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. Fossils

    The real sea monsters

    No known dinosaurs lived in the oceans. But there were lots of big aquatic reptiles that were every bit as ferocious and awesome.

  2. Fossils

    That’s no dino!

    Not all ancient reptiles were dinosaurs. Some soared, many swam the seas and still others looked like dinos—but actually weren’t.

  3. Computing

    Computing: Swapping a glove for the keyboard

    Sensor-studded gloves, designed by a Texas teen, might someday serve as a virtual keyboard or musical instrument — or even help interpret sign language.

  4. Tech

    This door handle kills germs

    A high-tech door handle may cut down on disease transmission, say its teen developers. The system is powered by simply opening and closing the door.

  5. Space

    Collecting trash in space

    Space junk threatens satellites that cost millions of dollars. But one teen has come up with an idea to collect and dispose of that orbiting trash.

  6. Brain

    Studying? Don’t answer that text!

    Homework time? Put away the cell phone. Responding to texts gets in the way of learning and test-taking, teen researchers show.

  7. Materials Science

    Keeping roofs cooler to cut energy costs

    Cool it! A cheap paint-on coating for roofing shingles could help reduce a home’s heating bills and might even trim urban ozone levels, a teen shows.

  8. Tech

    Teens want to make windshield wipers obsolete

    Windshield wipers often can’t keep up with the rain. High-intensity air sprays might one day take their place, according to research by two teens.

  9. Health & Medicine

    Teens win big for pollution control and HIV detection

    Ah-choo! The 2015 Intel ISEF competition’s top winner designed a way to curb germs on planes. Two other big winners invented ways to detect HIV early and to corral oil spills at sea.

  10. Health & Medicine

    Bones: Custom cushioning helps heal a bad break

    If the stiff casts encasing broken limbs included an inflatable air bladder instead of a soft lining, costly and painful complications experienced by some patients during healing might be avoided, two teens reported at the 2015 Intel ISEF competition.

  11. Animals

    What’s the buzz? A new mosquito lure

    Broadcasting a fake buzz can lure male Aedes aegypti mosquitoes away from females. That could reduce populations of these annoying — and disease-causing — insects, reports a teen at the 2015 Intel ISEF competition.

  12. Health & Medicine

    Vision-ary high tech

    New devices are being developed to improve, restore or preserve the vision of people with eye diseases, such as glaucoma and macular degeneration. One device is a telescopic contact lens than can be zoomed with a wink.