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Announcing The Open Lab Finalists!

By jgoldman on January 7, 2011.

It's here! After more than a month of reviewing, I am pleased to announce the list of posts that will be included in this year's edition - the fifth - of The Open Laboratory!

In no particular order:

Determining the ultimate composition of Open Lab is no easy task, especially since we started out with an unprecedented nearly 900 entries. Competition was fierce! In the end, these 50 posts (plus 6 poems and 1 cartoon), are representative of the best science and the best writing in the science blogosphere from 2010. Not only is the science accurate and the writing top-notch, but they are highly accessible, and they truly make the reader care about the topic. I hope that this final list succeeds in the goal of showcasing the breadth and depth of the science blogosphere and of highlighting the incredible diversity and talent among science bloggers.

But I could not (and would not) have done it alone! In addition to the hours of time (and cups of coffee and bags of Doritos) I spent reading and evaluating posts myself, forty reviewers gave their time and energy - over winter break, Chanukah, Christmas, and New Years - to respond critically and thoughtfully to the almost nine hundred posts that were submitted. Each post that made it to the final list has been reviewed by no fewer than six individuals across three rounds of review!

My unending gratitude goes to (in no particular order):

Thanks also goes to Andrea Kuszewski, who designed the cover (which will be unveiled at Science Online next week), and thanks in advance to Blake Stacey, who has just begun working with me on designing and typesetting the book. And, of course, to Blogfather Bora, who is not only the Open Lab Series Editor, but a mentor and friend to me, and to us all.

Congratulations on a job well done, everyone!

Finalists: you can look forward to receiving an email from me in the next day or so with further instructions. If you do not, please get in touch by emailing me: thoughtfulanimal[at]gmail[dot]com. For those of you who will be at Science Online, please look for me at the Books and Beer happy hour on Friday evening - I will have a sticker for you to add to your name badges. And you are invited to proudly display one or more of the following badges on your blogs and websites!

i-1d1b8532379e54a66d246c4b7956bf6f-Open_Lab_2010_published_100x67.pngi-bfe827d71a073da8b3a0db2b3ad67fdb-Open_Lab_2010_published_150x100.pngi-2465b405a88d9d025d7d762a537c5705-Open_Lab_2010_published_300x200.png

Reviewers: You're done! For those of you who will be at Science Online, please look for me at the Books and Beer happy hour on Friday evening - I will have an Open Lab Reviewers' sticker for you to add to your name badges.

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And we should all thank Jason for a job well done.

Thanks for letting me help!

Wow, I can't believe I made the cut this year! Thanks! What an amazing list of posts -- I feel lucky to be among them.

Not an easy undertaking, Jason! Congrats on completing it and coordinating the process.

Congratulations, Jason! I never doubted your ability to deal with this monumental task! Great list and I'm thrilled to be on it! :)

Thank you, Jason and massive list of reviewers, for all the hard work. That you performed one of the fastest turnarounds in a year with one of the biggest list of submissions deserves a round of applause.

Wow--six reviewers and I still made it?

Seriously, having reviewed last year, I know what work it is--thanks for all the work, and congrats on a job well done!

Well done, Jason! Thanks for pulling this edition together, as well as selecting one of my posts. I am delighted to have my essay included with those of so many friends and fellow writers. Congratulations to everyone who made it into the anthology!

Fantastic stuff! You guys give me a warm fuzzy that science is still altruistic, educational and fun, and that blogging about it is worthwhile. Thanks everyone involved!

Can't believe the sheer magnitude of entries this year. Who knew science bloggers were suc prolific writers?
Can't wait to read all of the awesome science.

I'm so excited to be included!!! Thanks for putting it together Jason, reviewers, and everyone who gave up time & precious sleep working on it. Wish I could be at Science Online, instead I'll be following from Twitter @CaptainSkellett

What an amazing list! I can't wait to read them all. Thank you (Jason, Bora, Andrea and all the reviewers) for all your hard work--and thanks for including me!