€2000 Prize for Winner of Mary Mulvihill Award
Launch of Science Media Competition for Third Level Students €2,000 Award for Best Work on the theme ‘Virus’
The Mary Mulvihill Association is pleased to invite applications for the Mary Mulvihill Award 2021, which commemorates the work and legacy of science journalist, author and Ingenious Ireland founder Mary Mulvihill (1959-2015).
The theme of this year’s competition is ‘Virus’. This has been very much in all of our minds as we face the Covid-19 pandemic. But we invite entries that relate also to Virus as it comes up in other aspects of life and society. We encourage prospective entrants to think of virus, viral, virulent and related terms in their everyday as well as their scientific usage.
The range of possible topics is vast, drawing on life sciences research and medicine, but also on software, social media and everyday contexts. For purposes of illustration only, we offer these as possible project topics:
- How a submicroscopic organism changed our world;
- The Life of a Virus (or a Virologist)
- How ideas, images, stories or memes ‘go viral’;
- Efforts to develop antiviral drugs and vaccines;
- How and why computer viruses are propagated;
- What makes Covid-19 conspiracies so virulent?
- How past pandemics have influenced our understanding of this one
Entries are welcome in many – and mixed – media formats. Again, just as examples for guidance, written texts may be essays, memoirs or other narratives; photos, infographics, comic strips or other visual forms may be used as illustration, or as the main content; interviews may be presented in written, video or audio forms.
During the winter months, the Mary Mulvihill Association aims to hold a virtual roundtable discussion that will consider various aspects and possible treatments of the Virus theme. More information will be available on our website and social media platforms.
The award is open to undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in an Irish higher education institution at the time of submission. In addition to the overall award of €2,000, the judges may, at their discretion, make an additional award of €500 for a highly commended entry.
For further information on the award, including guidance to entrants and past winners, see our award page. The closing date for submissions is 30 April 2021.
The Mary Mulvihill Award is a project of Remembering Mary, an initiative established by 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 commemorate her work and its significance.
