Utah State University CHaSS Journalism Professor Wins Kavli Award

While Matthew LaPlante has become one of the most popular and involved assistant professors of journalism in Utah State University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, he has simultaneously maintained a career as a prolific working journalist.

And just as his academic career flourishes, he continues to be recognized as one of the outstanding journalistic voices working in the Utah and the United States today.

To highlight that point, LaPlante recently was honored as a 2014 AAAS [American Association for the Advancement of Science] Kavli Science Journalism Award winner.

LaPlante shares the award with his former student, Paul Christiansen, who co-authored their article, “Devastated: The World’s Largest Organism is in Utah — and It’s Dying,” which won in the prestigious competition’s “Small Newspaper — Circulation less than 100,000” category.

The winning story documents “Pando’s” struggle for survival in the face of boring insects, casually carved graffiti, infections, climate change and more.

Pando is Latin for “I spread.”

The name aptly describes and purposefully personifies a huge grove of genetically identical aspen woods that are in reality one organism connected through a massive interconnected root system that snakes its way under and through the more than 430,000 square meters of Utah’s Sevier County soil.

This expanse of aspen “clones” is officially the world’s largest living organism, one that is estimated to be somewhere in the ancient neighborhood of about 80,000-years-old.

LaPlante’s article explains the nature and importance of Pando while also documenting the grove’s lack of new growth and the poignant conclusion of scientists that the grove is dying.

The story also reports on the efforts of USU scientists and others to act as something akin to woodland fertility specialists, facilitating the birth of a new generation of “suckers,” the tiny shoots of genetically identical material that will — with luck and a little help from their friends — grow into sturdy aspen clones that could live 100 years or more and perpetuate the 80,000-year-old forest.

“I’d like to think this project is an example of how to make science alluring — even romantic — without exaggerating the scope of the research, confusing our audience or pandering to anyone,” LaPlante said.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science — AAAS — is the largest general scientific society in the nation. The organization’s Kavli Science Journalism Awards have been awarded since 1945 to “professional journalists for distinguished reporting for a general audience.”

Both LaPlante and Christiansen, who is now a reporter for the Gillette News Record in northeast Wyoming, will be invited to attend the February 2015 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Jose, Calif., where award winners will receive $3,000 and a plaque.

Other winners of this year’s Kavli Awards include NPR science correspondent, New York Times contributor George Johnson and Amy Dockser Marcus of The Wall Street Journal. See the list online.

Related links:

• American Association for the Advancement of Science
• American Association for the Advancement of Science award list
• USU Department of Journalism and Communication
• USU College of Humanities and Social Sciences

Writer and contact: Kristin Middaugh, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, (435) 797-0627, kristin.middaugh@usu.edu