian Geographic is a media business that produces the ''Australian Geographic'' magazine, ''DMag'' magazine, specialist book titles, travel guides, diaries and calendars and online media. It published editions of the Australian Encyclopa ...

'') * The 2015 winner was Christine Kenneally, "The past may not make you feel better" (from ''The Invisible History of the Human Race'', Black Inc.) with runners up Idan Ben-Barak, "Why aren't we dead yet" (from ''Why Aren't We Dead Yet'', Scribe) and Trent Dalton, "Beating the odds" (''

The Weekend Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewat ...

'') * The 2016 winner was

, "The forest at the edge of time" ('' The Australian Book Review'') with runners up Susan Double, "Beautiful contrivances" (''Orchids Australia'') and Fiona McMillan, "Lucy's lullaby: Song for the Ages" * The 2017 winner was Alice Gordon, for "Trace Fossils: The silence of Ediacara, the shadow of uranium", first published in

Griffith Review ''Griffith Review'' is a quarterly publication featuring essays, reportage, memoir, fiction, poetry and artwork from established and emerging writers and artists. Each edition focuses on a contemporary theme, enabling pertinent issues to be aired ...

No. 55 - State of Hope. Runners up were Jo Chandler for "Grave Barrier Reef" and Elmo Keep for "The Pyramid at the end of the world". *The 2018 winner was

Andrew Leigh Andrew Keith Leigh (born 3 August 1972) is an Australian politician, author, lawyer and former professor of economics at the Australian National University. He currently serves as the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury. ...

, for "From bloodletting to placebo surgery", an excerpt from his book ''Randomistas: How Radical Researchers Changed Our World'' (Black Inc.). Runners up were Jo Chandler for "Amid fear and guns, polio finds a refuge" (''Undark'') and

Margaret Wertheim Margaret Wertheim (born 20 August 1958) is an Australian-born science writer, curator, and artist based in the United States. She is the author of books on the cultural history of physics, and has written about science, including for the ''New Yo ...

for "Radical dimensions" (''Aeon''). *The 2019 winner was Melissa Fyfe, for "Getting cliterate", a profile of clitoris researcher

Helen O'Connell (urologist) Helen E. O'Connell (born 3 April 1962) is an Australian professor of urology and a pioneer in the anatomical study of the clitoris. She is a leading researcher in the area of female pelvic anatomy and was the first woman to complete training as ...

, first published in the ''Good Weekend'' magazine. Runners up were Cameron Muir for "Ghost species and shadow places" (''Griffith Review'') and Jackson Ryan for "How CRISPR could save six billion chickens from the meat grinder" ''(CNET).'' *The 2020 winner was

Ceridwen Dovey Ceridwen Dovey (born 1980) is a South African and Australian social anthropologist and author. In 2009 she was named a 5 under 35 nominee by the National Book Foundation and in 2020 won The Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing. Early yea ...

, for "True Grit", first published in ''Wired''. Runners up were Ricky Finch for "The Case of the Missing Frogs" (''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatewa ...

'') and Konrad Marshall for "Jeepers Creepers" (''Good Weekend'' magazine). *The 2021 winner was Ceridwen Dovey, for "Everlasting free-fall", first published in the app, Alexander. *The 2022 winner was Lauren Fuge, for "Time travel and tipping points", first published in ''

Cosmos Magazine ''Cosmos'' (subtitled The Science of Everything) is a science magazine published in Adelaide, South Australia, by the Royal Institution of Australia that covers science globally. It appears four times a year in print as ''Cosmos Magazine'', an ...

''.

References

External links

Bragg Prize home pageWilliam Henry Bragg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bragg UNSW Press Prize for Science Writing, The Australian literary awards 2012 establishments in Australia University of New South Wales Australian science and technology awards