FALLING WALLS FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES FINALISTS OF THE 2026 GLOBAL CALL
- The Falling Walls Foundation announces 90 Finalists competing for the title of “Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year” in their respective category.
- Announced today are 50 Finalists for Categories 1–5 (Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences & Humanities, Art & Science), 10 for the Women’s Impact Award, 15 for Engage, and 25 for Venture.
- The winners of the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year Categories 1–5 awards will be announced in August and September.
- The Finalists from Engage and Venture are invited to Berlin to compete for the award live on stage.
- The Winners of the Women’s Impact Award will be announced on 13 August 2026.
Berlin, Germany, 06 August 2026 – The Falling Walls Foundation announces this year’s Finalists for its Global Call programmes Science Breakthroughs of the Year, Engage, Venture, and Women’s Impact Award. The chosen Finalists will join the Falling Walls Science Summit from 6–9 November 2026 in Berlin, Germany, and compete for the title of Science Breakthroughs of the Year in their respective programme.
The winners of the Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year in Categories 1–5 (Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences & Humanities, Art & Science) will be announced in August and September.
FALLING WALLS SCIENCE BREAKTHROUGHS OF THE YEAR CATEGORIES 1–5 & WOMEN’S IMPACT AWARD – FINALISTS
The Falling Walls Foundation announces the Finalists in five categories competing for the title Science Breakthrough of the Year. For each category, distinguished international expert juries have selected ten Finalists based on their outstanding potential to advance humanity and create positive change for the global community.
From each category, one Finalist will be named Falling Walls Science Breakthrough of the Year. The five awardees will be announced in August and September. All awardees will present their work on 9 November during the Falling Walls Science Summit, which takes place from 6–9 November in Berlin, with global visibility.
1. LIFE SCIENCES
Monther Abu-Remaileh – Stanford University, US
Breaking the Wall of Lysosomal Brain Disease
Mark Brönstrup – Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, DE
Breaking the Wall of Deadly Bacterial Infections
Paula Cohen – Cornell University, US
Breaking the Wall of Reversible Male Contraception
Gregor Cordery – University of Pennsylvania, US
Breaking the Wall of Non-Addictive Pain Relief
Brian Hie – Stanford University, US
Breaking the Wall of AI-Engineered Phages
Frank G. Holz – University of Bonn, DE
Breaking the Wall of Vision Loss by a Retina Implant
Juan Manuel Iglesias Artola – Blue Ice Labs GmbH, DE
Breaking the Wall of Invisible Lipid Transport in Cells
Zhiyong Lou – Tsinghua University, CN
Breaking the Wall of Viral Infection and Defense
Georg Schett – FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, DE
Breaking the Wall of Autoimmune Diseases
Giacomo Valle – Chalmers University of Technology, SE
Breaking the Wall of Lost Touch and Movement
2. PHYSICAL SCIENCES
Andrea Alù – City University of New York, US
Breaking the Wall of Light-Matter Interactions
Markus Arndt – University of Vienna, AT
Breaking the Wall of Quantum Interferometry
David Awschalom – University of Chicago, US
Breaking the Wall of Quantum with Molecules & Proteins
Xiangfeng Duan – University of California, Los Angeles, US
Breaking the Wall of Quantum Materials Design
Sylvain Gigan – Sorbonne Université, FR
Breaking the Wall of Biological Opacity
Ming Joo Koh – National University of Singapore, SG
Breaking the Wall of Sugar Synthesis Using Radicals
Konrad Meister – Boise State University & Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, US & DE
Breaking the Wall of Viral Infection and Defense
Victor Mougel – ETH Zurich, CH
Breaking the Wall of Bio-Inspired Rare Earth Recovery
Peter Richard Schreiner – Justus Liebig University Gießen, DE
Breaking the Wall of Chemical Energy Storage
Michelle Simmons – Silicon Quantum Computing, AU
Breaking the Wall of Quantum Simulation: Quantum Twins
3. ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY
Hong Chen – Washington University in St. Louis, US
Breaking the Wall of Artificial Hibernation
Yu Huang – University of California, Los Angeles, US
Breaking the Wall of Cost-Effective Hydrogen Fuel Cells
Mahmoud Jalali Mehrabad – Massachusetts Institute of Technology, US
Breaking the Wall of the Photonics Yield Crisis
Dangyuan Lei – City University of Hong Kong, HK
Breaking the Wall of Printing Transparent Materials
Zetian Mi – University of Michigan, US
Breaking the Wall of Distributed Ammonia Synthesis
Amir Safavi–Naeini – Stanford University, US
Breaking the Wall of Optical Amplification
Mohammad Samizadeh-Nikoo – Nanyang Technological University, SG
Breaking the Wall of Terahertz Electronics
Stephen Wallace – University of Edinburgh, UK
Breaking the Wall of Plastic-to-Medicine Conversion
Xingjun Wang – Peking University, CN
Breaking the Wall of Full-Spectrum Communication
Shiming Zhang – University of Hong Kong, HK
Breaking the Wall of Living Electronics
4. SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES
Ufuk Akcigit – University of Chicago, US
Breaking the Wall of Germany's Invisible Divide
Gasper Begus – University of California, Berkeley, US
Breaking the Wall of Hidden Whale Vowels
Katrien Beuls – Université de Namur, BE
Breaking the Wall of Human-like Language in Machines
Erik Brynjolfsson – Stanford University, US
Breaking the Wall of the Turing Trap
Kobi Hackenburg – University of Oxford, UK
Breaking the Wall of AI Political Persuasion
Jessica Jewell – Chalmers University of Technology, SE
Breaking the Wall of Apolitical Climate Futures
Saumitra Jha – Stanford University, US
Breaking the Wall of the Ethnic Growth Trap
Divyangana Rakesh – King's College London, UK
Breaking the Wall of Inequality in the Brain
Sander van der Linden – University of Cambridge, UK
Breaking the Wall of Cognitive Immunity
Federico Zimmermann – Harvard University, US
Breaking the Wall of Rising Polarization
5. ART & SCIENCE
Rachel Armstrong – KU Leuven, BE
Breaking the Wall of Obligate Consumption
Alice Bucknell – UCLA / SCI-Arc, US
Breaking the Wall of Planetary Simulation
Isidora Correa – Universidade Católica Portuguesa, PO
Breaking the Wall of Lithium Recovery with Bacteria
Marco Donnarumma – Marco Donnarumma Studio, DE
Breaking the Wall of Silence: I Am Your Body
Yuma Kishi – Independent Artist, JP
Breaking the Wall of the Human Operator
Eduardo Miranda – University of Plymouth, UK
Breaking the Wall of Quantum Computing for Creativity
Ioana Moser – Freelance Artist, DE
Breaking the Wall of Quantum Computing for Creativity
Marina Otero Verzier – Harvard University, US
Breaking the Wall of Computation Compost
Entangled Others – Entangled Others Studio
Breaking the Wall of the Intangible
Clemens Wenger – Anton Bruckner Private University Linz, AT
Breaking the Wall of Quantum Music
6. WOMEN’S IMPACT AWARD
Shreyashi Aryal – Kathmandu University, NP
Empowering the Midlife Transition: Redefining Quality of Life Determinants
Lucia Berro Pizzarossa – University of Birmingham, UK
Abortion Access: Activist Misoprostol Dosage Form for a Stagnant Technology
Queensley C. Chukwudum – University of Uyo, NG
Promoting Disability-Inclusive Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation in Nigeria (Abia State)
Amelia Fiske – Technical University of Munich, DE
Algorithmic Injustice
Bryony Hoskins – University of Roehampton, UK
Gender Empowerment through Politics in Classrooms (G-EPIC)
Jana Hutter – Leibniz University Hannover, DE
EARTHWORM
Manali Mukherjee – McMaster University, CA
Aftermath of COVID: Rise of Autoimmunity
Anam Shahil-Feroz – University of Western Ontario, CA
Preeclampsia Care with Remote Monitoring
Anamika Shreevastava – New York University, US
Roots and Remedies of Extreme Heat Inequality in Cities
Brandy Wicklow – University of Manitoba, CA
Partnerships for Progress: Co-designing community solutions to address intergenerational Type 2 Diabetes in First Nations
FALLING WALLS ENGAGE – FINALISTS
Falling Walls Engage celebrates the most innovative ways to building trust in science, inspiring public participation and bringing science closer to society. With a special focus on climate action and sustainability, the annual pitch competition showcases outstanding science engagement initiatives from around the world.
The 2025 winner was Nondas Ferreira da Silva with his pitch “Breaking the Wall of Restoration with Indigenous Knowledge”.
In 2026, the Falling Walls Engage Advisory Board selected 15 Finalists from an outstanding number of applications from 63 countries with participatory and interactive formats of all kinds – from co-productive research over arts-driven or entertaining approaches.
Falling Walls Engage, supported by the Hannover Re Foundation, announces as Finalists:
Gabriela Calistro Rivera – CosmoAmautas, German Aerospace Center, DE
Breaking the Wall of Science Education Inequality
Yvonne Dávalos – Climatón UNAM, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, MX
Breaking the Wall of Fragmented Climate Thinking
Billie Dumaliang – Masungi Georeserve, Masungi Georeserve Foundation, PH
Breaking the Wall of Evidence Without Experience
Sudeep Duwal – Citizen Watch Water, Smartphones For Water Nepal, NP
Breaking the Wall of Water Data Gaps
Philip Ferguson – ACCESS, University of Manitoba, CA
Breaking the Wall of Arctic Isolation
Maria De la Hoz – AgrocollA, IEEE, CO
Breaking the Wall of Climate Decision Inequality
Heribert Insam – MikroMondo, BioTreaT, AT
Breaking the Wall of Microbial Invisibility
Phoebe Koundouri – Water-Futures, Athens University of Economics and Business, GR
Breaking the Wall of Urban Water Uncertainty
Maltiti Mohammed – YouthClimateCouncil, Youth Climate Council Ghana, GH
Breaking the Wall of Exclusion in Climate Policy
Svetlana Onye – The Eco-Anxiety Africa Project, SustyVibes, UK
Breaking the Wall of Eco-Anxiety
Alberto Pascual – Resilient Watershed, Fundación CoMunidad, PA
Breaking the Wall of Citizen Exclusion
Vivek Shandas – Heat Science for All, Portland State University, US
Breaking the Wall of Invisible Heat Risk
Igor Siedlecki – FunDive, University of Warsaw, PL
Breaking the Wall of Fungal Invisibility in Conservation
Annabel Slaight – Future Chicken World, ClearWater Futures Foundation, CA
Breaking the Wall of Climate Fear
Israel Smart – Smartel, Smartel, RW
Breaking the Wall of Barriers to Local Climate Adaptation
FALLING WALLS VENTURE – FINALISTS
The top 25 Falling Walls Venture science start-ups were selected out of 370 applications from 60 countries. Prime academic institutions worldwide were invited to nominate to assure highest scientific quality.
The start-ups that were nominated in 2026 developed solutions in the spheres of Biotechnology, Energy & Cleantech, Food & Agriculture, MedTech, New Materials, Mobility & Transportation, and Quantum Technologies.
Previously, Falling Walls Venture published their Top 100 Science Start-ups to Watch in 2026. The 25 finalists are invited to Berlin to present their work on stage on 6 November, with one being selected as Falling Walls Science Start-up of the Year.
The 2025 winner was Lumai with their pitch “Breaking the Wall of Inefficient AI-Computation”.
Falling Walls Venture announces as 2026 Finalists:
Apersys – ETH Zürich, CH
Breaking the Wall of Organ Shortages
Arkeon Technologies – Chalmers Ventures, SE
Breaking the Wall of Unscalable Quantum Computing
BioBlends – GRIDX, AR
Breaking the Wall of Perishable Foods
Brineworks – University of California Davis, NL
Breaking the Wall of Costly Carbon Removal
CARTemis – JUNI, DE
Breaking the Wall of Untreatable Cancers
Diamens – eQventure, AT
Breaking the Wall of Silent Endometriosis Suffering
Evoralis – Cambridge Enterprise, University of Cambridge, UK
Breaking the Wall of Needless Textile Waste
EXALT – Medical University of Vienna, AT
Breaking the Wall of Generic Cancer Treatment
FluIDect – b.value, DE
Breaking the Wall of Delayed Bioprocesses Monitoring
Hades – HV Capital, DE
Breaking the Wall of Inefficient Resource Extraction in Europe
Helix Earth – Argonne National Laboratory, US
Breaking the Wall of 100 Year Old AC Technology
Infensa Bioscience – Institute for Molecular Bioscience (IMB), The University of Queensland, AU
Breaking the Wall of Catastrophic Heart and Brain Damage
Inn'Pulse – Ecole polytechnique, FR
Breaking the Wall of External Defibrillator Inaccessibility
InSpacePropulsion Technologies – Hermann von Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren, DE
Breaking the Wall of Toxic Space Mobility
leitspalt – RWTH Innovation, DE
Breaking the Wall of Battery Limitations
Linque – UnternehmerTUM, DE
Breaking the Wall of Data Center Inefficiency
MariHealth Solutions – University of Cape Town, ZA
Breaking the Wall of Aquaculture's Biological Blind Spot
Noah Labs – Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, DE
Breaking the Wall of Heart Failure
NodeAI – The Research Institute of St. Joseph's Hamilton, CA
Breaking the Wall of Indecision in Lung Cancer Treatment
NPHarvest – The KAUTE Foundation, FI
Breaking the Wall of Wasted Nutrients
Resurrect Bio – Imperial Enterprise Lab, UK
Breaking the Wall of Unsustainable Crop Protection
Stateful Robotics – Amadeus Capital Partners, UK
Breaking the Wall of Robot Memory Loss
Steerlight – CEA (French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission), FR
Breaking the Wall of Bulky LiDAR Systems
Tattva – Conception X, UK
Breaking the Wall of Unsustainable Industrial Materials
UNOMR – Positron Ventures, CH
Breaking the Wall of Unreadable Proteins
FALLING WALLS SCIENCE SUMMIT 2026
6–9 November 2026
Falling Walls Science House
Karl-Marx-Allee 34
10178 Berlin
Press Contact
Felix Mihalek, Press Officer, Company Spokesperson
+49 30 609 883 97 80
press@falling-walls.com
About the Falling Walls Science Summit
Founded in 2009, the Falling Walls Science Summit has become the leading international forum for scientific breakthroughs and interdisciplinary dialogue. Held annually in Berlin from 6–9 November, the Summit commemorates the fall of the Berlin Wall by bringing together global leaders to explore how science can contribute to shaping a sustainable future.
With its core formats – Falling Walls Pitches, Falling Walls Circle and Falling Walls Science Breakthroughs – the Summit fosters collaboration across academia, industry, politics, and civil society to drive transformative change.
The event is organised by the non-profit Falling Walls Foundation. More information: falling-walls.com
About the Falling Walls Foundation
The Falling Walls Foundation gGmbH is a Berlin-based non-profit organisation dedicated to strengthening science communication and public engagement with research. Its initiatives bring together international experts to develop breakthrough solutions for global challenges.
In addition to the Falling Walls Science Summit, the Foundation runs the Berlin Science Week and programmes such as Falling Walls Lab, Falling Walls Engage, Falling Walls Venture and Female Science Talents.
Since 2020, the Foundation has also hosted the Creative Bureaucracy Festival, an international platform for innovation in the public sector.
The Foundation is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space, the Berlin Senate, the Hannover Re Foundation, the Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, PD – Public Sector Advisory, Volkswagen Foundation, and more than 100 additional international philanthropies, academic institutions, companies and NGOs.
Learn more: falling-walls.com/foundation