The JOSH AWARd
The #SciComm Space is a proud co-sponsor of the Josh Award for Science Communication, along with the BIG STEM network and Manchester Science Festival. On this page, we feature information about the current call for applications and provide some inspiration with stories from previous winners.
The Josh Award is the UK’s national award in science communication, established to recognise and support up-and-coming talent in science communication. The award provides the opportunity to become the science communicator in residence at the Manchester Science Festival, developing and delivering a new project or event while showcasing best practice in the field of science communication.
The winner receives support to nurture their development in the field and their involvement in the Manchester Science Festival from the Festival team, the University of Salford’s Science Communication cluster, and the BIG STEM Communicators Network.
2024 Winner
PAST WinnerS
2022: Eva Ernstzen
2020: Charlotte Hale-Smith
2019: Frederike Gerstner and Ben Nicholson
2018: Mat Allen
2017: Jon Chase
2016: Katie Steckles
2015: Andy Miah
2014: Sarah Bearchell
2013: Aravind Vijayaraghavan
2011: Matt Parker
2010: Steve Cross
2009: David Price
2008: Karen Bultitude
2007: Chris Smith
2017: Jon Chase
In 2017, Science Rapper Jon Chase won the Josh Award. Jon Chase is a BBC Bitesize science presenter and has produced science raps for the BBC, Channel 4 learning and NASA amongst others. He is also an author having recently co-written a book about the Science of Star Wars as well as the soon to be released Science of Harry Potter.
His event, Hip Hop Science Stop Weekender, brought street and urban science to life with visitors getting hands-on with graffiti walls and turntables. He put on special performances for families, featuring a selection of his own raps and showcased science raps from around the globe. Visitors also learned how they could use everyday objects and waste materials such as straws, paper and string to do simple science experiments at home.
2016: Katie Steckles
In 2016, mathematician marvel Katie Steckles won the Josh Award and developed the Manchester Mega Pixel, a large-scale public engagement event exploring the science and technology and maths of how digital images are produced.
2015: Prof Andy Miah
In 2015, Prof Andy Miah ran a drone expo at the Museum of Science and Industry, which gave people the chance to fly different drones and see them piloted by professionals. Andy curated a two-day drone expo, which gave visitors the chance to fly a number of drones, watch demonstrations from experts and discover new and surprising uses for drones.
2014: Sarah Bearchell
Sarah created 'The Cloud Machine'in collaboration with Richard Ellam of LM Interactives. The project allowed every child to make their own cloud. Sarah was chosen as she focused her bespoke sessions on a SEN audience and developed connections with SEN schools local to the Manchester Science Festival, something that had not been done at the Festival before.
2013: Aravind Vijayaraghavan
The 2013 winner was scientist Aravind Vijayaraghavan, a lecturer in nanomaterials at the University of Manchester. Aravind created a large scale, crowd-sourced model of graphene that was a striking addition to the Festival programme that year and allowed groups of people to add to this huge model that grew during the Festival, while taking with scientists about graphene.