Astronomy

62 ASTRONOMY • JANUARY 2018

The prestigious prize recognizes popularizers of science

from around the world. by Jake Parks

Starmus awards 2017

D

uring the 2017 Starmus Festival,

founder Garik Israelian presented

the Stephen Hawking Medal for

Science Communication to three

worthy recipients. Astrophysicist

Neil deGrasse Tyson won for science

writing, French electronic composer Jean-

Michel Jarre captured the prize for music

and arts, and the producers of the CBS

sitcom The Big Bang Theory were honored

for films and entertainment.

In addition to the medal, each winner

received a uniquely engraved, 18-karat yel-

low gold Speedmaster Moonwatch from

Omega — the official watchmaker for

NASA since the 1960s.

Encapsulating the spirit of the Starmus

Festival, the Stephen Hawking Medal was

established in 2016 to acknowledge and

honor those scien-

tists, artists, musi-

cians, and

filmmakers who

work tirelessly to

promote science

to the general

public. “I firmly

believe that if there is

one thing for us all to

strive for,” said Selda Ekiz,

host of the award ceremony, “it is to

spread our burning desire to understand

the world and the universe that we are a

part of.”

Tyson, the first American to receive the

award, used his acceptance speech to

explain that every human being is born

innately inquisitive. “This is affirmation

that there is a hunger out there for

people to continue to learn long into adult-

hood,” Tyson said. “There is a curiosity

that still burns within us, even if we have

forgotten it is there.”

Stephen Hawking

Medals

Jake Parks is an associate editor at Astronomy

who greatly enjoys playing guitar and drums

despite his lack of talent.

The back of the medal

combines an image of

Russian cosmonaut

Alexei Leonov’s trail-

blazing spacewalk

with Queen guitarist

Brian May’s iconic

guitar — the “Red

Special” — to highlight

the connection between

science and art. MAX ALEXANDER

Astrophysicist

Neil deGrasse Tyson

and composer

Jean-Michel Jarre

pose with their

awards at the 2017

Starmus Festival.

The producers of

The Big Bang Theory

also won an award

but were unable to

attend. MAX ALEXANDER