Sumit Paul-Choudhury

Journalist

Judge , 2018

Sumit Paul-Choudhury is the editor-in-chief of New Scientist, the world’s most popular science weekly and one of the UK’s most highly respected media brands. After having trained as a physicist at Imperial College London, he subsequently turned his hand to journalism, working in London and New York, and spent 15 years writing about finance and technology before returning to science in 2008. In addition to his day job, between 2012 and 2014 he was editor-in-chief of Arc, an acclaimed digital publication dedicated to the future, and in 2016 served as the founding creative director for New Scientist Live, the world’s most exciting festival of ideas and discovery.

He aims to make complex subjects comprehensible and relevant, from artificial intelligence to black holes, leaving readers fascinated and uplifted. He also likes to talk about the future, and about how innovation and discovery change the world. He’s written for publications ranging from the Wall Street Journal to the NME, spoken at events ranging from Innovate 2015 to London Fashion Week, and judged the Samuel Johnson Prize for Non-Fiction and the Royal Television Society Programme Awards. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, the founder of Chantepleure Productions, and a founding member of the Bishopsgate Experimental Noise Theatre, among numerous other side projects. He lives, works and fails to sleep in London.