The winning article is entitled “Star-Swallowing Black Holes Reveal Secrets in Exotic Light Show” and appeared in Quanta Magazine on August 8, 2018. (https://www.quantamagazine.org/star-swallowing-black-holes-reveal-secrets-in-exotic-light-shows-20180808/)

Sokol is a freelance science journalist in Boston, where he covers astronomy and other topics in natural history. After receiving B.A. degrees in English Literature and Astronomy at Swarthmore College, he worked as a data analyst for the Hubble Space Telescope’s Advanced Camera for Surveys, then obtained a master’s degree from MIT’s graduate program in science writing. His stories have appeared in Quanta, Science, and The Atlantic, among other places.

The purpose of the Schramm Award is to recognize and stimulate distinguished writing on high-energy astrophysics in order to improve the general public’s understanding and appreciation of this exciting field of research.  

“I’m honored to get this news and to learn more about David Schramm’s legacy,” Sokol said. “High-energy astrophysics can unveil some of the most extreme, most interesting events in the universe, and that makes it especially exciting to write about.”

The award consists of a prize of $1,500 and a plaque containing a citation. The publisher of the winning work will receive a certificate honoring the publication in which the work appeared.  The award is sponsored by HEAD/AAS, which pays the winning author’s personal travel expenses so that the award can be received in person at the next HEAD meeting, which will be held March 17-21, 2019, in Monterey, CA (https://aas.org/meetings/head17). Any science writers who wish to attend the meeting may receive complimentary press registration. Please contact Megan Watzke for information.

David Schramm was a distinguished scientist who is widely regarded as the founder of the field of particle astrophysics, a discipline where cosmology and particle physics meet. High-energy astrophysics incorporates experimental and theoretical studies of high-energy photons and particles from the cosmos, including the disciplines of X-ray, gamma-ray and cosmic-ray astronomy.