Jill Tarter, Seti Pioneer and Starmus Board Member and Garik Israelian, co-founder and director of Starmus, who present the medal at Gitanjali Rao. Credit: Elman Studio
- Gitanjali Rao Onorato as an inaugural recipient of the Stephen Hawking Junior medal
- Starmus Cofonder, Garik Israelian and Brian May, introduce the junior category of the Stephen Hawking medal to inspire young innovators
- Starmus celebrates his debut in the United States at the Kennedy Center with Panel discussions, shows, the announcement of the Junior medal, the presentation of Starmus La Palma and the US award for Starmus VI’s film
[Washington, D.C., April 2, 2025] – The Starmus Festival proudly announced the launch of the Stephen Hawking Medal Junior Category during the Starmus x land to space The launch event last night at the Kennedy Center. Gitanjali Rao The first recipient of this prestigious prize was appointed. This new category of this prestigious prize created by the late Professor Stephen Hawking and Starmus Festival represents his last legacy to promote scientific communication among the younger generations.
Presentation of the Junior category of the Stephen Hawking medal
The Medal of Stephen Hawking for scientific communication, founded in 2015, honored the people who excelled in filling the gap between science and public through various disciplines such as music, arts and cinema. The Junior category aimed to recognize and encourage young innovators who demonstrated exceptional talent and dedication to scientific communication. Like the Stephen Hawking medal, the Junior medal will recognize this dedication through the categories of music, cinema or literature.
In its inaugural year, the Stormus consultative committee has selected a profile that perfectly embodies the type of individual inspiration that deserves this prestigious recognition. Starting from 2026, the entire appointment process will be open to educational centers all over the world, including universities and secondary schools. These institutions will be invited to appoint their most exceptional students, aged 14 to 20, as candidates.
The winners will be assigned the Stephen Hawking medal and will have the unique opportunity to enroll in an internship from 4 to 6 weeks at an institute of science or selected art, sponsored by Stormus and The Stephen Hawking Medal Partners. During this internship, they will work on their scientific communication project, which will be published by Starmus and by the collaborators of the Stephen Hawking medal and approved by a past winner of the medal.
Starmus will soon announce the institutions and centers of the world -level that will collaborate with the Junior Medal category.
Gitanjali Rao: the first recipient
Gitanjali Rao, an American inventor, author and lawyer Stem, was selected as an inaugural recipient of the Stephen Hawking Junior medal. Rao, known for his innovative inventions and contributions to science at a young age, embodied the spirit of innovation and curiosity that Professor Hawking supported. He was appointed “Kid of the Year” in Time in 2020 for his work in Sciences and Technology. Gitanjali is also the inventor of “Epione”, a device for the early diagnosis of dependence on opiate prescription that uses genetic engineering and “kindly”-a anti-cyberbullying service that uses and the processing of natural language, which is now a “Digital Public” Unicef service available all over the world.
“Being the first recipient of Stephen Hawking Junior’s medal is an absolute honor, but he also has a massive responsibility “, Rao said. “I recognize that I am a pioneer for thousands of young people beyond me who also have the passion to make a difference in our communities, in particular color girls. “
Garik IsraeliCo-founder and director of Starmus, he celebrated this huge step for the Stephen Hawking medal in the approach to the younger generations with the Junior category. “Stephen has always shared that he had been interested in science inspired by his professor Dikran Tahta, who opened his eyes to mathematics and changed his life. Since the estimated consultative committee of Starmus and Professor Hawking created this medal in 2015, we shared all the same dream: inspiring the younger generations, acting as a motivational bridge with science through the recognition of exceptional contributions in scientific communications. We have assigned such iconic figures of our time such as Jane Goodall, Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan, Buzz Aldrin, David Attenborough, Brian May, The Big Bang Theory, Brian Eno among other science, music, music and film industry figures. It was a natural step for the medal to create a dedicated category for emerging talents that will actually be responsible for the future. “
“The Stormus consultative committee has chosen Gitanjali Rao as the first recipient for its exceptional talent, dedication to scientific communication and its inspiring role as a young innovator“Added the Israeli Professor.”The medal reflects not only the extraordinary dedication of Stephen Hawking to scientific communication, but also to the Starmus spirit. As our most dear Jane Goodall said – Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and the member of the Board of Directors of Starmus: “Starmus brings together people who can connect their heads with the heart”.“
Brian May, The queen guitarist and the co -founder of Starmus celebrated the launch of the Stephen Hawking Junior medal with these words: “We believe that this will make the difference in the future by encouraging young minds, young artists, young scientists and young communicators. We hope that the next generation will be inspired to bring art and science even closer and make this world a better place. “
Celebrating the US debut in Starmus at the Kennedy Center
This announcement was made to the Stammus X Earth To Space event, a two -day program held in the context of The Festival della Terra in Space to the prestigious Kennedy Center. The event, which will be held on 1-2 April 2025, presented an impressive range of scientists, astronauts and winners of the Nobel Prize winners, including former NASA astronauts Nicole Stott AND Frank Lee Culbertson Jr., Nobel prize Kip Thorne and artist Lia Halloran, World -renowned best seller author Mario LivioPresident of the National Academy of Sciences in the United States March mcnuttrenowned astrophysicist Eva VillaverReader of the quantum mind David ZambukaAnd Seti Pioneer Jill Tarter.
The participants also appreciated the spectacular “Explosive universe” concert by musicians renowned by Starmus All Starsfor example Derek Sherinian, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, Tony FranklinAND Vinny Appice. This concert was a highlight of the event, which shows the fusion of science and music for which Starmus is known. The celebration of the beauty and mystery of the universe has promised to be an unforgettable experience for all participants.
Starmus has announced its next edition, ‘Starmus la Palma, The island of the stars‘With a short preview of the Stormus La Palma documentary. This event will be held on the island of The palm from 25 to 28 April 2025With particular attention to the protection of night skies in collaboration with the Starlight Foundation. The program will include Starmus speaks with over 40 famous speakers, such as Jane Goodall, Nobel graduates, astronautsand more scientific luminaries. THE “Sonic Universe” concert will show the Starmus All Stars with special guest Glenn HughesOscar and 15 winners of Grammy Latino Jorge Drexlerand the Spanish pop-rock band Efecto Pasilloamong others. Also, there will be Two fields of Starmus and the educational project ‘Interscholar“He aimed to involve thousands of young students with science, music and space”.
The event also included the USA Award of the Starmus VI film, which shows the most exciting moments of the 2022 Starmus festival in Armenia. This film perfectly captures the essence of Starmus and the unique experience of Starmus, combining the gathering of the brightest minds and talent artists of our time with the local culture.
