Tom Whipple
Tom Whipple is a British journalist. He has worked for The Times since 2006, and was the newspaper's science editor from 2012 to 2024. He is currently a science correspondent and columnist.[1][2]
Formative years
[edit]After attending Reading School in 1993–2000,[3] Whipple studied maths and then computing until 2004 at Churchill College, Cambridge while writing features for the student paper.[4] He was twice named student feature writer of the year by The Guardian[5] and was a member of the Night Climbers.[6][7]
Recognition
[edit]In 2019, Whipple won the silver AAAS Science Journalism Award for his April 2019 story "Caucher Birkar — from asylum seeker to Fields Medal winner at Cambridge" for The Times Magazine.[8] In 2015, he was named best print writer for his features in Intelligent Life by the British Society of Magazine Editors.[9] In 2025, he won the Pharmaceutical Strategies and Innovation Richter - Semmelweis journalism award[10] for his interview about Carol Jennings.[11]
In 2024, he won the opinion or editorial award from the ABSW for his article "lessons from lockdown", published three years on from the first covid-19 pandemic restrictions.[12] And in 2020, he was recognised as science journalist of the year at the Press Awards for his work reporting on the pandemic.[13] His 2025 column 'Five years on, why the battle over Covid’s origins still rages'[14] was recognised with the 2026 Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication.[15]
Whipple is a member of the advisory group of the Science Media Centre in London[16] and has supported their view of the role of industry in science.[17]
Books
[edit]- The Battle of the Beams: The secret science of radar that turned the tide of the Second World War (Bantam, 2023)[18]
- X and Why: The rules of attraction: why gender still matters (Short Books, 2018)[19]
- How to Win Games and Beat People: Demolish Your Family and Friends at over 30 Classic Games with Advice from an International Array of Experts (2015)[20]
Personal life
[edit]Whipple lives in Reading with his wife, journalist and author Catherine Nixey, and their three children.[21]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Tom Whipple | The Times & The Sunday Times". www.thetimes.com.
- ↑ Cecilia Grimaldi (23 September 2024). "A Day in the Life of Tom Whipple, Science Editor at The Times". Association of British Science Writers.
- ↑ "Gala Dinner". Reading School. Retrieved 2 March 2026.
- ↑ "Communicating maths: a journalist's perspective, an interview with Tom Whipple" (Podcast). Living Proof. No. 43. Interviewed by Maha Kaouri; Christie Marr. Isaac Newton Institute. 8 July 2022. Event occurs at 0:50.
{{cite podcast}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ↑ Matt Wells (13 November 2003). "Students repeat Guardian scoop scoop". The Guardian.
- ↑ Orla Moore (11 April 2019). "The shadowy climbers scaling Cambridge's college rooftops". BBC News.
- ↑ Erik Olsson (26 November 2022). "'It felt impossibly romantic': the nightclimbers of Cambridge". Varsity.
- ↑ "Award Winners | AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Awards". sjawards.aaas.org.
- ↑ "BSME Rising Stars 2015 – The Winners". InPublishing. 4 June 2015.
- ↑ "Semmelweis-Richter Journalism Awards 2025/2026 Results".
- ↑ Tom Whipple. "She helped the fight against Alzheimer's, then got it herself". The Times.
- ↑ "ABSW Awards 2024: The Winners". ABSW. 2024.
- ↑ "Past winners". Press Awards. 2020.
- ↑ Tom Whipple (21 March 2025). "Five years on, why the battle over Covid's origins still rages". The Times.
- ↑ "The Harding Prize for Trustworthy Communication".
- ↑ "governance". Science Media Centre.
- ↑ Rebecca Coombes (2023). "Row over ultra-processed foods panel highlights conflicts of interest issue at heart of UK science reporting". BMJ. 383 (1 November 2023): 2514. doi:10.1136/bmj.p2514.
- ↑ David, Saul (10 May 2023). "The Battle of the Beams by Tom Whipple review — the man who 'broke the beam' and won the war". www.thetimes.com.
- ↑ Katsoulis, Melissa (30 March 2018). "Review: X and Why: The Rules of Attraction: Why Gender Still Matters by Tom Whipple — the science of human sexuality". www.thetimes.com.
- ↑ Whipple, Tom. "How To Win Games and Beat People". Library Journal.
- ↑ "Nixey, Catherine". HarperCollins. Retrieved 16 June 2026.