Educator JD Allen’s Climate Change Podcast Wins National Academy of Science and Engineering Award |

Stony Brook, New York—November 1, 2022— JD Allen, Lecturer in the School of Communication Journalism (SoCJ) at Stony Brook University and Editor-in-Chief of WSHU, said: of Eric and Wendy Schmidt Excellence in Science Communication Award From the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

The award is for the first season of Allen’s ongoing podcast on climate change. high place, Produced for WSHU, a Long Island National Public Radio affiliate. The award is included in the “Best Scientific Reporting at Local/Regional Level” category.

Stony Brook University President Morley McInnis said: “This honor is an important achievement for our School of Communication and Journalism, a victory for the wider dissemination of climate change communication, and nothing could be more significant at this time. School of Communication and Journalism , School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, and WSHU, we are delighted that Stony Brook’s collaborative approach to science and science communication across WSHU has received this well-deserved recognition.Congratulations to all.”

A series produced with the support of Kavli Foundation and the Alan Alda Center for Communication Science, 2016 Stony Brook Alumni Allen and co-host/producer Sabrina Garrone discuss some of the many ways climate change is impacting people and places across Long Island, and how communities can adapt and mitigate. , and how we are working to respond. crisis.

“Science is involved in many of the world’s most pressing problems, including climate change, but science alone is not enough to create solutions. Effective science communication and engagement are what we need. It is essential for creating powerful solutions that are relevant,” said Laura Lindenfeld, Dean of Communications and Journalism and Executive Director of the Alan Alda Center for Communication Science. “Her J.D.’s efforts to shed light on Long Island community efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change demonstrate the importance of effective science communication and solution-oriented storytelling in this struggle. I am very proud of this work and what JD has done.”

The Schmidt Prize honors journalists and researchers in a variety of fields and career stages, presenting 12 awards in three categories that highlight their efforts to communicate science in society. Sponsored by Eric and Wendy Schmidt’s charity, Schmidt Futures, the award will award winners with a total prize pool of $600,000. In addition, WSHU will receive a prize of $20,000.

first season of high place Among other topics, problems with the Long Island power grid in the event of another superstorm, the impact of bee die-off on local agriculture, and the social complexities of which populations will be most affected by climate change. It included episodes such as Experts from the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences at Stony Brook participated. Associate Professor Leslie Thorne and PhD student Kimberly Lato.

The podcast was produced with the help of several Stony Brook University student interns, Kelly Hills-Muckey, then a graduate student in genetics and science communication, and associate producer along with journalism major Sara Ruberg ’22. Josh Joseph, who also graduated with a journalism degree in 2022, produced the graphics for the first season and is working on the second season. WSHU’s Long Island bureau is located on Stoney’s Brooks’ campus and frequently offers internships to SoCJ students.

WSHU is released Higher Grounds second season Backed by Sesame Workshop. The new season heads across the Long Island Sound to Bridgeport, Connecticut, to examine climate change through the eyes of her eighth grader in the city.

Podcasts are a powerful example of solution journalism, an approach to reporting focused on identifying and highlighting efforts to solve society’s problems rather than simply pointing out problems. Solution journalism is a core part of SoCJ’s undergraduate and graduate journalism programs, and the school was recently designated the first of his four hub institutions in the Solution Journalism Network. Dael also said WSHU is moving toward more fully incorporating a solution-based approach to news reporting.

high place Was supported by the Kavli Foundation, through the Alan Alda Center for Communication Science.

The award is the second national recognition SoCJ has received, following the 2021 Mallow Awards. A Report on the History of Long Island Slavery.

About Stony Brook University

Stony Brook University — New York’s flagship university and #1 public university — far exceeds expectations of today’s public universities. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. With nearly 26,000 students, more than 2,800 faculty members, more than 200,000 alumni, premier academic health centers, and 18 NCAA Division I athletic programs, Stony Brook is dedicated to tackling the world’s greatest challenges, research A centralized innovation center of excellence. The university embraces its mission to provide comprehensive undergraduate, graduate, and professional education of the highest quality and is ranked among the top 35 public universities by Forbes and nationally recognized by U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges list. ranked as one of the top 100 universities in Promoting a commitment to academic research and intellectual endeavor, Stoney Brook ranks among the top 65 research institutions in North America as a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU). The university’s distinguished faculty have won such well-respected awards as the Nobel Prize, the Pulitzer Prize, the Indianapolis Prize for Animal Conservation, the Abel Prize, and the first Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics. Stony Brook is responsible for co-managing the US Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. It is one of eight universities involved in the operation of national laboratories. Bringing economic growth to neighboring communities and the wider geographic area, the university has delivered an impressive total of $7.23 billion in increased economic output on Long Island. Follow us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/stonybrooku/) and Twitter (@stonybrooku).