“Superinteressante” and “O Povo” Win the 9th IMPA Journalism Award
On Tuesday (25), IMPA announced the winners of the 9th edition of the IMPA Journalism Award. Catalina Leite, from O Povo (CE), and Maria Clara Rossini, from Superinteressante, took first place in the Mathematics and Science Communication categories. Each will receive a trophy and 10,000 reais. The awards ceremony will take place on Saturday (the 29th) at 5:30 p.m. at the National Mathematics Festival in Rio de Janeiro.
For the first time, four women were honored in the Mathematics category: in addition to Catalina, Sthephany de Oliveira of Jornal da USP took second place, Paloma Oliveto of Correio Braziliense took third, and Carolina Nalin of O Globo received an honorable mention. Bruno Romani, from O Globo, also received an honorable mention.
In the Scientific Outreach category, Ed Wanderley and his team from Agência Pública, along with Yuri Pinheiro de Vasconcelos and Frances Barreto Jones from *Revista Pesquisa Fapesp*, took second and third place, respectively. Three other women received honorable mentions: Maria Eduarda Soares Toledo da Costa of Metrópoles, Fernanda Zibordi Paulo of Galileu, and Vanessa Monteiro da Silva of Amazônia Vox.
In all, nine women listed as authors received awards at the 9th edition of the IMPA Journalism Award. The results highlight the presence of women in science journalism and their role in the production and dissemination of knowledge.
“It’s a joy to see science journalism being practiced by so many talented women. For the first time, they make up the majority of the award winners, and mathematics can only benefit when stories are told by diverse voices. This edition shows that we are on the right track,” said Marcelo Viana, director general of IMPA and chair of the judging committee.
In addition to recognition, the winning entries receive a cash prize totaling R$ 36,000 in this edition. In each category, the first-place winner will receive 10,000 reais; the second-place winner, 5,000 reais; and the third-place winner, 3,000 reais.
The IMPA Journalism Award was created in 2018 to bring mathematics and science closer to the public and to recognize the work of the press. The 9th edition received 150 entries from 18 states and the Federal District, published in newspapers, magazines, on television, on the radio, in podcasts, and on digital platforms.
The winners will have the opportunity to share their experiences with the public during a roundtable discussion on Saturday (29), at the National Mathematics Festival. The event will take place at Marina da Glória in Rio de Janeiro and will bring together the journalists behind the award-winning pieces for a discussion on the challenges of turning mathematics and science into accessible and engaging stories for different audiences. Admission to the Festival is free. Pick up your ticket here.
Check out the details of the award-winning stories
The big winner in the mathematics category, “Beyond Numbers: How Mathematics Builds the Grammar of the Universe”, by Catalina Leite of the newspaper O Povo, explores mathematics’ ability to point to the existence of phenomena even before they are formally theorized. The article presents examples such as the prediction of the existence of antimatter and the possibility of determining the location of planets, showing how mathematical equations and models can serve as clues to major scientific discoveries. Read it here.
The Article “Are there infinities in nature? When mathematical abstraction brings us closer to reality”, published in *Jornal da USP*, took second place. Journalist Sthephany de Oliveira explores concepts such as singularities, infinities, and idealizations. The article shows how mathematics makes it possible to transform complex phenomena into problems that can be studied and understood, while also highlighting the possibilities and limitations of mathematical models in their attempt to represent nature. Read it here.
Awarded third place, the article “‘Hidden’ Math in Art””, by Paloma Oliveto, is based on a recent scientific study that proposes the existence of mathematical patterns in abstract art. Published in Correio Braziliense, the article bridges the gap between mathematics and artistic creation by investigating structures that may be present in works that, at first glance, appear to follow no defined rules or patterns. Read it here.
The Mathematics category also awarded two honorable mentions to articles published in the newspaper O Globo. The article “A Human in the ‘Bot’ Network: How I Infiltrated Moltbook and ‘Caused a Stir’ by Pretending to Be a Brazilian AI”, by Bruno Romani, follows the journalist’s experience as he infiltrates Moltbook—a social network frequented by artificial intelligence agents—and explores the boundaries between humans and machines in this new digital environment. Read it here. And the news story “Code Strikes Back: AI Is the First Digital Revolution to Affect Tech Professionals Themselves”, by Carolina Nalin, explores how advances in artificial intelligence are beginning to transform the technology market itself, affecting professionals who were at the forefront of previous digital revolutions. Read it here.
Science from Different Perspectives
In the Scientific Outreach category, the first-place winner was the article “Life Through the Looking Glass”, published in Superinteressante. Journalist Maria Clara Rossini explores the concept of chirality—a property of objects that cannot be superimposed onto their mirror image—and its manifestations in physics, chemistry, and biology. The report uses this concept to discuss an even broader question: what nature’s “asymmetry” might reveal about the origin of life and the possibility of inverted life forms existing elsewhere in the universe. Read it here.
As for the runner-up, “The Last Cookie”, an audio documentary series produced by Agência Pública, follows journalist Ed Wanderley’s investigation into the relationships between food, obesity, industry, public health, and culture in Brazil. The series was co-produced with Sofia Amaral, Ricardo Terto, Stela Diogo, Claudia Jardim, and Natalia Viana. Drawing on the journalist’s own experience as a heart attack survivor, the production combines autobiographical narrative, investigative journalism, historical research, and sound design to explore how economic and political interests shape perceptions of science and influence the population’s eating habits. With a special focus on Pernambuco and the Northeast, the series also investigates the region’s historical relationship with sugar, ultra-processed foods, and food inequality. Read it here.
Third, the article “The Conquest of Rare Earths”, by Yuri de Vasconcelos and Frances Barreto Jones, published in Pesquisa FAPESP, follows the efforts of researchers, universities, research centers, and companies to master the complete cycle of extraction and processing of these elements. Essential for a variety of technologies and for the energy transition, rare earth elements are of growing strategic importance. The study also highlights Brazil’s potential, as the country possesses one of the world’s largest known reserves of these elements. Read it here.
In the Scientific Outreach category, the award granted three honorable mentions. In “On the Ground: A Fatal and Little-Known Disease Is Spreading in Brazil”, from the Metrópoles website, journalist Maria Eduarda Soares Toledo da Costa and her team discuss a serious disease (paracoccidioidomycosis) that is still relatively unknown in the country and draw attention to the challenges of expanding knowledge and improving diagnosis of the disease. Read it here.
Fernanda Zibordi, of Galileu, received an honorable mention for her report “How Scientists Explore Rare Caves in the Cerrado Home to More Than 120,000 Bats”, which follows the work of researchers in hard-to-reach underground environments and explores the scientific importance of the caves and their bat populations. Read it here.
The third honorable mention was awarded to Vanessa da Silva, of Amazônia Vox, for her report “Insects in Support of the Law: Forensic Entomology as an Ally of Justice in the Amazon”. The study shows how the study of insects can aid criminal investigations and contribute to the collection of evidence used by the courts in the Amazon region. Read it here.
In addition to Viana, the judging panel included Helena Nader, president of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences; Sabine Righetti, a journalist, professor at Labjor-Unicamp, and co-founder of Agência Bori; and Carla Russo, a journalist and director of Corcovado Comunicação Estratégica. The winning entries in this edition cover a range of topics and formats, but they all share a common goal: to make scientific knowledge accessible without simplifying the complexity of the issues addressed.