The DOE NNSA SSGF launched its annual essay contest in 2011 to give current and former fellows an opportunity to write about their work with a broad, non-technical audience in mind. Laboratory Residency Graduate Fellowship (LRGF) recipients were welcomed into the now-joint competition in 2019.
The contest, open to fellows and alumni, encourages better communication of stewardship science priorities and their value to society. Participants write brief essays on topics of personal interest, such as their career paths and inspiration or their research and its importance.
Winners
Winners are recognized at the DOE NNSA SSGF/LRGF Annual Program Review, receive a cash prize and are offered the opportunity to work with a professional science writer to critique and copy-edit their essays.
Each winning essay was published in the annual Stewardship Science publication. Click on any of the links below to access the excerpt or full text.
-
2025 — Derek Kuldinow: Building Invisible Traps
-
2024 — Sofia Gomez: From Play-Doh to Printed Polymers
-
2023 — Taylor Sloop: The Power of Pores
-
2022 — Olivia Pardo: Planetary Black Rocks
-
2021 — Sophia Farrell: Into the Darkness
-
2020 — No Winner
-
2019 — Erin Good: When Physics Becomes Art
-
2018 — No Winner
-
2017 — Benjamin Galloway: Laser Science is Not Mad Science
-
2016 — Mareena Robinson Snowden: Dark Room, Bright Ideas
-
2015 — Cameron Meyers: Silly Putty World
-
2014 — Juan Manfredi: Starstruck
-
2013 — Evan Davis: Bottling the Sun
-
2012 — Christopher Yang: A Plasma State of Mind
-
2011 — Stephanie Lyons: A Science Nerd Spreads the Word; Josh Renner: Aware of Our Surroundings