18th Edition of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards

Key facts

Presentation ceremony of the 18th edition of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards

• Ceremony date: Thursday, June 18, 2026.
• Venue: Euskalduna Bilbao.
• Livestream: the ceremony will be streamed live on the BBVA Foundation homepage from 7:30 p.m. on June 18.

Gala concert, in honor of this year’s award recipients

• Concert date: Wednesday, June 17, 2026,
• Venue: Euskalduna Bilbao.

Purpose of the awards: to recognize contributions of exceptional impact in scientific research and artistic creation.

Award amount: 400,000 euros in each of the eight categories.

Categories: Basic Sciences; Biology and Biomedicine; Information and Communication Technologies; Climate Change and Environmental Sciences; Economics, Finance and Management; Humanities; Social Sciences; Music and Opera.

Institutional collaboration: the awards are organized with the collaboration of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

Indicator of excellence: 34 Frontiers awardees have gone on to receive the Nobel Prize.

Qué son los Premios Fundación BBVA Fronteras del Conocimiento

The BBVA Foundation centers its activity on the promotion of world-class scientific research and cultural creation, and its transmission to society, along with the recognition of talent through families of awards organized alone or in conjunction with scientific societies and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards, funded with 400,000 euros in each of their eight categories, recognize and reward contributions of singular impact in basic sciences, biomedicine, environmental sciences and climate change, social sciences, economics, the humanities and music. The goal of the awards, established in 2008, is to celebrate and promote the value of knowledge as a global public good, the best tool at our command to confront the defining challenges of our time and expand individual worldviews.

Premiados de la XVIII edición 2025 por categoría

Basic Sciences

Physicists Allan MacDonald (University of Texas at Austin, USA) and Pablo Jarillo-Herrero (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, USA) have been recognized in the Basic Sciences category for their discoveries regarding the so-called “magic angle,” which enables the transformation and control of the behavior of new materials.

Biology and Biomedicine

Carl June (University of Pennsylvania, USA) and Michel Sadelain (Columbia University, USA) have been recognized for revolutionizing cancer treatment through immunotherapy based on the patient’s own genetically modified cells.

Information and Communication Technologies

Joan Daemen (Radboud University, Netherlands) and Vincent Rijmen (KU Leuven, Belgium and the University of Bergen, Norway) have received the award for designing the cryptographic system that safeguards the security of electronic devices and digital communications worldwide.

Climate Change and Environmental Sciences

Carl Wunsch (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MIT, USA) has been honored for contributions to research that have revealed the impact of global warming on the world’s oceans.

Economics, Finance and Management

Charles Manski (Northwestern University, Chicago, USA) has been recognized for incorporating uncertainty into economic research and its application to public policy analysis.

Humanities

Nancy Cartwright (Durham University, United Kingdom and the University of California San Diego, USA) has been recognized for strengthening scientific rationality through philosophy, and for providing a foundation for effective evidence-based public policies.

Social Sciences

The Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan (USA) and NORC at the University of Chicago (USA) have been recognized for their global leadership and continuous innovation in the scientific measurement of public opinion and social life.

Music and Opera

South Korean composer Unsuk Chin has been recognized for developing a personal voice that has achieved global resonance in contemporary music by virtue of its innovative virtuosity and vivid sonic imagination.

Preguntas frecuentes

Who are the laureates of the 18th edition 2025 of the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards?

The laureates are Allan H. MacDonald and Pablo Jarillo-Herrero; Carl H. June and Michel Sadelain; Joan Daemen and Vincent Rijmen; Carl Wunsch; Charles F. Manski; Nancy Cartwright; the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan and NORC at the University of Chicago; and Unsuk Chin.

How many categories do the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards have?

The awards distinguish advances in eight categories: Basic Sciences; Biology and Biomedicine; Information and Communication Technologies; Climate Change and Environmental Sciences; Economics, Finance and Management; Humanities; Social Sciences; and Music and Opera.

What do the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards recognize?

They recognize and reward contributions of exceptional or singular impact in scientific research and artistic creation, especially those that expand the boundaries of knowledge, open up new fields, or result from the interaction of different disciplines.

What is the award amount of the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards?

Each of the eight categories is funded with 400,000 euros.

When and where will the 18th edition ceremony take place?

The presentation ceremony will take place on Thursday, June 18, 2026, at Euskalduna Bilbao. The gala concert in honor of this year’s award recipients will take place the day before, on Wednesday, June 17, at the same venue.

Where can the ceremony be followed?

The ceremony will be streamed live on the BBVA Foundation homepage from 7:30 p.m. on June 18.

What role does CSIC play in the Frontiers of Knowledge Awards?

The awards are partnered by the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), which appoints evaluation support panels and participates in the composition of the award committees.