STARMUS VIII Awards Two Young Science and Environment Advocates
The STARMUS VIII science festival has awarded the Stephen Hawking Junior Medal to Spain's Valeria Corrales and the Jane Goodall Earth Junior Medal to the UK's Aneeshwar Kunchala.
ISLAS CANARIAS, Spain – October 12, 2026 – The STARMUS VIII science festival has announced two young changemakers as recipients of special medals. Valeria Corrales of Spain will receive the Stephen Hawking Junior Medal for her work in making science and technology accessible to young people. Aneeshwar Kunchala from the UK is awarded the Jane Goodall Earth Junior Medal for his dedication to wildlife conservation and biodiversity.
Valeria Corrales, 17, began her science communication journey at age ten, co-founding the educational platform ValPat. The platform offers Spanish-language content on science and technology, boasting over 240,000 YouTube subscribers. Corrales has received recognition from Forbes and was a finalist for the Global Student Prize.
Aneeshwar Kunchala, 11, has emerged as an internationally recognized voice for wildlife conservation and environmental education. His work began at age four after being impacted by the death of a marine animal due to plastic pollution. Kunchala has featured in international media, including the BBC, and received multiple accolades, including three Guinness World Records.
The STARMUS festival, held in the Canary Islands, celebrates these young recipients as continuations of the legacies of scientist Stephen Hawking and environmentalist Jane Goodall. Corrales aims to make science and technology understandable for youth, while Kunchala inspires them to protect the planet's biodiversity.