Laureates by academic field
Basic Sciences: Physics
The award is presented to Maria Petropoulou, Assistant Professor of Physics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. Maria Petropoulou seeks solutions to fundamental problems in astrophysics, with a focus on radiation processes in astrophysical plasmas, high-energy particle acceleration, and neutrino production. Since launching her independent research career in 2020, she has made a significant impact, authoring 97 peer-reviewed publications, receiving approximately 3,700 citations, and achieving an h-index of 35. Her primary research interests are High-Energy and Multi-Messenger Astrophysics.
Life Sciences: Biomedical Sciences
The award is presented to Stavroula Hatzios, Associate Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and of Chemistry at Yale University. Stavroula Hatzios aims to discover new therapeutic tools for gastrointestinal infections and gastrointestinal cancers by combining chemistry and microbiology. The primary objective of her laboratory’s research programme is to understand how bacterial and host cells adapt to oxidative stress during infection, as this adaptation can contribute to the development of serious diseases. Her team has identified key pathways and antioxidant defence mechanisms that improve disease diagnosis and treatment, including for serious gastrointestinal cancers. She has published extensively in international scientific journals such as Nature Chemical Biology and Cell, and has received honours including the Sloan Research Fellowship in Chemistry and the Beckman Young Investigator Award.
Applied Sciences/Technologies: Artificial Intelligence
The award is presented to Ioannis Gkioulekas, Associate Professor at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. Ioannis Gkioulekas works at the intersection of artificial intelligence, computer vision, and computer graphics, with a focus on computational imaging. He investigates the integration of optical, electronic, and computational techniques to develop imaging systems with unprecedented capabilities. His research finds applications in medicine—non-invasive imaging of blood vessels or brain cells; in disaster response and monitoring via optical tomography systems; and in navigation and surveillance systems capable of “seeing” around corners. His contributions have significantly advanced volumetric imaging and earned him notable recognition, including the NSF CAREER Award and the Sloan Research Fellowship.
Social Sciences: Political Science
The award is presented to Vasiliki Fouka, Associate Professor of Political Science at Stanford University. Vasiliki Fouka studies the factors shaping social and political behaviour, as well as the formation of social and group identities, aiming—among other things—to draw conclusions for public policy design. Her research integrates theoretical tools and methods from various social science disciplines, combining models of human behaviour from economics and social psychology. Using historical data, she examines how concepts such as social and group identities evolve over time, how they are influenced by government policies, and their impact on significant social and political behaviours like voting patterns, partner selection, place of residence, and incidents of violence against members of other racial or ethnic groups. Her work has been published in leading journals such as the American Political Science Review, Annual Review of Political Science, and Review of Economic Studies. She has received awards including the Austin Robinson Memorial Prize (Economic Journal) and the Joseph L. Bernd Best Paper Award (Journal of Politics).