Award Winners

Cat Wise and her colleagues offered solid reporting on the uses of science to better understand the nearby environment. Researchers in Portland found that mosses from two neighborhoods had high levels of cadmium and arsenic, likely from a nearby glassmaking center. Using data from air quality monitoring stations, the researchers determined that mosses could be used as indicators of air pollution and allow a more comprehensive method for tracking potential problems in local air quality. In a second piece, Wise explained how a marine ecologist is using robots (with casings made from surplus fire…

Nsikan Akpan told viewers how odors swirl through the air like turbulent dyes flowing through water. The physics of movement in each medium is similar, scientists say, and understanding how odors propagate through the environment could be an important step in developing better artificial “noses” to detect hidden explosives or chemical weapons or other contraband of interest. Such studies also are laying the groundwork for a nationwide study on how humans and animals use smells to map their surroundings. “The NewsHour takes a cue from YouTube with this innovative snapshot of how smells flow…

In a two-part series, PBS NewsHour science correspondent Miles O'Brien — whose left arm was amputated in 2014 after an unlikely accident while he was on a reporting assignment in Japan — discussed the status of prosthetics development and the challenges in developing a fully functional human limb. Judge Eliene Augenbraun, senior video producer for Scientific American , said O'Brien's reporting was a "refreshingly skeptical look" at what it will take to make advanced prosthetics widely available. She found O'Brien "completely lacking in self-pity" during his reporting, and added: "I was very…