1. About the award

The ASI Science Journalism award in Astronomy and Astrophysics has been instituted by ASI and is awarded once in two years to science journalists for sustained contributions in Astronomy and Astrophysics being carried out in India. The award will be given every second year alternating with the Zubin Kembhavi Award for Public Outreach.
The award carries a citation and a cash prize of Rs 50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand) funded by Patrick Dasgupta and Ujjwal Dasgupta the family of N. Rathnasree. The award honours the memory of N. Rathnasree who made significant contributions in Astronomy outreach and education amongst the general public as well as students.

2. Nomination Criteria

The nominees will be science journalists who have made sustained contributions for the past 2 years in mass-media (print and electronic) in the areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics in India. The contributions could be related to the science, instruments and/or facilities in the areas of Astronomy and Astrophysics in the country.

3. Application

All nominations for the award must be received by the ASI, by the deadline as indicated on the website of the ASI. Nominations must be submitted via the online interface on the ASI website. Nominations can be made by senior professional astronomers / established journalists / renowned science outreach persons or other eminent scientists. A nominator can submit only a single application for the award.

ASI is not accepting nominations for this award in the year 2024.

Nominations must include the following material:

  1. Name of Nominee
  2. Details of Nominee
    1. Affiliation
    2. Address
    3. email id
    4. Mobile phone number
    5. Date of Birth
  3. Nomination letter with signature and date
  4. A statement clearly outlining the merits of the work of the nominee
  5. A short biography and CV of the nominee
  6. A list of the articles/contributions for the past 2 years with links/attachments
  7. A short summary not exceeding 300 words highlighting the most important contributions of the nominee
  8. Details of Proposer
    1. Name
    2. Designation and Affiliation (If retired, then details at the time of retirement)
    3. Address for correspondence
    4. Email id
    5. Phone number

Online form is closed.

4. Selection Process

An Award Selection Committee (ASC) consisting of at least 3 members will be constituted by the ASI ensuring technical and gender representation. Each member of the ASC will receive all nominations along with the supporting material. The ASC will communicate the result of its deliberations to the ASI council within three months following the submission deadline.

5. Announcement of the Award

The successful nominee will be informed of the decision of the ASI council and be asked to receive the award during the following ASI meeting.

Name of the Awardee Year
Ms. Anjali Marar 2023