Passion in Science celebrates your stories
For NEB, great science is not only analytical, but also creative and artistic – it changes the way we see and understand our world. With the Passion in Science Awards, we recognize scientists for their innovative work that goes beyond the pure science. These awards give us the opportunity to honor the “unsung heroes” of the laboratory, who are dedicated to their cause. Our motivation is based on foundational values that are still as true today as they were when we founded the company over 50 years ago. We are excited to be offering the awards again in NEB’s anniversary year.
The Passion in Science categories reflect NEB’s core values: the knowledge that there is overlap between art and science, that we all have a duty to help fellow humans, as well as to care for and protect our environment, and finally to inspire people by making scientific ideas and concepts accessible to everyone, not just our fellow scientists:
- Science Advocacy
- Humanitarian Duty
- Environmental Stewardship
- Arts & Creativity
We invite the winners be our guests at a celebration on October 9-10, 2024, at our headquarters in Ipswich, MA, USA. The NEB campus includes a 140,00 square foot research and production facility, and renovated historic buildings, surrounded by more than 160 acres of nature. The winners are involved in presentations and discussions related to their inspiring work. In addition, they receive $1,000 to donate to a charity of their choice.
“Our 2024 Passion in Science Awards recipients truly embody the values which have been embraced by NEB for the past five decades – passion, humility, and being genuine,”
Salvatore Russello, Chief Executive Officer at NEB.
The full list of Passion in Science Awardees 2024 is as follows:
Category: Science Mentorship and Advocacy Award
Rogelio Hernandez Lopez (Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA): Co-founder of the Clubes de Ciencia Program, which hosts hands-on STEM workshops for high school and college students in Latin America. To date, the program has hosted 19,000 students in nine countries.
Anne Madden (The Microbe Institute, Yarmouth, ME, USA): Founder of The Microbe Institute, a nonprofit, dedicated to fostering microbial discovery for a better tomorrow through participatory art, research and education projects.
Samuel Ogensola (University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada): Founder of Shaping African Women in STEM (SWIS Africa), an initiative aiming to celebrate, promote and shape women in STEM in Africa. To date, the program has organized 10 training programs with over 1,000 women participating.
Alyssa Paparella (Howard Hughes Medical Institute Inc., Chevy Chase, MD, USA): Launched Disabled in STEM, a program that connects individuals with disabilities across STEM fields with mentors. To date, the program has connected 380 individuals.
Don Spratt (Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA): Launched the ClarkU STEM Outreach Program, which provides an opportunity for underrepresented groups to be exposed and inspired to pursue careers in STEM.
Category: Humanitarian Duty Award
Adewunmi Akingbola (King’s College, Cambridge, UK): Founder of HealthDrive Nigeria, which combats viral hepatitis in Nigeria through awareness, free hepatitis B surface antigen and HCV antibody tests, and subsidized vaccinations for underserved communities. To date, the program has screened more than 15,000 and vaccinated over 10,000 individuals.
Dylan Pillai (University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada): Founder of the LAMPREG project, which has screened over 2,500 women for malaria using LAMP technology, to determine whether asymptomatic malaria detection improves pregnancy outcomes.
Category: Environmental Stewardship Award
Jim Chadwick (University of Oxford, Oxford, UK): Conducted a study to raise awareness among research scientists about their energy usage and its impact, tackling the issue from a grassroots level. Also established a community allotment and wildflower garden at the institute to improve the mental health of graduate students.
Martin Farley (UK Research and Innovation, London, UK): Founder of the LEAF (Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework) program – which helps laboratories conserve plastics, water, energy and other resources – and a lifelong advocate of sustainability.
Category: Arts and Creativity Award
Ji Hyun (Sally) Kong (Brooklyn, NY, USA): Creator of Mitos – Handweaving My Ancestral DNA, a data physicalization project of handwoven patterns generated from the artist’s own mitochondrial DNA sequence.
Sam Siljee (Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, Wellington, New Zealand): Developed “The Sound of Science”, a new method of engaging with mass spectrometry data by converting the data into sound.
Michael Weiner (Abbratech, Branford, CT, USA): Creates DNA (and other scientific) artwork using recycled microtiter plates.
Further information on the NEB Passion in Science Awards and the winners from previous years can be found at www.neb.com/passioninscience.
