NSF PR 01-08 (NSB 01-25) - January 30, 2001
Media contact:
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Dave Vannier
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dvannier@nsf.gov
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Program contact:
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Susan Fannoney
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sfannone@nsf.gov
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Author Dava Sobel Honored for Public Service
The National Science Board (NSB) has selected author
Dava Sobel to receive its 2001 individual Public Service
Award. The NSB honored Sobel for fostering awareness
of science and technology among broad segments of
the general public. Her latest work, Galileo's
Daughter, chronicles the scientist's life
through letters from his daughter and is currently
the best selling science book in the nation.
vDava Sobel's vivid and engaging writing about discovery
and discoverers has brought major events in the history
of science to life for a wide audience," says Eamon
Kelly, NSB Chairman. "Her work enhances the public's
understanding of the transforming role of science
in our lives."
Sobel is an award-winning writer and former New
York Times science reporter. Her articles on scientific
research and the history of science have been published
in Audubon, Discover, Life, The
New Yorker, and Harvard Magazine. She received
wide acclaim for her previous best seller, Longitude,
published in 1995. The story was made into a PBS television
documentary-"Lost at Sea: the Search for Longitude"--that
aired in 1998 and a made-for-television miniseries
on A&E. Galileo's Daughter is now
in development for a NOVA documentary as well as a
dramatic film.
The National Science Board is the governing body of
the National Science Foundation and policy advisor
to the President and Congress. The NSB annually recognizes
an individual and a group for their achievements in
increasing the public's understanding of scientific
discovery and innovation, as well as inspiring the
next generation of scientists and engineers. The individual
Public Service Award has been bestowed on Jane Goodall,
Stephen J. Gould, and Phillip and Phylis Morrison.
Sobel is the fourth recipient.
"She is a talented and graceful writer who engages
her readers to learn more about the way the world
works," says Michael Ambrosino, chair of the advisory
committee to the NSB Public Service Awards. "Sobel's
ability to humanize science and empower her audience
to continue asking questions deserves admiration and
praise."
Sobel has lectured at institutes worldwide, such as
the Folger Shakespeare Library, the Smithsonian Institution,
and the Royal Geographical Society. She is a graduate
of the State University of New York at Binghamton
and a Fellow of the American Geographical Society.
The award will be presented to Sobel at a ceremony
on May 23 at the Department of State in Washington
DC. The group winner of the NSB Public Service Award
will be announced in early May.
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