The Hypatia Prize, awarded in collaboration with Academia Europaea – Barcelona Knowledge Hub, recognises people who have stood out for achieving excellence in science in the European context. The award recognises the impact of their research career at the highest international level, the return generated for society and the improvement in people’s quality of life. The award also takes into account the impact in different spheres of knowledge, beyond their own. Candidacies may be put forward until 29 June.

Consolidated award

The Hypatia Prize was created in 2018 as one of the actions in the first Barcelona Science Plan. It demonstrates the city’s commitment to science and its will to promote Barcelona as a leading city in research and innovation, giving it visibility as a knowledge hub and the promotion of the finest scientific talent.

Under the Strategic Science and Innovation Plan 2024-2027, the award alternates between three main areas of knowledge: science and technology, life sciences and health, and humanities and social sciences, with the latter the focus for this sixth edition.

The list of people who have received the award includes the mathematician László Lovász, the virologist Ilaria Capua, the science philosopher Nancy Cartwright, the international AI expert Nuria Oliver and the biologist and geneticist Svante Pääbo.

The award is named after the philosopher and scientist Hypatia of Alexandria, a woman who knew how to conjugate and transmit all forms of knowledge in her time, and who precisely because of this was murdered by the forces of ignorance and fanaticism