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Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication

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History

The Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication was initially announced on December 16, 2015, at the Royal Society in London, by a panel including Professor Stephen Hawking, the Starmus founding director Professor Garik Israelian, Dr. Brian May, Professor Richard Dawkins, Alexei Leonov, Nobel laureate Sir Harold Kroto, Kip Thorne, Hans Zimmer and Sarah Brightman were special guests during the ceremony and made speeches.

The Stephen Hawking Medals are awarded to the Science Communicator of the Year in three categories:

  • Music & Arts
  • Science Writing
  • Films & Entertainment
  • Lifetime Achievement

During the presentation of the Medal, Stephen Hawking said:

"I am delighted to present the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication to be awarded at STARMUS festivals. This medal will recognize excellence in science communication across different media, whether in writing, broadcasting, music, film, or fine art. This takes account of the great diversity, richness, creativity, and scope that science communicators use to reach a wide popular audience... I am very pleased to support and honour the work of science communicators, and look forward to awarding The Stephen Hawking Medal at STARMUS Festivals."

The first Stephen Hawking Medals for Science Communication were awarded at the third Starmus Festival in June 2016. The winners were selected by Stephen Hawking himself and received the Medal from him.

Professor Hawking said of the award:

By engaging with everyone from school children to politicians to pensioners, science communicators put science right at the heart of daily life. Bringing science to the people brings people into science. This matters to me, to you, to the world as a whole.

After Starmus III, the Starmus Advisory Board joined Stephen Hawking in the selection of winners.

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