Trinity Student wins 2018 Mary Mulvihill Award
Posted on: 23 May 2018
Trinity’s environmental science student Katie Carbonara is the 2018 winner of the Mary Mulvihill Award, the science media competition for third level students that commemorates the legacy of science journalist and author Mary Mulvihill (1959–2015).
Dame Jocelyn Bell Burnell, one of Ireland’s most respected living scientists, and Pro-Chancellor of the University, presented the award, which includes a cash prize of €2,000, at a ceremony in Dublin.
This year’s competition invited entries on the theme ‘Science: Whose facts? Whose truth?’ Carbonara’s winning entry explores why “blatant scientific illiteracy” is so rampant at a time of extraordinary scientific achievement. The reductionist nature of scientific inquiry may have contributed to this paradox, she suggests.
“By divorcing fact from value, science has allowed itself to become beholden to the whims of political will, funding, publications, and number of citations: a contest for the most charismatic ideas and results,” she writes. “At the same time, a dichotomy exists between the idolization of science as a panacea for all the world’s ills and the deliberate attack on truths that are widely acknowledged within the scientific community”.
Some of the ills that science is expected to solve are the product of science itself, Carbonara writes, while some of the most contested issues are in urgent need of more science, to develop long-term solutions. If science is to play a role in averting humanity from its present path toward environmental destruction, it must “return to its roots of open-minded questioning, of recognizing the interconnections between all things”.
A native of New Hampshire, USA, Katie Carbonara has followed her interests in sustainable agriculture, indigenous knowledge, and conservation biology from Alaska to New Zealand, with stints in Hawaii and in her home state along the way. She is currently a Trinity MSc student in the conservation and biodiversity programme, having previously completed a BSc in environmental conservation and sustainability at the University of New Hampshire.
This is the second year of the Mary Mulvihill Award, set up to honour Mary’s memory and the legacy of her work. “It’s a poignant time for her family and close friends; but it’s also a proud moment, as the award allows us to continue, in a small way, Mary’s role as an educator, mentor and advocate of science,” said Anne Mulvihill, a sister of Mary, and a member of the judging panel. “This year’s winner, Katie Carbonara, has written a very accessible piece on a complex topic, questioning the discipline of science and the work that it does; Mary would have approved,” she said.
About The Mary Mulvihill Award
The Mary Mulvihill Award is a project of Remembering Mary, an initiative established by the family and friends of the late Mary Mulvihill (1959–2015) to honour her memory and her work in science journalism, science communication and heritage and to promote her legacy. It administers and awards funds to support work that commemorates her work and its significance.
The judges for the Mary Mulvihill Award 2018 were:
- Karlin Lillington, Irish Times tech journalist & columnist
- Nigel Monaghan, Keeper, National Museum of Ireland – Natural History
- Anne Mulvihill, Sister of Mary Mulvihill
- Ann O’Dea, CEO and co-founder, Silicon Republic, founder Inspirefest