2025 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award Winners Named
by The Kavli Foundation
Peers select winners from around the globe
The Author
Winning entries to the 2025 AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards highlight the complexity of how science is done and utilized.
Independent panels of science journalists select the winners of the awards, which are administered by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and endowed by The Kavli Foundation. The global awards program drew entries from 67 countries this year and 55% of the more than 1,100 entries were from outside the United States.
Gold winners are noted below. See the AAAS website for the full list of winners. Awardees will be celebrated at the 2026 AAAS meeting.
Science Reporting – Large Outlet
Gold Award
Marina Fridman, Rolv Christian Topdahl, Stian Espeland, Ronald Fossåskaret, Thomas Ianke and Astrid Rommetveit
“The flames of Equinor”
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK)
August 26, 2024
Science Reporting – Small Outlet
Gold Award
Calli McMurray
“A scientific fraud. An investigation. A lab in recovery.”
The Transmitter
October 4, 2024
Science Reporting – In-Depth
Gold Award
Anna Louie Sussman
“What do We Owe This Cluster of Cells?”
The New York Times
March 25, 2025
“Should Human Life be Optimized?”
The New York Times
April 1, 2025
Are Embryos Property? Human Life? Neither?
The New York Times
April 8, 2025
Magazine
Gold Award
Max G. Levy
“The Hidden World of Electrostatic Ecology”
Quanta
September 30, 2024
Video
Spot News/Feature Reporting (20 minutes or less)
Gold Award
Llewellyn Smith, Kelly Thomson, Robert Kirwan and Chris Schmidt
“When Machines Prescribe”
PBS - NOVA
April 30, 2025
Video In-Depth Reporting (more than 20 minutes)
Gold Award
Gregor Čavlović, Derek Muller and Zoe Heron
“How One Company Secretly Poisoned The Planet”
Veritasium
May 14, 2025
Audio
Gold Award
Flora Lichtman, Annette Heist, Pajau Vangay and David Sanford
"The Leap" series on Science Friday | A production of the Hypothesis Fund
“I Was Considered A Nobody” May 12, 2025
“The Volcano Whisperer” May 19, 2025
“Garbage In, Garbage Out” June 16, 2025
Children’s Science News
Gold Award
Avery Elizabeth Hurt
“Are plants intelligent? It seems to depend on how you define it”
Science News Explores
November 21, 2024