Oil spills, air pollution and acid rain are among the topics that Jeff Wheelwright -- winner of the top communications award from the world's largest scientific society -- examines and explains to the general public.
An author and magazine writer who covers environmental science, Wheelwright has been named the year 2000 recipient of the American Chemical Society's James T. Grady-James H. Stack Award for Interpreting Chemistry for the Public. Established in 1955, this annual award is the highest honor the Society gives for public communication about chemistry. Named after two former managers of the American Chemical Society's News Service, the award aims to recognize, encourage, and stimulate outstanding reporting that promotes the public's understanding and knowledge of chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields.
"My professional interest has been the health and ecological effects of chemicals in the environment," said Wheelwright. "To that end I've learned a fair amount about toxicology, epidemiology and quantitative risk assessment."
Don Moser, editor of Smithsonian magazine, commented, "Wheelwright takes an applied-science approach to writing about chemistry. By helping to ease the public's fears about chemicals in the environment, he has done a public service."
In 1994, Wheelwright wrote a well-reviewed book about the Exxon Valdez oil spill, titled Degrees of Disaster, which challenged the view that the oil had irreparably damaged the ecosystem. His most recent articles appeared in two top magazines. "The Berry and the Poison," published in Smithsonian, was an analysis of methyl bromide (a strawberry-field soil fumigant) and its effect on organisms and the ozone layer. Discover published "The Air of Ostrava," which examined aging coke plants and their threat to public health in the Czech Republic. That article received the Overseas Press Club award for best reporting in any medium on an international environmental issue.
Wheelwright began his career in public television. He was segment producer for a national documentary series, then writer for a nationally syndicated series on animal behavior. In 1978, he became senior editor at Life magazine, covering science and the environment. He left Life in 1989 to write books and magazine articles on environmental health issues.
Wheelwright is now writing a book about the illnesses affecting Persian Gulf War veterans. He discusses the debate about whether the illnesses stem from chemical exposure or psychological stress.
Wheelwright received his B.A. with honors in English from Yale College in 1969 and his M.S. from Columbia Graduate School of Journalism in 1971. He resides in Morro Bay, Calif., with his wife and youngest child.
Wheelwright will be honored at a luncheon at the National Press Club on Oct. 15 and will receive the $3,000 Grady-Stack award, a gold medal and bronze replica at the Society's Spring National Meeting next March in San Francisco.
Past Grady-Stack winners include last year's winner, Dr. Joseph Schwarcz of the Montreal Gazette, National Public Radio Correspondent Joseph Palca, Don Herbert ("Mr. Wizard"), and Malcolm Browne of The New York Times.
A nonprofit organization with a membership of nearly 159,000 chemists and chemical engineers, the American Chemical Society publishes scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences, and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio. (http://www.acs.org)