STARMUS, a global festival of science communication and art that brings together the most brilliant minds on the planet will announce the winners of the Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication on 5th September, 8pm in Yerevan, Armenia (5pm BST/12pm EST).
Under the name of the greatest scientist of the 20th and early 21st centuries, Professor Stephen Hawking, and sponsored by STARMUS, the Stephen Hawking Science Medal is a prestigious award which recognises the merit of popular science on an international level. The design of the medal is a portrait of Professor Hawking by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, the first man to perform a spacewalk and member of the Advisory Council for STARMUS since its first edition. Previous winners have included Hans Zimmer, Elon Musk, Neil deGrasse Tyson and Buzz Aldrin.
There will be a press conference with the winners. To register interest in the announcement of the winners and interview opportunities on 5th September, please contact Four Communications, details listed below.
STARMUS VI this year is being held in Armenia and is dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the first soft landing on Mars by “Mars 3” and the first orbiter “Mariner 9”. “Mariner 9” took the first high quality images of Mars while “Mars 3” brought the first rover, Prop-M, to the surface of Mars. This unique and spectacular festival was founded by astrophysicist Dr Garik Israelian and Dr Brian May, astrophysicist and the legendary guitarist of Queen. Their aim was to create a platform that unites world-renowned scientists, Nobel Prize laureates, astronauts, and the brightest minds in science, art and technology. The festival enables them to share their experience, knowledge and the latest inventions with attendees, helping to inspire people across the globe to explore the world of science.
Armenia was chosen for its long and impressive history of astronomy, astrophysics and space exploration. For much of the 20th century, it was home to the Soviet space programme, and to this day, it remains a key location for the international community, housing The Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory and the Aragatz Station.
The Prop-M rover, the first rover to land on Mars, was designed by Armenian engineer Alexander Kemurdzhian, whose life and work has been celebrated by STARMUS through musical compositions created by Brian Eno and Serj Tankian. The pieces are called “To Moon and Mars with Kemurzdhian”, and were unique compositions written to express the importance of Kemurdzhian’s inventions and celebrate his 100th anniversary.
