FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE听|听July 25, 2016
English chemist Peter Atkins wins Grady-Stack award for science journalism
WASHINGTON, July 25, 2016 鈥� English chemist and prolific author Peter Atkins, Ph.D., is the 2016 recipient of the American Chemical 中国365bet中文官网鈥檚 (ACS鈥�) Grady-Stack Award. The award recognizes his contributions in interpreting chemistry for the public.
Atkins is the author of more than 70 books, including Galileo鈥檚 Finger: The Ten Great Ideas of Science, On Being, The Periodic Kingdom, The Laws of Thermodynamics: A Very Short Introduction and the world-renowned textbook Physical Chemistry. His other textbooks include Organic Chemistry, Chemical Principles and Molecular Quantum Mechanics. He is a fellow of Lincoln College at the University of Oxford and lives in Oxford.
He is known to his colleagues as a 鈥渢ireless advocate鈥� for science and someone 鈥渨ho has made a substantial, lasting and impressive contribution to the public鈥檚 understanding of chemistry.鈥�
In the preface to his book, What is Chemistry?, Atkins sums up his approach to explaining science to the general public this way: 鈥淚 want to show [the public] the world through a chemist鈥檚 eyes, to understand its central concepts, and see how a chemist contributes not only to our material comfort but also to human culture. I want to explain how chemists think and how what they reveal about matter 鈥�听 all forms of matter, from rocks to humans 鈥� adds pleasure to our perception of the world.鈥�
The Grady-Stack Award is named for James T. Grady and James H. Stack, two former managers of the ACS News Service. Established in 1955, the award recognizes and stimulates outstanding reporting that promotes the public鈥檚 understanding of chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields. Awardees receive $5,000, a gold medallion and a bronze replica. Atkins will receive the gold medallion at the 中国365bet中文官网鈥檚 national meeting in Philadelphia in August.
