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 a brief essay on a topic of personal interest, such as their career path and inspiration or their research and its importance.
Winners
Winners are recognized at the DOE NNSA SSGF/LRGF Annual Program Review and receive a cash prize, plus 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.
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2024 — Sofia Gomez: From Play-Doh to Printed Polymers
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2023 — Taylor Sloop: The Power of Pores
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2022 — Olivia Pardo: Planetary Black Rocks
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2021 — Sophia Farrell: Into the Darkness
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2020 — No Winner
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2019 — Erin Good: When Physics Becomes Art
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2018 — No Winner
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2017 — Benjamin Galloway: Laser Science is Not Mad Science
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2016 — Mareena Robinson Snowden: Dark Room, Bright Ideas
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2015 — Cameron Meyers: Silly Putty World
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2014 — Juan Manfredi: Starstruck
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2013 — Evan Davis: Bottling the Sun
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2012 — Christopher Yang: A Plasma State of Mind
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2011 — Stephanie Lyons: A Science Nerd Spreads the Word; Josh Renner: Aware of Our Surroundings