AAS Nova ( http://aasnova.org), a 10-month-old website featuring research highlights from the Astronomical Journal (AJ) and the Astrophysical Journal (ApJ) family, won “Best Health / Education News Site” at the Drum Online Media Awards ( http://www.onlinemediaawards.net) on Tuesday, June 7th. AAS Nova is a joint project of the American Astronomical Society (AAS) and the Institute of Physics (IOP) Publishing, which partner to produce the AJ and the ApJ, ApJ Letters (ApJL), and ApJ Supplement Series (ApJS).
The AAS Nova site, developed from idea to reality in less than six months, provides a curation service to the astronomical community, highlighting breakthroughs and discoveries that busy researchers might otherwise overlook, especially outside their immediate area of expertise. The judges at Drum Online said, “It provides insight from an amazing source.”
“It is a great honor to receive this recognition,” says Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer of the AAS in Washington, DC. “We have an awesome team working on bringing cutting-edge results from our journals to a wide audience, including researchers, students, and the interested public. AAS Nova is a shining example of the AAS achieving its mission to enhance and share humanity’s scientific understanding of the universe.”
“We are extremely pleased to see our publishing partner, the AAS, deservedly acknowledged for a venture that demonstrates the value of publishing with purpose,” adds Jamie Hutchins, Publishing Director of IOP Publishing in Bristol, UK. “When we seek to serve the needs of our communities, great things happen. Good collaboration is at the heart of this success, and IOP Publishing is glad to be able to lend the expertise of its science-journalism and technology teams to assist the AAS in achieving their vision for this project.”
The Drum Online Media Awards identify the cleverest, boldest, and most original purveyors of news and views from around the world. The AAS and IOP Publishing join a roll-call of winners including the likes of BBC News Online, The Guardian, The Economist, and Bloomberg.
