Brian Cox receives 2026 Stephen Hawking Medal
The science communicator received the award in London, with celebrations planned at the Starmus VIII Festival in the Canary Islands from 17 to 22 October.
Brian Cox has received the 2026 Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication. Starmus co-founders Sir Brian May and astrophysicist Garik Israelian presented the medal during a private event on 2 October at London’s Royal Astronomical Society.
Established a decade ago by Starmus and Stephen Hawking, the award recognises people who make science accessible through broadcasting, literature, music, film and art. Cox said receiving it was especially meaningful because he had been with Hawking when the medal was announced 10 years earlier.
Cox’s television credits include Universe and The Planets, while his books include The Quantum Universe. At the University of Manchester, he holds the posts of Professor of Particle Physics and Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science.
Other medal recipients this year include filmmaker Ridley Scott, the Artemis II crew and Nobel laureate Geoffrey Hinton. Valeria Corrales, aged 17, receives the Stephen Hawking Medal Junior. Christiana Figueres, who helped broker the 2015 Paris climate agreement, will receive the first Jane Goodall Earth Medal.
Celebrations of Cox’s award will form part of Starmus VIII, running across Tenerife and La Palma from 17 to 22 October. Under the theme “The Search for Truth”, the festival programme combines scientific talks with music, art and stargazing.
