University award for BBC science luminary

18 Jul 2016

Deborah Cohen awarded Outstanding Alumnus Award

One of the BBC’s leading science journalists has been given an Outstanding Alumni award by the University.

Deborah Cohen MBE, the BBC’s radio science editor, graduated from the University in 1979 with an MSc in liberal studies in science.

She joined the BBC as a researcher in the science department, spending the next decade producing content for Radio 3 and Radio 4 that covered a range of subjects in science, technology and medicine.

She became science editor for the BBC’s domestic radio output in 1990, and ten years later took on additional editorial responsibility for the science unit of BBC World Service.

Deborah has been a judge of the Rhone Poulenc Book Prize and a member of the COPUS committee, which awarded grants for the public understanding of science.

She has also been a judge on schemes that reward translating scientific and medical ideas into lay terms, such as the Royal Society Science Book Prize and the Society for Chemical Industry’s essay competition.

She was made an MBE for services to broadcasting and science in 2009.

She said: “What's kept me so interested in producing and editing science programmes are the new ideas that come from the minds of the researchers and the impact they have on society. The way we cover the stories has constantly changed. Scientists have got better at communicating their ideas at a level the general public can understand.”

Claire Kilner said: “Deborah has a hugely important role in that she is responsible for communicating science to a wider audience and maintaining the organisation’s editorial standards in its science output. It is a role that undoubtedly shapes the national discussion about science and its latest advances. Congratulations to her on this well-deserved award.”