John Noble Wilford, winner of two Pulitzer prizes, earned a B.S. degree from the University of Tennessee in 1955. Wilford won his first Pulitzer in 1984 for his national reporting of science topics. In 1987, he shared the prize with other New York Times reporters for their team effort in reporting on the Challenger explosion and its aftermath. Wilford also received an M.A. from Syracuse University. Before joining the New York Times in 1965, Wilford worked for the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine. While at the Times, he has served as science correspondent, assistant national news editor, and director of science news. In addition to reporting, Wilford has been author, coauthor, or editor of eight books.

Wilford received two awards from the Aviation-Space Writers Association, the G.M. Loeb Achievement Award from the University of Connecticut, the National Space Club Press Award, the Westinghouse Science Writing Award, and two honorary doctorates. He has been a visiting professor and lecturer at Princeton, Syracuse, Duke, Yale, and the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.