[1] In 2003, he was one of 10 national recipients of the Whiting Award, given annually to emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise.
He was the winner of a Graduate and Professional Student Council Mentor of the Year at Arizona and a Biosphere 2 Innovative Faculty Fellowship.
Cokinos is the winner of fellowships and grants from the American Antiquarian Society, the Utah Arts Council, and the National Science Foundation.
In 2003–2004 he was a member of the Antarctic Search for Meteorites expedition for five weeks, as part of his research for The Fallen Sky: An Intimate History of Shooting Stars.
Now retired, he continues to contribute essays to the Los Angeles Times and covers NASA and other topics for Astronomy magazine, among other publications.