“The United States may now risk falling behind in scientific discoveries as other countries increase their science funding. We need to get serious about science. In fact, maybe it’s time for researchers to fight back, to return a comeback for every punch line.”

— Jim Cooper and Alan I. Leshner

Media coverage:

2024 Golden Goose Awardees

Basic Research Matters: Meet The Winners Of 2024’s Golden Goose Awards - Forbes

From Brain to Machine: The Unexpected Journey of Neural Networks - Stanford University

Impact of NSF commitment to basic research reflected in 2024 Golden Goose winners - National Science Foundation

Jay McClelland receives 2024 Golden Goose Award - Stanford University

Heather Lynch Wins 2024 Golden Goose Award for Unconventional Research - Stony Brook University

Woodpecker’s comeback is professor’s Golden Goose - Virginia Tech

This week with NSF Director Panchanathan - National Science Foundation

13th Annual Golden Goose Award Honors Scientists Whose “Silly Sounding Research” Lead to Major Breakthroughs - Association of American Universities

2023 Golden Goose Awardees

AAAS Fellows, Members and Awardees Receive 2023 Nobel Prizes and MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’ - AAAS

Longtime poultry geneticist Paul Siegel receives national lifetime research award - Virginia Tech

UCSC’s David Deamer and Mark Akeson honored for invention of nanopore sequencing - UCSC

Longtime Poultry Geneticist Paul Siegel Receives National Lifetime Research Award – SFN Today

Dr. Mary-Dell Chilton, Syngenta, Receives Golden Goose Award - AgWired

Golden Goose Award Announces 2023 Awardees for Discoveries in DNA Sequencing Technique – Seed Today

Honouring early nanopore pioneers and reflecting on our US heritage - LinkedIn

Golden Goose Award announces 2023 awardees for discoveries in DNA sequencing technique, a bacteria-inspired method that saves crops and chicken pedigree lines - Bioengineer

2022 Golden Goose Awardees

Golden Goose - Radiolab

Invention to Impact: The story of LASIK eye surgery - National Science Foundation (NSF)

Scientific Videos: Golden Goose Award - Shift Happens

Grabbing the Golden Goose - UCI News

Happy Accidents In Science That Created The Products We Use Every Day - Radio Health Journal

2022 Golden Goose Award honors serendipitous science - Science

Science meets serendipity: The Golden Goose Awards 2022 - abc27 News

He Invented a $2 Paper Microscope For Remote Lab Work So Scientists Don’t Have to Haul Heavy Equipment - Good News Network

U-M discovery leading to LASIK is a Golden Goose - University of Michigan Engineering Research News

Conotoxin research wins 2022 Golden Goose Award - University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute

Cone snail venom wins Golden Goose Award - University of Utah

Science or Fiction (Episode #897) - The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe

The Rule-Breaking Paper Microscope that Costs $1.75 to Make - CNN

Laser-Accident-Turned-Surgery-Breakthrough Wins Golden Goose - APS Physics

Developers of Bladeless LASIK Earn AAAS Golden Goose Award - University of Rochester

Nobel Laureates and 2013 Optica President, Donna Strickland, Among 2022 Golden Goose Winners - Optica

Two Filipino Scientists Honored with Prestigious International Science Award for Work on Snail Venom - Esquire Philippines

Golden Goose Award - University of Utah, School of Biological Sciences

Leading Research Universities Report - AAU

Trailblazers - CNN

Filipino Scientists Win U.S. Golden Goose Award for Snail Study Leading to Non-Opioid Pain Reliever - Good News Pilipinas

2021 Golden Goose Awardees

Golden Goose Awards COVID Innovations - POLITICO Pulse

First in MT - POLITICO Morning Tech

UCSD Cyber Sleuth Earns Award for Exposing How Hackers Can Take Control of Cars - The San Diego Union-Tribune

Computer Science Professor Stephen Checkoway Receives Golden Goose Award - Oberlin College

UW and UC San Diego Researchers Honored for their Work Discovering that Someone Could Hack a Car - UW News

Computer Scientists Honored for Their Work Discovering That Cars are Vulnerable to Hacking - University of California San Diego, Jacobs School of Engineering

2020 Golden Goose Awardees

How UT Research Led to the Development of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Record-Breaking Time - Alcalde

Luck, foresight and science: How an unheralded team developed a COVID-19 vaccine in record time - USA Today

A gamble pays off in ‘spectacular success’: How the leading coronavirus vaccines made it to the finish line - The Washington Post

How a Llama and a University of Texas Lab Led to the Most Promising COVID-19 Treatment Yet - Texas Monthly

Two Texas Coronavirus Scientists Win Award for Research With ‘Great Societal Benefit’ - NBC Dallas-Fort Worth

2 UT-Austin Scientists Lauded For Coronavirus Research - Austin Patch

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Crowe receives 2020 “Golden Goose” Award for COVID-19 research - VUMC Reporter

Golden Goose Winners Deliver Head Start in Fight Against COVID-19 - AAAS

Texas Coronavirus Scientists Win Award for Research with ‘Great Societal Benefit’ - UT News

UT Coronavirus Researchers Receive Two Golden Goose Awards - Texas Global

2019 Golden Goose Awardees

Golden Goose Awards Honor Scientific Ingenuity and Talent – Science

A silly-sounding prize for some serious science – The Harvard Gazette

ICDDR,B scientist wins Golden Goose Award – United News of Bangladesh

2019’s Golden Goose Awards Celebrate the Silliest-Sounding Science to Benefit Society – IFL Science

2018 Golden Goose Awardees

Advice to young scientists from the winners of the Golden Goose Award – Elsevier Connect

Golden Goose prize recognizes serendipitous discoveries – Science

Of Geese and Glick – Mary Sue’s Desk, from the Association of American Universities

How studying chicken butts cracked the inner workings of our immune system – Popular Science

UW psychology professor honored for founding research on implicit bias – University of Washington News

Nosek and ‘Implicit Bias’ Team Bestowed Golden Goose Award – UVA

Golden Goose Award Recipients Prove the Value of Basic Science – AAAS

How the ‘Golden Goose’ was Hatched – AAAS

Funding Basic Research Plays the Long Game for Future Payoffs — The Conversation

2017 Golden Goose Awardees

A microscopic eye on the enemy of amphibians – Elsevier Connect

Artificial Intelligence Pioneer, Involved in General AI and Machine Learning Startup, Won Golden Goose Award – The Business Journals

The Extinct Frogs and the Golden Goose – The Revelator

Reminder: super random research can produce some amazing science – Popular Science

How these 3 experiments went from goose egg to science gold – PBS NewsHour

Previous Golden Goose Awardees

How obscure science led to spectrum auctions that connected the world – The Hill

My Voice: The Sex Life of the Screwworm Fly – Argus Leader

How Honeybees Helped the Internet – Pacific Standard Magazine

Ga. Tech Honey Bee Algorithm Wins Golden Goose Award – WABE Atlanta's NPR Station

How honeybee research improved your internet experience – Washington Post Grade Point

Why science shouldn’t be a political punchline – The Hill

Kingsport native John Vande Vate honored for his research work – Kingsport Times News

These Scientific Studies Were Deemed Silly or Obscure, But Led to Major Breakthroughs – upvoted

How The Screwworm's Sex Life Saved Your Steaks – NPR

Scientists finally recognized for eradicating the sexy screwworm – Popular Science

Screwworm Sex Wins 'Golden Goose' Award for Unusual Research – Live Science

Sex, maggots, castration and politicians lead to this year's Golden Goose Award – gizmag

Researchers Studying "Teen Sex" and Flesh-Eating Maggots Win 2016 Golden Goose Awards – Smithsonian Magazine

'Sex life of the screwworm' researchers to receive Golden Goose Award – Independent

How the sex life of screwworm flies saved billions – c|net

Ridiculed screwworm fly scientists posthumously honoured for work on insect control – International Business Times

It's About Time We Honor the Scientists Who Studied the Screwworm’s Sex Life – Motherboard

Screwworm sex earns departed US duo a 'Golden Goose' – Phys.org

Edward Knipling and Raymond Bushland Win Award for the Sterile Insect Technique – Entomology Today

Fly sex and a golden goose – Drovers

Golden Eggs – The Loh Down on Science, KPCC

A Golden Goose, Cats Chasing Lasers, and Massachusetts – Huffington Post Op-Ed by Senator Ed Markey

The Scientist Who Taught Cookie Monster Self Control Has A Warning For Congress – Huffington Post

Golden Goose Awards for Unusual Research – The Scientist

Social science caricature sets back human progress – LA Times

Basic Research Often Mocked, Targeted for Budget Cuts Due to Lack Of Public Understanding – AAAS News

UM Researcher Pioneered Massaging Premature Infants to Stimulate Growth – Miami Herald

How Black Holes Led to the Creation of Web Browsers – Scientific American

Golden Goose Awards: Honk If You Support Basic Research – Social Science Space

Awards Honor Serendipity and Humor in Science – NPR

“Wasteful” science that wasn’t: New prize honors US-funded basic research – Ars Technica

How a fluorescent jellyfish - and federal dollars - helped fight AIDS – The Washington Post

““Scientific know-how, the engine of American prosperity, is especially critical amid intense budgetary pressures. Federal investments in R&D have fueled half of the nation’s economic growth since World War II. This is why a bipartisan team of U.S. lawmakers joined a coalition of science, business and education leaders to launch the Golden Goose Awards.””

— Washington Post

Golden Goose Awards: Your tax dollars at work for science research – LA Times

Science Oddities Win Golden Goose – NBC News

Golden Goose Awards Honor “Silly” Science – CBS News and Fox News

It’s Time to Get Serious About Scientific Discovery – The Washington Post

Of Geese and Fleece – The New York Times

Bipartisan Launch of Golden Goose Award Celebrates the Contributions of Basic Science – AAAS News

Why the sex life of the screwworm deserves taxpayer dollars – The Washington Post

Who Will Win the First Golden Goose Award? – Science Magazine