Alumnus John Noble Wilford has twice won a Pulitzer Prize for his scientific reporting. His first prize In 1984 honored his reporting of science and space exploration. Wilford was honored again in 1987 as part of the reporting team that covered the space shuttle Challenger disaster. His New York Times front-page story about the first walk on the moon in 1969 is the most widely used account of the historic event. After earning his journalism degree from UT, Wilford received a master’s in political science from Syracuse University. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has authored numerous books including We Reach the Moon, The Mapmakers, Mars Beckons, and The Mysterious History of Columbus. UT awarded Wilford an honorary degree in 2014.