Liberty Science Center's 11th Annual Genius Gala to Honor 3 Science Luminaries: The Chief Scientist of the James Webb Space Telescope, the Biochemist Whose Research Underlies COVID-19 Vaccines, and the Creator of the World's First Lab-Grown Meat Company to Achieve FDA Blessing

JERSEY CITY, N.J., May 17, 2023 – Unlocking the untold secrets of our universe is one of humankind’s greatest mysteries. Dr. John C. Mather’s longtime leadership, dedication, and vision were crucial to the launch of the James Webb Space Telescope—the most complex piece of technology ever made. It took 20,000 people, $10 billion, and more than 20 years to build this exquisitely powerful orbiting telescope that can see billions of years into the past.

For three long years, COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the globe, resulting in millions of deaths and immeasurable suffering. Kati Karikó’s work literally saved the world from even worse devastation and death. Her decades of research on messenger RNA led to the co-invention of the mRNA technology employed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna in developing their COVID-19 vaccines.

As a cardiologist turned cultured-meat pioneer, Dr. Uma Valeti is on a quest to revolutionize the food chain as we know it and, as a result, potentially solve the world’s global food crisis. In 2015, he co-founded Upside Foods, the world’s first lab-grown meat company. A year later, they created the world’s first lab-cultured meatball and, shortly thereafter, duck and fried chicken.

On Monday, May 22 at 6 pm, Liberty Science Center will bestow its “Genius Award” – its highest honor – on these three luminaries whose leadership and vision within the fields of astronomy, medicine, and food science inspired world-changing innovations.

Paul Hoffman, the President and CEO of the Center, founded LSC’s Genius Awards in 2011 and will preside over the ceremony at LSC’s 11th Annual Genius Gala at 222 Jersey City Blvd., Jersey City, NJ. The May 22nd event also celebrates the Center’s 30th anniversary.

“Genius awardees envision what most cannot, maintain the utmost faith in their vision, and bring those ideas to reality–even in the face of often inestimable odds,” said Hoffman. “Their countless breakthroughs continually leave us mesmerized beyond words and inspire us to imagine, create, and believe in the impossible. Because of that, they epitomize the very meaning of the word ‘Genius.’ ”

• Steven M. Fulop, United States Marine Corps veteran, the 49th and current Mayor of Jersey City, NJ, a pioneering and progressive leader whose policies have led Jersey City to record economic development and the first city in the state to ensure paid sick leave and so much more
• Richard Branson, Founder of the Virgin Group, iconic businessman, philanthropic leader, and 2013 LSC Genius Gala Award Recipient
• Derby Ozioma Chukwudi, Miss New Jersey USA, 2018 Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, 2022 Women of Inspiration Award Finalist, and member of the Global Investment Strategy Team at JPMorgan Private Bank
• Priyamvada Natarajan, a cosmic cartographer, Joseph S. and Sofia S. Fruton Professor of Astronomy and Physics at Yale University, and 2022 LSC Genius Gala Award Recipient

The Genius Gala is a yearly commemoration of innovation, accomplishment, creativity, science, and technology. It also serves as the Center’s chief fundraising event – since its inception, the Genius Gala has raised approximately $22 million to benefit LSC's STEM education programs, helping to make world-class science learning accessible to students, teachers, and families, including those in high-needs communities.

• Dr. John C. Mather, the senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope, is an astrophysicist and cosmologist at NASA and has been named among the “100 Most Influential People in the World” by TIME Magazine. His work on the Cosmic Background Explorer Satellite with George Smoot, which confirmed the Big Bang theory, earned him the 2006 Nobel Prize in Physics. For the past 25 years, Mather has led the science team for the James Webb Space Telescope, a world-changing tool more powerful than any telescope in existence which, through its released photos, has already revealed new insights into the celestial world.
• mRNA research seemingly is in Katalin Karikó’s genes as she became a scientist in her native Hungary despite having never met one. After emigrating to Philadelphia in 1985, she aimed to continue her work at various academic institutions, but encountered repeated setbacks and funding issues. Her resolve remained intact even as colleagues considered her work unorthodox and speculative. Nevertheless, she persisted and spent countless hours synthesizing therapeutic mRNA. Finally, her decades of research paid off when she and her colleague co-discovered a technique that successfully introduced synthetic mRNA into humans where it provided the correct messaging for the cells to create necessary proteins to fight specific maladies. This profound breakthrough led to a collaboration with BioNTech to develop a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine that would save countless millions from suffering. Karikó was honored with the prestigious Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, the Princess of Asturias Award, and the Vilcek Prize for Excellence in Biotechnology.
• Dr. Uma Valeti is the CEO and co-founder of Upside Foods, the world’s first cultivated-meat company producing meat directly from animal cells and the first and only company to receive the Food and Drug Administration’s blessing as safe to eat. Formerly a cardiologist at the Mayo Clinic and a professor at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Valeti recognized the therapeutic power and potential of stem-cell technology and has utilized that technology to pioneer the world’s first chicken, duck, and beef grown directly from animal cells. As the chief visionary at Upside Foods, his mission is to feed the global population with delicious meat that's also affordable and sustainable. Dr. Valeti was previously the president of the Twin Cities Heart Association and has served in leadership roles at the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology, and co-founded or invested in several medical device and food tech startups.

They will be recognized in Liberty Science Center's permanent Genius Gallery display along with previous Genius Award recipients: Hugh Herr, Priyamvada Natarajan, Dr. Robert Montgomery, Dr. William Conan Davis, Dr. Jennifer A. Lewis, Moshe Safdie, Dr. Katherine Johnson, Ray Kurzweil, Marc Raibert and SpotMini, Frank Gehry, Jack Horner, Ellen Langer, Kip Thorne, Richard Branson, Garry Kasparov, Jane Goodall, Oliver Sacks, Temple Grandin, Dean Kamen, Sylvia Earle, Craig Venter, Cori Bargmann, Ernő Rubik, Jeff Bezos, Vint Cerf, Jill Tarter, Sara Seager, George Church, Vitalik Buterin, Laurie Santos, Chris Messina, Martine Rothblatt, and Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz.

LSC Genius Gala attendees will be treated to a performance by the Quarantined Quartet, a New York City-based family guitar quartet that plays a unique brand of guitar fusing Spanish, classical, flamenco, and acoustic styles. When COVID-19 restrictions closed their music school in March 2020, the Quarantined Quartet took to Instagram to track their practice and share it with the world. Over three years, their following grew to over 480,000 on Instagram and over 350,000 on Facebook. They released a Quarantined Quartet EP in December 2021. Their uplifting pandemic story has been featured on “The Kelly Clarkson Show,” “Good Morning America,” and “NBC Stay Tuned Now,” among many others.

The Genius Gala is attended by hundreds of industry leaders and philanthropists from the NY/NJ metropolitan area. The Corporate Chair is Alysia Steinmann, Metro New York City Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP (EY).

The Innovation Chairs are Jennifer A. Chalsty—the trustee and benefactor for whom LSC’s planetarium is named—and The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation.

The Co-Chairs of the Gala are David Barry, President and CEO, Urby; Maria Black, President and CEO, ADP; Sheri B. Bronstein, Chief Human Resources Officer, Bank of America; The Cove JC; Alma DeMetropolis, Managing Director; Market Manager, J.P. Morgan Private Bank; Steven R. Howe, Jr, Retired Chairman, Ernst & Young LLP; Ralph Izzo, Retired Chairman of the Board, CEO, President, PSEG; Bruce L. Levy, President and CEO, BMR Energy; Jeffrey M. Mandler, Co-Owner and CEO, Evolve Med Spa; Co-Founder and Past CEO, CarePoint Health; Laura Overdeck, Founder, Bedtime Math; Marc O. Pavese, Partner and Head of Data-Driven Insights, Lord Abbett; Al Reba, VP, Worldwide Cardiovascular, Bristol Myers Squibb; Anthony Skiadas, EVP and Chief Financial Officer, Verizon Communications; Gregory Tusar, Head of Institutional Product, Coinbase; and Josh S. Weston, Chairman Emeritus; Honorary Chairman ADP.

About Liberty Science Center
Liberty Science Center (LSC.org) is a 300,000-square-foot, not-for-profit learning center located in Liberty State Park on the Jersey City bank of the Hudson near the Statue of Liberty. Dedicated to inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers and bringing the power, promise, and pure fun of science and technology to learners of all ages, Liberty Science Center houses the largest planetarium in the Western Hemisphere, 12 museum exhibition halls, a live animal collection with 110 species, giant aquariums, a 3D theater, live simulcast surgeries, a tornado-force wind simulator, K-12 classrooms and labs, and teacher-development programs. Before COVID-19, more than 250,000 students visited the Science Center each year, and tens of thousands more participated in the Center’s off-site and online programs. Welcoming more than 750,000 visitors annually, LSC is the largest interactive science center in the NYC-NJ metropolitan area.