Sid Perkins

Freelance Writer

Sid is a freelance science journalist. He lives in Crossville, Tenn., with his wife, two dogs and three cats. He specializes in earth sciences and paleontology but often tackles topics such as astronomy, planetary science, materials science and engineering. 

 

In 2009, Sid won the Award for Distinguished Science Journalism in the Atmospheric and Related Sciences from the American Meteorological Society. And in 2002, he shared the American Astronomical Society’s Solar Physics Division’s Award for Popular Writing on Solar Physics. Sid’s writing also appears in Science, Nature, Scientific American, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Science News.

All Stories by Sid Perkins

  1. Teen stitches up a Broadcom win

    Holly Jackson, 14, of San Jose, Calif., grabs top honors — and a $25,000 award — in the finals of the Broadcom MASTERS competition.

  2. Tech

    A cane that can ‘see’

    Pre-teen’s invention clips onto a blind person’s cane and detects objects in a person’s path, helping them to avoid trip hazards.

  3. Animals

    Teen studies living flashlights of the deep

    A teen studies a cryptic fish to better understand when and why it flashes its bacterial glow.

  4. Earth

    Explainer: Understanding ice ages

    Earth slowly wobbles, tilts and stretches (or contracts) as it orbits the sun. These changes may be fairly small and subtle. Still, their cumulative impacts can be huge — sometimes triggering the slow onset of an ice age or an abrupt thaw.

  5. Earth

    Explainer: The volcano basics

    Here’s an overview of what they are, where they form and the many ways they pose dangers.

  6. Fossils

    Some Arctic dinos lived in herds

    Fossil footprints retrieved from Alaska indicate that plant-eating duckbill dinos not only traveled as extended families but also spent their entire lives in the Arctic.

  7. Earth

    Nifty science

    Inspired research put select high school seniors on the path to the 2014 Intel Science Talent Search finals.

  8. Animals

    Mosquitoes, be gone!

    An extract of local seeds in Puerto Rico may be the key to keeping mosquitoes away. It kills the larval insects and repels the biting adults.

  9. Microbes

    Convincing bacteria they’re alone

    Caffeine may be the trick to confusing some bacteria into thinking they’ve not yet summoned enough troops to launch a successful attack on their host. It could prove an alternative to antibiotics for certain infections.

  10. Better than plywood

    Most people think of pineapple as a tasty fruit. But it can be so much more, two Malaysian teens showed. They turned the plant’s leaves into a construction material that’s both strong and waterproof.

  11. Earth

    Don’t let the bedbugs bite

    A trio of teens has found a nontoxic way to stop bedbugs dead in their tracks. The method relies on a mesh of fibers that a bug can step into easily — but never leave.

  12. Animals

    Mite-y discoveries!

    Two teens from Russia discovered tiny mites living inside grass-like plants called rushes. Three of the species they turned up are new to science.