With the goal of promoting scientific research, the Pius XI Medal is awarded by the Pontifical Academy of Sciences every two years to a young scientist under the age of 45, chosen by the Academic body for his or her exceptional promise. A few of the winners have also become members of the Academy (see active links).
Winners of the Pius XI and Pius XII Prizes 1938-43
1938 Corneille J.F. Heymans (Belgium) Life Sciences
1942 Harlow Shapley (USA) Astronomy | Award info
1943 Emanuel De Margerie (France) Earth Sciences | Award info
The Pius XI Medal 1961-2012
1961 Robert Burns Woodward (USA) Chemistry | Award info
1962 Bengt E. Andersson (Sweden) Life Sciences | Award info
1963 Aage Bohr (Denmark) Physics | Award info
1964 François Gros (France) Life Sciences | Award info
1966 Alan R. Sandage (USA) Astronomy | Award info
1970 Haruo Kanatani (Japan) Life Sciences | Award info
1972 György Némethy (Hungary) Physics | Award info
1975 Stephen W. Hawking (UK) Astronomy | Award info
1976 Lucio Luzzatto (Italy) Life Sciences | Award info
1979 Antonio Paes de Carvalho (Brazil) Life Sciences | Award info
1981 Jean-Marie Lehn (France) Chemistry | Award info
1983 Gerardus t'Hooft (Netherlands) Physics
1986 Elizabeth A. Bernays (Australia) Life Sciences
1988 Luís A. Caffarelli (Argentina) Mathematics | Award info
1992 Adi Shamir (Israel) Other Disciplines
1996 Mark M. Davis (USA) Chemistry | Award info
2000 Gillian P. Bates (UK) Life Sciences | Award info
2000 Stephen W. Davies (UK) Life Sciences | Award info
2002 Stanislas Dehaene (France) Life Sciences | Award info
2002 Juan M. Maldacena (USA) Physics | Award info
2004 Laure Saint-Raymond (France) Mathematics | Award info
2006 Ashoke Sen (India) Physics | Award info
2008 Juan A. Larraín (Chile) Life Sciences | Award info
2010 Patrick Mehlen (France) Biology | Award info
2012 Trees-Juen Chuang (Taiwan) Genomics | Award info
2012 Ulrich Pöschl (Austria) Chemistry | Award info
2014 Cédric Villani (France) Mathematics | Award info