On May 23, 2023, the science world came together with the world of philanthropy in Jersey City, NJ at Liberty Science Center’s 11th Annual Genius Gala, where John C. Mather, Katalin Karikó and Dr. Uma Valeti received the Genius Award, the Center’s highest honor, for their world-changing scientific discoveries at the event which also celebrated the Center’s 30th anniversary.

John Mather is Senior Astrophysicist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and Senior Project Scientist on the James Webb Space Telescope, the most advanced technology ever made by humans. Learn more below:

Katalin Karikó is a biochemist whose research laid the foundation for the highly effective COVID-19 mRNA vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. Learn more below:

Uma Valeti is a cultivated meat pioneer and founder of Upside Foods, the world's first cultivated meat company. Learn more below:

The Genius Gala ceremony was filled with friends and supporters of the Science Center, including Richard Branson, a 2013 Genius Honoree; Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop; Miss New Jersey USA Derby Chukwudi; and cosmic cartographer and 2022 Genius Honoree Priyamvada Natarjan.

Liberty Science Center raised $2.5 million at the event. Since its inception, the Genius Gala has raised nearly $25 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.

“Good art and good design, like good science, have the power to lift the human spirit and make us look at the world in a different way,” said Liberty Science Center President and CEO Paul Hoffman. “LSC’s goal is to inspire, to take our guests out of their daily routines and show them something new, cool, extraordinary and awe-inspiring.”

“Tonight we're celebrating three creative minds, John Mather, Katalin Karikó, and Uma Valeti. All three honorees are making incredible strides in their respective fields,” said Richard Branson, in a video played at the gala.

In all their remarks, the honorees praised Liberty Science Center for educating young people, calling them the innovators of the future.

“These geniuses are incredible individuals with indomitable spirits that drive them behind a purpose that makes them question the status quo,” said Dr. Uma Valeti, CEO and Co-Founder of Upside Foods. “I'm very grateful to accept this award on behalf of my team, for their persistence, for their resilience, and for not taking no for an answer.”

“I am really honored to receive this award, and it is a privilege to belong with all of the people who have received this award prior to me, including my fellow awardees John Mather and Uma Valeti,” said Katalin Karikó, the scientist behind the COVID-19 mRNA vaccine. “I say thank you to my parents, my family, my husband, my daughter, and everybody who supported me. But I am grateful to all of those people who tried to make my life miserable, because they made me work harder and that helped me get to this point today.”

“My advice to school teachers is to make learning with the next generation exciting by focusing on participation. Scientists don’t learn everything out of books–we pick up rocks, turn them over, and see what’s there,” said John Mather, the senior project scientist for the James Webb Space Telescope. “We say ‘I don’t understand that, let’s figure this out.’ Learning what’s in a book and passing a test is exactly the opposite of what scientists do for a living. All young people have the opportunity to discover, innovate, and create for themselves, inspiring all generations.”

More about the 2023 Genius Awardees:

• 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.

Honorees were recognized in Liberty Science Center's permanent Genius Gallery display along with previous Genius Award recipients: Hugh Herr, Priyamvada Natarajan, Dr. Robert Montgomery, William Conan Davis, Jennifer A. Lewis, Moshe Safdie, Katherine Johnson, Ray Kurzweil, Marc Raibert and SpotMini, Frank Gehry, Jack Horner, Ellen Langer, Kip Thorne, Sir 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 were 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 Corporate Chair of the event was Alysia Steinmann, Metro New York City Office Managing Partner, Ernst & Young LLP (EY).

The Innovation Chairs were Jennifer A. Chalsty, and Paul and Phyllis Fireman.

The Co-Chairs of the Gala were David Barry, President and CEO, Urby; Maria Black, President and CEO, ADP; Sheri B. Bronstein, Chief Human Resources Officer, Bank of America; Alma DeMetropolis, Managing Director, Market Manager; J.P. Morgan Private Bank; Stephen 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, Executive Director, Strategic Ventures LLC; Laura Overdeck, Founder, Bedtime Math; Marc O. Pavese, Partner and Head of Data-Driven Insights, Lord Abbett; Al Reba, VP, Worldwide Cardiovascular and Established Brands, Bristol Myers Squibb; Anthony Skiadas, CFO, Verizon Communications; Gregory Tusar, Head of Institutional Product, Coinbase; and Josh S. Weston, Honorary Chairman ADP.

Genius Gala,  John Mather,  Katalin Karikó,  Paul Hoffman,  Uma Valeti