The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, presided over the ceremony for the 20th National Science, Technology, and Innovation Awards, named after Dr. Humberto Fernández-Morán.
A total of 137 scientists and researchers received special recognition during the event held in the Ríos Reyna Hall of the Teresa Carreño Theater in Caracas.
The distribution of awards reflected significant gender equality, with 55% of the recipients being women and 45% men.
The distinguished professionals come from various states across the country, including Zulia, Mérida, Carabobo, Falcón, Aragua, La Guaira, Sucre, Miranda, Anzoátegui, Bolívar, Amazonas, and the Capital District.
The National Science, Technology, and Innovation Award recognized various categories of research achievement.
In the Emerging Researcher category were awarded Fhabián S. Carrión, Carla Lossada, and Daniela Canelón Barráez, while in the Ample Career category were highglighted Francisco La Marca Gutiérrez, Esteban Mosonyi, and Imelda Rincón, among others.
In the Best Scientific, Technological, and Innovation Work category were distinguished researches in Natural Sciences, Health Sciences, Exact Sciences, and Social Sciences.
Specifically, in this last category were recognized Carlos A. Botto, José de J. Romero, and Meyby Ugueto Ponce for their academic contributions.
The «Luis Zambrano» Popular Technological Inventiveness Award recognized both self-taught individuals and established professionals. Michelle F. Carneiro received the Self-Taught category, while Carlos Leal received the award in the Professional category.
The special awards covered multiple areas of impact, from workplace innovation to artificial intelligence development. Of particular note were the awards for Women and Girls in Science, Youth, Science Communication, and Science for National Defense.
Lastly, these recognitions reflect the government’s policy aimed at strengthening national scientific and technological sovereignty.
The ceremony recognizes the strategic contribution of the scientific community to national development.