2026 Balzan Prizes announced
Award for sustainable polymers and molecular evolution
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In Milan, the President of the International Balzan Foundation – Prize, Maria Cristina Messa, and the Chair of the Balzan General Prize Committee, Marta Cartabia, announced the winners of the four annual Balzan Prizes for Science and Culture, two in the physical and natural sciences and two in the humanities. This year, the special Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples was also awarded.
The winners of the four annual awards
- (Italy), Università di Bologna and University of Bielefeld, for The Social Science of Digital Technology
- Rasmus Nielsen (USA-Denmark), University of California Berkeley, and Ziheng Yang (UK), University College London, for Molecular Evolution: Decoding Patterns of Genomic Change
- David Nirenberg (USA), Institute for Advanced Study Princeton, for Jewish Studies
- Geoffrey W. Coates (USA), Cornell University, and Marc A. Hillmyer (USA), University of Minnesota, for Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources
The choice was based on the validity, current interest, and coherence of the research, identifying specific factors of excellence that can contribute to the understanding of our world and our time, promoting the advancement of knowledge without borders, in accordance with the guiding principles of the Balzan Foundation.
Interdisciplinarity is the key criterion, based on the conviction that only meaningful exchanges between different fields of knowledge and research can enable us to tackle the complex problems facing nature and society.
The four prize-winning subjects are selected anew each year by the General Prize Committee: two in literature, moral sciences, and the arts, and two in the physical, mathematical, and natural sciences and medicine). This approach allows new or emerging lines of research to be recognized.
Each Prize is for 750,000 Swiss francs (800,000 euros, 930,000 USD, 685,000 GBP), half of which must be allocated to research projects carried out by young scholars and scientists.
The recipient of the Prize for Humanity, Peace, and Fraternity Among Nations
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Emergency Response Rooms (Sudan)
The Prize for Humanity, Peace, and Fraternity among Peoples is a special prize awarded by the General Prize Committee, assisted by a preparatory commission, at varying intervals of not less than three years. The award honours individuals or institutions that have achieved distinction for outstanding humanitarian work.
The amount of this prize is also 750,000 Swiss francs.
The 2026 Balzan Prizes will be presented in Rome on 19 November in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic.
The motivations for the 2026 Balzan Prizes
to Elena Esposito for The Social Science of Digital Technology: For her groundbreaking theoretical contribution to the social science of digital technology, and in particular for her concept of artificial communication, which reframes the question of artificial intelligence by showing that algorithms can participate in social exchange in the absence of understanding. For providing a rigorous and innovative framework that could transform social science engagement with artificial intelligence across every domain in which algorithmic systems are becoming active participants. For her sustained programme of empirical research applying these insights to algorithmic prediction in finance, medicine, and public policy.
to Rasmus Nielsen and Ziheng Yang for Molecular Evolution: Decoding Patterns of Genomic Change: For their pioneering and complementary contributions to molecular evolution, combining statistical theory, computational methods, and genomic analysis to reveal how natural selection shapes genes and populations, and for developing widely used tools that have transformed the study of evolutionary adaptation.
to David Nirenberg for Jewish Studies: For his ground-breaking scholarship and contributions on Judaism, anti-Judaism, and the dynamics of the relationship between Jews, Christians, and Muslims; for his meticulous research, theoretical insights on the fundamental interdependence of violence and tolerance, rigorous historical analyses, and command of a wide range of sources in multiple languages and spanning multiple disciplines; and for profoundly advancing our understanding of not only ancient, but also contemporary questions.
to Geoffrey W. Coates and Marc A. Hillmyer for Biodegradable Polymers from Renewable Sources: For their pioneering and collaborative development of sustainable polymers, combining molecular design and catalysis to transform renewable feedstocks and recovered carbon dioxide into high-performance, degradable and recyclable materials, and for advancing these discoveries from fundamental science to industrial materials and technologies.
The motivation for the Prize for Humanity, Peace and Fraternity among Peoples
to Emergency Response Rooms for Humanity, Peace, and Fraternity among Peoples: For the extraordinary role it has played in providing on-the-ground assistance, solidarity and hope to communities affected by the civil war in Sudan. Through an extensive network of Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs) and Local Coordination Councils (LCCs) – born out of civic engagement and grassroots participation – the movement has been able to fill the void left by the collapse of institutions and the difficulties in accessing international aid. In particular, the Balzan Prize money will be used to strengthen activities related to mental health care, which are of the utmost importance in a context marked by violence, displacement and a severe humanitarian crisis.
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