SFI Resident Professor Melanie Mitchell has received a 2025 Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
Mitchell’s research spans artificial intelligence, cognitive science, and complex systems, and public outreach has long been an important aspect of her work. She has written and edited several books, including two meant for broad audiences. “Complexity: A Guided Tour” (2009) invites readers on an “intimate tour of the science of complexity,” and won the 2010 Phi Beta Kappa Science Book Award, while her 2019 book “Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans” was named one of the five best books on AI by both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal in 2024.
At SFI, Mitchell created the online learning platform Complexity Explorer and the platform’s initial course, Introduction to Complexity, which has drawn nearly 60,000 students since it launched in 2013. More than 90,000 people from around the world have signed up for the platform’s continually expanding offerings of no- or low-cost material. In 2024, she co-hosted SFI’s Complexity podcast season “The Nature of Intelligence” with Abha Eli Phoboo, SFI's then Director of Communications. The six-episode season featured conversations with cognitive and neuroscientists, animal-cognition researchers, and AI experts to explore the complexities of human and other intelligences.
Mitchell continues her work to communicate about the rapidly changing landscape of AI in our modern world through her Substack, “AI: A Guide for Thinking Humans,” and has become a go-to source for journalists reporting on the field.
The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Award for Excellence in Science Communications celebrates researchers, institutional writers, and journalists producing high-quality public-facing work. “These prestigious awards recognize excellent science communicators and strive to build a robust community of science communicators, science journalists, and research scientists,” writes the awarding committee. “The program will support the community of award winners as they continue to demystify complex issues related to science, engineering, and health effectively, inspiring wonder and curiosity about issues that impact daily life and planetary well-being.”
“I am thrilled and honored to receive this award,” says Mitchell. “My public outreach work has been the most rewarding and impactful aspect of my career as a scientist. This award honors the value of such work, at a time when public awareness and knowledge about science is more essential than ever. I am grateful to the Santa Fe Institute for providing an inspiring and supportive home for my research and writing.”
Selected from more than 700 applicants, Mitchell is one of 24 awardees this year, earning the top distinction in the category “Research Scientist — Later Career.” She joins SFI Professor C. Brandon Ogbunu, who received the award in 2024.