The Blavatnik Awards announced the Laureates at its 20th anniversary gala, a black-tie awards ceremony held October 6 at the American Museum of Natural History, hosted by Len and Emily Blavatnik and presented by Robert P. Lifton, MD, PhD, President of The Rockefeller University.

CHEMICAL SCIENCES LAUREATE: David Nagib, The Ohio State University

LIFE SCIENCES LAUREATE: Patrick Hsu, Arc Institute and Stanford University

PHYSICAL SCIENCES & ENGINEERING LAUREATE: Jonathan Rivnay, Northwestern University 

The only known supernova remnant of its kind in the Milky Way has an unexpectedly intricate structure: chains of gas knots resembling pearls on a string, each wide enough to fit the solar system multiple times. Using the Gemini North telescope, an international team co-led by Ilaria Caiazzo, assistant professor at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA), captured the most detailed view yet of Pa 30, revealing striking new features of the remnant associated with a historical supernova witnessed nearly 850 years ago. The findings were published in The Astrophysical Journal.

Researchers at Kyushu University have developed a VR system that requires no head-worn device. Using aerial imaging optics, the system presents stereoscopic imagery to both eyes, letting users enter a VR environment simply by sitting down. By removing the weight of a headset and moving image processing outside the wearable device, the system could enable more comfortable, longer VR use. The researchers expect it to find applications in remote operation, healthcare, education, and entertainment.

Researchers have developed a data-driven computational framework that maps nearly 10,000 chemical reactions involved in converting CO₂ into fuels and chemicals on a copper catalyst. The approach could help scientists better understand and eventually design effective catalysts for turning CO₂ into chemicals and fuels.