“Why doesn’t Dr. Scott ever win a Nobel Prize?”
Dr. Scott Sampson, Ph.D (Photo via ScottSampson.net)
Every December when the Nobel Prizes are handed out, The Eight-Year-Old waits with baited breath to find out whether Dr. Scott Sampson of Dinosaur Train fame has finally been recognized as the outstanding scientist he is.
Every year, she’s disappointed.
“Mommyo, why doesn’t Dr. Scott ever win the Nobel Prize?”
The answer is so simple, I have resisted turning it into a Caterpickle for years. But the question keeps coming up, so I’d like to have something in print to refer The Eight-Year-Old to. (She trusts that Caterpickles lady more than me.)
Quite simply, there is no Nobel Prize for paleontology or any other branch of natural history.
Until that changes, Dr. Scott and all of The Eight-Year-Old’s other paleontological heroes will continue to be shunned by the Nobel Prize Committee.
“That’s not fair, Mommyo.”
Perhaps not, but Dr. Scott did win the 2013 Geological Society of America Public Service Award for his work bringing the wonder of science to millions of kids (and their parents), which is pretty awesome too. A belated, but heartfelt congratulations to you, Dr. Scott from your fans at Caterpickles.
Related Links:
- “Why didn’t they win? 10 Huge Discoveries without a Nobel Prize” (National Geographic)
- Down to Earth with Dr. Scott Sampson (Earth Magazine)
- Nobel Prizes since 1901 (Nobelprize.org)
CATERPICKLES 
What are you thinking?