The 2021 Rosalind Franklin Society (RFS) Awards in Science, recognizing outstanding published peer-reviewed research by women and underrepresented minorities in STEM, were released today. The anthology of award winners is available digitally on the Rosalind Franklin Society website as well as in print.
RFS, in partnership with Mary Ann Liebert Inc., launched this prestigious annual award for the best paper by a woman or under-represented minority in science in each of the publisher’s 100 peer-reviewed journals with the goal of highlighting the important contributions of these scientists and providing role models and mentors for younger scientists following in their footsteps.
“The 21st century in its first two decades has brought an overwhelming productivity in science, engineering and technology to our global society,” said Rita R. Colwell, PhD, President of the Rosalind Franklin Society, Director, National Science Foundation (1998–2004), Distinguished Professor, University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Chair and Founder, CosmosID. “What has been lacking, however, is the recognition of those who have contributed to these rapidly evolving human accomplishments—namely the underrecognized hence underappreciated scientists, engineers, physicians, and technical workers who are not white males, yet are making powerful discoveries and contributing to many interdisciplinary connections.”
Each winner receives $1,000 and their biography, alongside an abstract of their work, is featured in the anthology. The book is a remarkable compendium of research in science, engineering, and medicine that has been accomplished by outstanding investigators who, early in their careers, were not considered “real” scientists, engineers, or medical researchers because they did not fit the stereotypical scientist, engineer, or physician role.
For interview requests or to receive a copy of the anthology, please contact Kathryn Ryan at the publisher.
For more information about the Rosalind Franklin Society, visit the Society website.
The RFS Awards in Science 2021 was produced with generous support from Lyda Hill Philanthropies, the Rita Allen Foundation, and Mitzi Perdue.
About the Rosalind Franklin Society
The Rosalind Franklin Society is an honorific, interdisciplinary, and international society which recognizes, fosters, and advances the important contributions of women in the life sciences and affiliated disciplines. In so doing, the Society honors the under-recognized achievements of the late Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), a British x-ray crystallographer whose work producing x-ray images of DNA was crucial in the discovery of its structure by James Watson and Francis Crick. Franklin symbolizes progress for women in science but her accomplishments were not recognized during her lifetime, awarded posthumously, nor are they completely acknowledged today. To celebrate the life, work, and symbolic power of this remarkable heroine in science, the Society recognizes the work of outstanding women scientists, fosters greater opportunities for women in the sciences, and motivates and educates by examples young generations of women who have this calling.
About Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a leading independent publisher known worldwide for its prescience and establishment of authoritative peer-reviewed journals, books, and trade publications in cutting-edge fields such as biotechnology and regenerative medicine, biomedical research, medicine and surgery, public health research and policy, technology and engineering, law and policy, environmental research and policy, and other specialized disciplines. The company publishes more than 90 peer-reviewed journals, leading trade magazines, and specialized newsletters which make critical contributions in advancing research and facilitating collaboration throughout the world in academia, industry, and government.