The sidney prize is awarded monthly to an outstanding piece of journalism, regardless of genre or medium, that appeared during the previous month. Nominations are open to all. The deadline for nominations is the last day of the month.

Winners are notified the second Wednesday of the following month, and their work will be published in the following issue. The Sidney prize is a joint initiative between the New York Times and Dartmouth College. The award is named for Sidney Cox ’37, who died in the Vietnam War. Contributions to the prize are welcomed from those who knew and admired him, as well as from men interested in his vision of undergraduate education at Dartmouth.

In addition to being a pioneer in the field of RNA catalysis, Sid was an exemplary scientist and conscientious teacher. He was a cherished mentor for many postdocs and a loyal friend to countless colleagues.

Sid first became acquainted with Yong Li, one of his former postdocs and now a leading researcher in the field of RNA processing at the University of Texas Medical School in Houston, when they both visited Shanghai in 2007 to deliver seminars on scientific research and ethics. In the years that followed, Yong and Sid became good friends, frequently exchanging emails about their careers and their families.

During this time, Yong and other scientists in China were working on a project that aimed to identify the role of RNase P in bacterial RNA catalysis. The resulting paper, which was published in Nature in 2022, showed that the enzyme was required for a key step in replication. Sid was thrilled by the discovery and the ensuing recognition of his contribution to the field, but he was even more moved by Yong’s deep interest in science and her willingness to travel the world to advance it.

In this essay, Yong and his colleague Enduo Wang describe how Sid’s generosity in sharing his time and expertise in a faraway land made an immeasurable impact on the lives of Chinese students and scientists. Their recollections, along with those of other trainees and a legion of colleagues and friends, offer a collective portrait of Sid as an exemplary scientist, a supportive mentor, and an amiable friend—and, above all, an uncommonly giving person. —Yong Li, Professor of Chemistry, University of Texas Medical School in Houston