The 18th annual Pythagoras Science Contribution Awards will take place Thursday night at the Central Military Club in Sofia, with Minister of Education and Science Georgi Valchev opening the ceremony and Prime Minister Rumen Radev invited to attend, the Ministry’s press centre confirmed. The awards recognise outstanding contributions across four primary fields – natural and engineering sciences, life sciences and medicine, and social sciences and humanities – and offer a special prize for excellence in science communication.
Traditionally held in late October, the ceremony has grown into one of Bulgaria’s most prestigious scientific celebrations. The event will honour both established researchers and promising young scholars. The grand prize, awarded for overall contributions to science, has become the centerpiece of the awards, while additional categories acknowledge specific achievements in each discipline.
The Education Ministry announced that the 2027 awards will again feature a broad range of participants. While the list of nominees for this year has not yet been released, the competition is expected to bring together a diverse jury panel of experts from academia and industry, echoing the model used in previous years. The Ministry highlighted that the awards continue to serve as a platform for celebrating scientific innovation at a national level.
Last year’s ceremony, held on October 14, 2025 at the National History Museum, gathered 52 scientists competing in eight distinct categories. The grand prize was bestowed upon Prof Radostina Stoyanova of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of General and Inorganic Chemistry, who was recognised for her pioneering work in chemistry. The 2025 awards also presented a special science‑communication prize, underscoring the ministry’s commitment to public engagement in science.
Sources from the Education Ministry noted that the 2027 event will follow the same format, though details such as the name of the recipient of the grand prize and the list of nominees remain undisclosed. The Minister’s announcement emphasised that the awards continue to reflect Bulgaria’s scientific heritage and its future ambitions. No additional information was provided regarding the selection criteria or the exact number of participants for the current year.
While the ceremony’s timing and venue are confirmed, aspects of the awards process – including the procedures for nomination, adjudication, and the identities of the laureates – remain under speculation. The Ministry has not yet released a comprehensive schedule or an official list of award recipients, and no statement has clarified whether any additional categories will be added beyond the established ones. Consequently, readers can expect that further details will be announced closer to the event date.
