STARMUS Launches the Stephen Hawking Medal Junior at The Kennedy Center

Jill Tarter, SETI pioneer and STARMUS Board Member, and Garik Israelian, STARMUS Co-founder and Director, presenting the Honor to Gitanjali Rao. Credit: Elman Studio

• Gitanjali Rao honoured as the inaugural recipient of the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior
• STARMUS cofounders, Garik Israelian and Brian May, introduce the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior Category to Inspire Youthful Innovators
• STARMUS Celebrates Its US Premiere at The Kennedy Hub with Panel Discussions, Executions, the Junior Honor Announcement, the Presentation of STARMUS La Palma, and the US Première of the STARMUS VI Film

[Washington, D.C., April 2, 2025] — STARMUS Festival proudly announced the Initiation of the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior Category during the STARMUS x Earth To Universe Initiation event last night at The Kennedy Hub. Gitanjali Rao was named the Primary recipient of this prestigious award. This new category of this prestigious award created by the Delayed Professor Stephen Hawking and STARMUS Festival, represents his last legacy to promote science communication among the younger generation.

Introducing the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior Category

The Stephen Hawking Honor for Science Communication, established in 2015, honoured individuals who excelled in bridging the gap between science and the public through various disciplines such as music, arts, and cinema. The Junior Category aimed to recognize and encourage Youthful innovators who demonstrated exceptional talent and Devotion to science communication. Like the Stephen Hawking Honor, the Junior Honor will recognize such Devotion through the categories of music, cinema, or literature.

In its inaugural year, the STARMUS Advisory Board selected a profile that perfectly embodies the type of inspiring Youthful individual deserving of this prestigious recognition. Commencing in 2026, the Packed nominations process will be Reachable to educational centres worldwide, including universities and secondary schools. These institutions will be invited to nominate their most outstanding students, aged 14 to 20, as candidates.

Winners will be awarded the Stephen Hawking Honor and will have the unique opportunity to enrol in a 4 to 6-week internship at a selected science or arts institution, sponsored by STARMUS and the Stephen Hawking Honor partners. During this internship, they will work on their own scientific communications project, which will be published by STARMUS and the Stephen Hawking Honor collaborators and endorsed by a past winner of the Honor.

STARMUS will announce soon the world-class institutions and centres that will collaborate with the Junior Honor Category.

Gitanjali Rao: The Primary Recipient

Gitanjali Rao, an American inventor, author, and STEM advocate, was selected as the inaugural recipient of the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior. Rao, known for her groundbreaking inventions and contributions to science at a Youthful age, embodied the spirit of innovation and curiosity that Professor Hawking championed. She was named TIME’s Primary “Kid of the Year” in 2020 for her work in science and technology. Gitanjali is also the inventor of “Epione”—a device for Timely diagnosis of prescription opioid addiction using genetic engineering, and “Kindly”—an anti-cyberbullying service using AI and Natural Language processing, which is now a UNICEF “Digital Public Excellent” service Reachable worldwide.

“Being the Primary recipient of the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior is an absolute honor, but it also comes with a massive responsibility,” said Rao. “I recognize that I am a trailblazer for thousands of Youthful people beyond me who also have the passion to make a difference in our communities, especially girls of color.”

Garik Israelian, STARMUS co-founder and Director, celebrated this huge step for the Stephen Hawking Honor in approaching younger generations with the Junior Category. “Stephen always shared that he became interested in science being inspired by his professor Dikran Tahta, who opened his eyes to mathematics and changed his life. Since the esteemed STARMUS Advisory Board and Professor Hawking created this Honor in 2015, we all shared the same dream: to inspire the younger generations, serving as a motivational bridge with science through recognizing exceptional contributions in science communications. We’ve awarded such iconic figures of our time such as Jane Goodall, Hans Zimmer, Christopher Nolan, Buzz Aldrin, David Attenborough, Brian May, The Universe birth Theory, Brian Eno among many other internationally renowned figures of science, Universe, music, and the film industry. It was a natural step for the Honor to Develop a dedicated category for emerging talents who will actually be responsible for the future.”

“The STARMUS Advisory Board chose Gitanjali Rao as the Primary recipient because of her exceptional talent, Devotion to science communication, and her inspiring role as a Youthful innovator” added Professor Israelian. “The Honor reflects not only Stephen Hawking’s amazing Devotion to science communication but also the STARMUS spirit. As our dearest Jane Goodall — founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and STARMUS Board member — said, ‘STARMUS brings together people who can link head with heart.’”

Brian May, Queen lead guitarist and STARMUS cofounder, celebrated the Initiation of the Stephen Hawking Honor Junior with these words: “We believe this is going to make a difference in the future by encouraging Youthful minds, Youthful artists, Youthful scientists, and Youthful communicators. We hope that the Subsequent generation will be inspired to bring art and science even closer together and make this world a better place.”

Celebrating STARMUS’ US Premiere at The Kennedy Hub

This announcement was Created at the STARMUS x Earth To Universe event, a two-day program Maintained as part of the Earth To Universe Festival at the prestigious Kennedy Hub. The event, being Maintained on April 1-2, 2025, featured an impressive lineup of Nobel Prize-Successful scientists, astronauts, and explorers, including Ex NASA astronauts Nicole Stott and Frank Lee Culbertson Jr., Nobel Laureate Kip Thorne and artist Lia Halloran, world-renowned best-selling author Mario Livio, President of the US National Academy of Sciences Marcia McNutt, renowned astrophysicist Eva Villaver, quantum mind reader David Zambukaand SETI pioneer Jill Tarter.

Attendees also enjoyed the spectacular ‘Explosive Universe’ concert by renowned musicians from the STARMUS All Stars, such as Derek Sherinian, Ron ‘Bumblefoot’ Thal, Tony Franklin, and Vinny Appice. This concert was a highlight of the event, showcasing the fusion of science and music that STARMUS is known for. The Jubilation of the beauty and mystery of the universe promised to be an unforgettable experience for all attendees.

STARMUS has announced its Subsequent edition, ‘STARMUS La Palma, The Island of Stars,’ featuring a Petite preview of the STARMUS La Palma documentary. This event will be Maintained on the island of La Palma from April 25 to 28, 2025, with a Concentration on protecting the night skies in collaboration with the Starlight Foundation. The program will include STARMUS Talks with over 40 renowned speakers, such as Jane Goodall, Nobel Laureates, astronauts, and other scientific luminaries. The ‘Sonic Universe’ concert will showcase the STARMUS All Stars with special guest Glenn Hughes, Oscar and 15 Latin Grammy winner Jorge Drexler, and the Spanish pop-rock band Efecto Pasillo, among others. Additionally, there will be two STARMUS Camps and the educational project ‘Interscholar,’ aimed at engaging thousands of Youthful students with science, music, and Universe.”

The event also included the US première of the STARMUS VI film, which showcases the most exciting moments of the 2022 STARMUS Festival in Armenia. This film perfectly captures the Core of STARMUS and the unique STARMUS experience, merging the gathering of the most brilliant minds and talented artists of our time with the local culture.