"As a journalist, Wilson writes articles that entertain and inform in equal measure, written with a literary style that invites the reader to submerge himself or herself into the story. As an editor, he has a masterful ability to rapidly convert plodding text into superb journalism. As the creative head of COSMOS, he put into practice our vision of a science magazine that would be visually glorious, with articles written about global science in an engaging literary style, without being either complex or shallow. I appreciate that in nine years of working with Wilson, I was working with a master journalist from whom I learned a great deal."

​"I have great admiration for Wilson’s work. He has very broad experience within science journalism – having worked in newswires, newspapers, magazines and television – but is best known for his role as co-founder and editor of the highly successful COSMOS magazine. As a person he is friendly, outgoing and has an infectious enthusiasm for his craft and for taking on new challenges, and feels passionately about science journalism as a field."

"I have known Wilson for nearly 40 years, from his time at Reuters on through editorships, broadcasting and, most recently, as a communications advisor. Throughout he has been a determined supporter of fine journalism and great science, bringing to each role his rigorous commitment, exuberant flair and enthusiasm.”

"Wilson’s work raising the profile of the UNSW Water Research Laboratory, its research and its staff has been exceptional. He built strong relationships with our staff and worked closely with them, earning their respect and admiration. The amount of media coverage he brought us is unprecedented – at one point, all five national TV networks had crews on our campus filming a story. He is pro-active, positive and sets high standards."

"Wilson is one of the most talented editors in Australia who combines a brilliant creative flair with excellent commercial abilities. He manages to combine the best of science journalism and editing with an entrepreneurial spirit.”

“Wilson offers a unique combination of skills involving scientific curiosity, journalistic integrity and an engaging style that all come across on stage. He was not only an excellent Master of Ceremonies with the right dose of authority and humour, he also steered panel members through some challenging subjects and, ultimately, provided live theatre and television audiences with an insightful and rewarding experience.”

"Wilson has a rare mix of skills that include excellence as a reporter and editor as well as creativity and entrepreneurial flair. These combine to make him highly suited to lead an existing publication, help run a start up or take a senior role in an organization requiring a strong communicator who understands his audience."

“It is rare indeed to come across inspirational speakers who are not only supremely well-informed but are able to capture and hold the interest and attention of audiences of all sorts. Wilson is just such a speaker, with an impressive breadth and depth of knowledge, and an ability to operate impeccably in professional and informal settings. I have no hesitation in wholeheartedly recommending him as a speaker or compere."

"Wilson is first-rate at helping scientists generate stories, gettingTV/radio/print interested in them, and then managing the hordes of media attracted. He loves science and can communicate in print, on tape or film. He did a great job of getting UNSW Engineering staff, myself included, into the news."

“I have had the great pleasure of working with Wilson on a number of very successful projects  … he is a very creative thinker who’s capacity and enthusiasm for innovation in communications is relentless. It is these qualities that make him such a pleasure to work with, and have delivered exceptional results for the University of Melbourne in its marketing communications.”

"Wilson's publishing expertise sets best practice. Taking scientific rigour as an essential basis, his work provides reliable, conspicuous impact."

"Wilson is an enthusiastic and inspirational science communicator, as well as an experienced journalist and editor. One of his great skills is generating innovative ideas for new projects and finding ways to turn them into reality."

"I've known Wilson since 1997 and we have shared collaborative and parallel careers in science communication. He excels in the creation and leadership of magazine and online journalism and his track record speaks for itself. Wilson is a creative and innovative guy when it comes to telling the stories of science."

“Wilson has been an excellent President of the World Federation of Science Journalists, putting the interest of the Federation before his own and chairing the board meetings with exquisite skills. Wilson understands and cares for good governance and management.”

“I worked as a freelancer writer for Wilson da Silva when he was editor at COSMOS. He was always a delightfully inspiring, engaged and rigorous editor who had great ideas for stories and interesting ways to improve my stories. In the best cases the relationship between writer and editor should be one of mutual respect and creative collaboration. I found these qualities with Wilson.”