Science Studies Book Award Honorees: A Legacy of Scholarly Excellence
The Science Studies Book Award recognizes outstanding scholarly contributions that analyze the intersection of science, technology, and society. By honoring works that critique the production of knowledge and the social frameworks surrounding scientific practice, this award highlights the critical role of Science and Technology Studies (STS)—an interdisciplinary field that examines how social, political, and cultural values affect scientific research and technological innovation.
Over the past nearly three decades, the award has spanned a diverse array of topics, from the sociology of disaster and environmental justice to the politics of medicine and the ethics of biotechnology. These works provide essential insights into how expertise is constructed and how scientific authority operates in the public sphere.
Key Facts
- Duration: The award has been presented annually since 1998.
- Scope: Honored works cover diverse fields including nuclear physics, reproductive technologies, environmentalism, and public health.
- First Recipient: Diane Vaughan received the inaugural award in 1998 for her analysis of the NASA Challenger disaster.
- Recent Focus: Recent winners have explored themes of racial capitalism, monocrops, and maternal health science.
Chronology of Awarded Works
The evolution of the award reflects the shifting priorities of the STS community. Early works focused heavily on institutional failures and the politics of knowledge, while more recent selections delve into globalized labor, environmental contamination, and the systemic inequalities embedded in biomedical identity.
Foundational Critiques (1998–2005)
The early years of the award emphasized the social construction of science. Notable works include Diane Vaughan's study on the culture of deviance at NASA and Steven Epstein's analysis of AIDS activism. These texts challenged the notion of science as a purely objective pursuit, illustrating instead how political and institutional pressures shape outcomes.
Expanding the Lens (2006–2015)
As the field grew, the award began to recognize works focusing on the physical and biological manifestations of identity. From Joseph Dumit's work on brain scans to Robert N. Proctor's investigation into the cigarette catastrophe, this era highlighted the tangible impacts of scientific narratives on human health and legal frameworks.
Contemporary Perspectives (2016–2025)
Recent honorees have shifted toward global perspectives and systemic critiques. This includes Gabrielle Hecht's research on the global uranium trade and the 2024 recognition of the impact of racial capitalism on the opioid crisis in America. The most recent award in 2025 focuses on the reproduction of harm within maternal health science.
Summary of Honorees
| Year | Recipient | Awarded Work |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Diane Vaughan | The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA |
| 1999 | Steven Epstein | Impure Science: AIDS, Activism, and the Politics of Knowledge |
| 2000 | Wendy Espeland | The Struggle for Water: Politics, Rationality, and Identity in the American Southwest |
| 2001 | Andrew Hoffman | From Heresy to Dogma: An Institutional History of Corporate Environmentalism |
| 2002 | Stephen Hilgartner | Science On Stage: Expert Advice as Public Drama |
| 2003 | Simon Cole | Suspect Identities: A History of Fingerprinting and Criminal Identification |
| 2004 | Jean Langford | Fluent Bodies |
| 2005 | Nelly Oudshoorn | The Male Pill |
| 2006 | Joseph Dumit | Picturing Personhood: Brain Scans and Biomedical Identity |
| 2007 | Charis Thompson | Making Parents: The Ontological Choreography of Reproductive Technologies |
| 2008 | Joseph Masco | The Nuclear Borderlands: The Manhattan Project in Post-Cold War New Mexico |
| 2009 | Jeremy Greene | Prescribing by Numbers |
| 2010 | Susan Greenhalgh | Just One Child |
| 2011 | Lynn M. Morgan | Icons of Life: A Cultural History of Human Embryos |
| 2012 | Stefan Helmreich | Alien Oceans |
| 2013 | Tim Choy | Ecologies of Comparison |
| 2014 | Robert N. Proctor | Golden Holocaust: Origins of the Cigarette Catastrophe and the Case for Abolition |
| 2015 | Gwen Ottinger | Refining Expertise. How responsible engineers subvert environmental justice challenges |
| 2016 | Gabrielle Hecht | Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade |
| 2017 | Adia Benton | HIV Exceptionalism: Development Through Disease in Sierra Leone |
| 2018 | Kalindi Vora | Life Support: Biocapital and the New History of Outsourced Labor |
| 2019 | Aya Kimura | Radiation Brain Moms and Citizen Scientists: The Gender Politics of Food Contamination |
| 2020 | Sara Wylie | Fractivism: Corporate Bodies and Chemical Bonds |
| 2021 | Laura Watts | Energy at the End of the World: An Orkney Islands Saga |
| 2022 | Kregg Hetherington | The Government of Beans: Regulating Life in the Age of Monocrops |
| 2023 | Michele Ilana Friedner | Sensory Futures: Deafness and Cochlear Implant Infrastructures in India |
| 2024 | Helena Hansen, Jules Netherland, and David Herzberg | Whiteout: How Racial Capitalism Changed the Color of Opioids in America |
| 2025 | Emily Yates-Doerr | Mal-Nutrition: Maternal Health Science and the Reproduction of Harm |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of the Science Studies Book Award?
The award recognizes scholarly books that provide critical analysis of the relationship between science, technology, and society, often focusing on how knowledge is produced and utilized within social and political contexts.
Who was the first person to receive this award?
The first recipient was Diane Vaughan in 1998 for her work, "The Challenger Launch Decision: Risky Technology, Culture, and Deviance at NASA."
Does the award cover only natural sciences?
No, the award covers a broad spectrum of topics including medicine, environmental science, nuclear physics, sociology, and the history of technology.
What are some of the recurring themes in the awarded works?
Recurring themes include the politics of expertise, the impact of corporate interests on science, environmental justice, and the social construction of biomedical identities.
Who are the most recent honorees?
The 2024 award was given to Helena Hansen, Jules Netherland, and David Herzberg for "Whiteout," and the 2025 award was given to Emily Yates-Doerr for "Mal-Nutrition."