Newspaper science editor wins top chemistry reporting award

David Perlman, the award-winning science editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, will be honored April 3 by the world's largest scientific society for his noteworthy contributions to increased public understanding of chemistry. He will receive the 2001 James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public from the American Chemical Society at its 221st national meeting in San Diego.

A reporter and editor at the Chronicle for nearly 50 years, Perlman has been covering science and technology at the newspaper for most of that time. In the course of his work, he has tracked historic developments ranging from early genetic research to recent advances in nanotechnology. His topic coverage is as varied as AIDS, earthquakes, cosmology and biomedical research.

Perlman also writes frequently about policy issues involving health care, the environment, nuclear energy and arms control. His lifetime of work and dedication to the field of science writing has allowed millions to gain a greater understanding and appreciation of the role of science, particularly chemistry, in shaping everyday life. During his career, Perlman has trained and mentored many science journalists.

Born in 1919 and educated at Columbia University in New York City, Perlman edited the university's daily newspaper. He began his long and distinguished journalism career as a foreign correspondent in Europe following World War II, later becoming a political writer for newspapers and magazines.

While working as a newspaper reporter, Perlman was drawn into science writing quite by chance. Recuperating after a ski accident, he reluctantly began to read an astronomy book given him by a friend. To his surprise, he found himself hooked on science, an enthusiasm he now skillfully shares with others.

Longtime colleague, reporter Charles Petit, of U.S. News & World Report, has noted of Perlman: "Science at a newspaper can mean any story with words ending in -ology or -itis; or simply having more syllables than editors like to see. Dave does them all deftly, against deadlines imposed by breaking news, and with delight and wonder over the splendors of nature."

Perlman has won major journalism awards from numerous organizations, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, the Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers (NASW), of which he is a past president. He is a member of Sigma Xi (a distinguished scientific honor society), a Fellow of the California Academy of Sciences and an Honorary Fellow of the American Medical Writers Association.

He currently resides in San Francisco with his wife, Anne, a poet and former Chronicle reporter.

Perlman will be honored at an awards banquet on April 3 at the Society's national meeting in San Diego. The award includes $3,000, a gold medal and a certificate honoring his achievements.

Past Grady-Stack winners include last year's winner, environmental writer Jeff Wheelwright, National Public Radio Correspondent Joseph Palca, Don Herbert ("Mr. Wizard"), Malcolm Browne of The New York Times, and the late Walter Sullivan, also of the Times.

Established by the ACS in 1955, the Grady-Stack Award is designed "to recognize, encourage and stimulate outstanding reporting, which materially increases the public's knowledge and understanding of chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields."