Prize — for knowledge: the award "For Fidelity to Science" was awarded for space exploration and a film about aviation

The winners of the award "For Fidelity to Science" were announced in Moscow. This prestigious award is presented annually to the best popularizers of knowledge. Among the winners are the creators of the science fiction film "The Aviator", a travel series, an author's health program, as well as developers of a neural network for the early detection of pancreatic inflammation. Academic scientists, scientific journalists and creators of media content also became laureates. Academician Lev Zeleny was awarded in the "Recognition" nomination for his outstanding contribution to the popularization of scientific knowledge.

What is the award for "Loyalty to Science" for?

On October 30, a solemn ceremony of awarding the XII prize "For Fidelity to Science" took place in Moscow. The founder is the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation. In 2026, the award is presented in 11 nominations, and more than 2,000 people have applied for participation.

As the organizers explained, the symbolic prize of the award is a statuette in the form of a golden five—pointed star with a stylized crystal atomic lattice inside. It is accompanied by a cash prize, which is formed by the sponsors. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in the field of popularization of scientific research and increasing the prestige of scientific activity in Russia. Since 2022, the prize has been awarded as part of events dedicated to the Decade of Science and Technology in Russia, announced by the President of the Russian Federation.

— Now we are crossing the equator of this period. Of course, the award is one of the diamonds in the crown of all the significant events of the Decade. Each of the nominees, both those who won and those who claimed victory, certainly makes a significant contribution to achieving the technological sovereignty of our country. 92% of our citizens, according to VTsIOM research, note the importance and necessity of technological leadership. Our scientists have made a huge contribution to achieving these milestones," said Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko.

The best materials scientists and the best press service of the year

The ceremony was opened by the NOVA choir with the Russian national anthem and a musical composition on the theremin, an instrument created in 1920 by Soviet inventor Lev Theremin. The melody was performed by the inventor's great-grandson Peter Theremin.

Then the winner in the Digital Content Author category was announced. He became Irina Dorogan, the head of the project "Horizon of Adventures", a documentary series about traveling in Russia.

The press service of the Russian Academy of Sciences won in the nomination "The Best Press Service of the Year". Explaining the achievements of scientists in simple and accessible language is a lot of work, said Valery Falkov, Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, announcing the winner.

The Daniil Granin Special Prize was awarded to the team of the Kino TV channel and the Krasny Kvadrat group for the creation of The Aviator film. As Mikhail Shvydkoi, Special Representative of the President of Russia for International Cultural Cooperation, explained, the award is given for outstanding projects aimed at creating an artistic image of a scientist.

The team of the I. I. Mechnikov Northwestern State Medical University with the project "Science is closer than it seems" became the winner of the award in the nomination "Russian Science to the World" named after K. E. Tsiolkovsky. Within its framework, the organizers hold scientific and educational events in dozens of countries. Russia has given the world a sense of spaciousness, given humanity a peaceful atom and paved the way to space. The winners of the nomination continue this tradition, said Grigory Trubnikov, Director of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research.

The winners in the I. V. Gorynin special nomination were announced by Yulia Dyakova, Director of the Kurchatov Institute National Research Center. She said that the award is given for outstanding scientific and engineering achievements in the field of materials science, metallurgy and shipbuilding. The winners receive a cash prize and a statuette with a symbolic armillary sphere, an astronomical instrument representing a model of the celestial sphere. This year, the prize went to scientists from Ufa State Petroleum Technical University for developing a method for recognizing the nature of surface defects in materials using neural networks.

The best science journalist and the best artificial intelligence of the year

The winner in the Scientific Journalist of the Year nomination was Evelina Zakamskaya, editor of the DokTok author's program and editor-in-chief of the Doctor TV channel. She was introduced by Andrey Kondrashov, Director General of the TASS news Agency. According to him, the award is given to professionals for their significant contribution to the comprehensive coverage of the work of scientists in the media.

The team of St. Petersburg State Pediatric Medical University with the Pancre project won in the nomination "Using artificial Intelligence technology in scientific research". It is a neural network for predicting and early diagnosing pancreatitis, a dangerous disease associated with inflammation of the pancreas. The project is reaching an international level and has already been presented in a number of European and Asian countries, the laureates said.

The winners in the nomination "Working with experience: Scientists' contribution to space exploration" were announced by Sergey Krikalev, a participant in six space flights, Hero of the Soviet Union and the Russian Federation. According to him, cosmonautics has become an integral part of life today. The award was given to the TASS agency team for the special project "Gagarin. The flight that united Humanity", prepared for the 65th anniversary of the first human spaceflight.

The special prize named after Christopher Ledentsov, a Russian entrepreneur and philanthropist, is awarded for the significant contribution of private business and state corporations to the popularization of science and technology. This year, the organizers divided the award into two parts. In the "Foundations" sub-nomination, the founders of the Vernadsky Foundation scholarship program became the winners. It is aimed at supporting young scientists engaged in research in the field of ecology and sustainable development. Representatives of Sibur Polylab, NPO TN-BIOTECH and AvtoVAZ received the award in the "Enterprises" sub-category among small companies. These enterprises were noted for actively financing scientific research and development at their own expense.

One of the most popular award nominations is "Science for Children". The winners were announced by Russian journalist, TV presenter and doctor Sergey Malozyomov. According to him, even the youngest should be able to talk about scientific achievements. The winner was the Academy of Young Researchers of Volgodonsk. For many years, the organization has been helping schoolchildren, students, and teachers engage in research and project activities.

A film about automatic space explorers

One of the significant events of the ceremony was the presentation of the award in the "Recognition" nomination. It is awarded to outstanding figures who have made a great contribution to the development of science and its popularization and enjoy indisputable authority in the academic community. Their opinion is of particular importance, said Gennady Krasnikov, President of the Russian Academy of Sciences, introducing the laureate. This year, the award was awarded to the scientific director of the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Lev Zeleny.

— This award reflects the importance that space science holds in our society. It so happens that most of the achievements in this field are associated with the Soviet era. Then, during the crisis, the space theme faded into the background. It's great that she's back in the spotlight today," he said.

According to the scientist, today there are many new ways to popularize space science. In particular, the Earth and Universe magazine attracts more and more readers. At the end of October, a new poetic anthology was published, dedicated to cosmic motifs in Russian poetry. Reading poetry and listening to songs, people got into the "atmosphere of space." This was how entire generations of scientists and engineers were formed, passionate about exploring distant worlds.

— Cinema has a great influence on people. One of the interesting and dramatic topics is space exploration by automated vehicles. This is a story of difficult victories of Russian engineers and scientists. For example, many researchers almost cried and said they were orphaned when the Venusian landers found out that the temperature on Venus was too high for life similar to Earth's," said the academician.

He expressed his willingness to act as a screenwriter or scientific consultant if such film projects receive support.