Elizabeth Gibney

The 2020 Angela Croome Award is awarded to Elizabeth Gibney for her objective, clear and constructive communication of new Earth, planetary and space science discoveries especially relevant to Europe and European citizens.

Elizabeth Gibney is an outstanding journalist whose stories are accessible and engaging. She is a diligent and talented chronicler who makes timely reports on the Earth, planetary and space sciences, including touching on new ways to tackle some of the major challenges the planet is facing.

Gibney has been successful in bringing attention to the role of European and other scientists to general audiences using clear language to elucidate otherwise complex processes. Throughout her career, Gibney has also succeeded in capturing each reader’s imagination and guiding them through her stories with richly illustrated graphics.

In addition to journal articles, Gibney uses live news events and personal accounts to make science more accessible to general audiences and bring the unusual and complex challenges of scientific problems to the general public’s attention. For example, when she reported live from the Rosetta Mission Control in Darmstadt, Germany, this story was part of a bigger package on the European Space Agency’s Rosetta mission, which landed a probe on a comet in 2014. Gibney’s story wrapped up events at the end of the momentous day with clarity and a sense of excitement, including details that could only be gleaned from months of preparation coupled with expert and objective on-site reporting.