In 2024, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation partnered with Independent Media Initiative (IMI) to launch the annual Sloan Science Prizes for YouTube. Announced at the annual IMI Fest each November, the two prizes award exceptional science-and-technology themed works on YouTube. The Sloan Science Prize in Documentary provides $100,000 to support the development and production of nonfiction work that showcases subjects in science and technology. The Sloan Science Prize in Narrative Fiction provides $50,000 to support the development and production of a short film or series pilot that dramatizes scientific themes and/or characters.
The winner of the 2025 Sloan Science Prize in Documentary is Jeremy Fielding (@Jeremy_Fielding) for his developing project THE ENGINEERING OF A PHOTOGRAPH. Fielding’s YouTube channel hosts a library of videos in which he instructs viewers on how to re-create various mechanical projects, each of which illuminate fascinating concepts in engineering.
The winner of the 2025 Sloan Science Prize in Narrative Fiction is Toby Hendy, for her work A GUIDE TO MAKING FRIENDS IN THE FOURTH DIMENSION, inspired by her debut book of the same title. Self-published earlier this year and featuring color illustrations by Martina Pepiciello, the non-fiction guide takes a whimsical approach in its aim: to encourage novices and mathletes alike to embrace mathematical thinking and inspire interest in theoretical physics. Hendy’s YouTube channel Tibees (@tibees) – which has over 1.3 million subscribers – also explores the history of science and topics in physics, math, and astronomy throughout hundreds of videos.
Hendy and Fielding at IMI Fest 2025. Courtesy of IMI.
Fielding and Hendy’s works were selected by a jury which included YouTube creator Destin Sandlin, screenwriter/producer Nicole Perlman, YouTube creator Sabrina Cruz, theoretical physicist Stephon Alexander of Brown University, and IMI co-founder Elaine Sevier.
This marks the second year of the partnership between IMI and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The inaugural winner of the Sloan Science Prize in Documentary, Xyla Foxlin, published her winning project BUILDING AN AIRPLANE FROM SCRATCH in two parts earlier this year. Check out Part 1 below before streaming Part 2 here on her YouTube channel @xylafoxlin.
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