The jury of the 2026 Simon Norton Prize for Mathematical Outreach, organised by the European Mathematical Society (EMS), has awarded an Honourable Mention to the ICMAT Mathematical Culture Unit for “its unique model of professional science communication within a leading research institute”.

From left to right, Ágata Timón, Coordinator of UCMAT; David Martín de Diego, Scientific Director of the Unit; and Laura Moreno Iraola, Technical Officer of the Unit. Image: Íñigo de Amescua/ICMAT

The Mathematical Culture Unit (UCMAT) of the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (ICMAT) has been recognised by the European Mathematical Society (EMS) with an Honourable Mention in the 2026 Simon Norton Prize. This award recognises outreach and communication initiatives and projects that stand out for bringing mathematics closer to society in a creative, engaging and accessible way and whose contribution to mathematical outreach has been significant.

The jury highlighted UCMAT’s “unique model of professional science communication within a leading research institute”, as well as “a broad and diverse programme, including theatre, school workshops, ethnomathematics and its ‘Coffee and Theorems’, column in the newspaper El País [active at the time of the prize application, now replaced by two new columns in eldiario.es and ABC] which brings rigorous mathematical ideas to a wide range of audiences, while also promoting the inclusion of groups traditionally underrepresented in mathematics”.

“It is an honour for the EMS to recognise and reward our work in fostering and promoting mathematical culture. UCMAT is a structure that many people have been building over many years, mainly at ICMAT, but also beyond it, and we would like to share this joy with all of them,” says Ágata Timón, Coordinator of UCMAT.

The winner of this edition was the CUBOID Mathematics Museum, part of the National Centre of the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. It is an interactive mathematics museum and an outreach platform dedicated to the promotion of mathematics. The jury decided to award it the prize for its wide variety of formats, including hands-on and interactive experiences, professional development for teachers, publications, exhibitions and digital learning resources, delivered under wartime conditions “when students and educators needed them most” and for its remarkable adaptability in such circumstances.

The prize jury consisted of the following members of the EMS Outreach and Engagement Committee: Katie Chicot (The Open University, MathsWorldUK); Elise Raphael (Genève Évasions Mathématiques, The SwissMAP Research Station); Can Ozan Oğuz (Galatasaray University); and Fernando Blasco (Technical University of Madrid).

Simon Norton Prize for Mathematical Outreach

The Simon Norton Prize for Mathematical Outreach of the European Mathematical Society (EMS) was established in 2023 to recognise excellence and the work of international initiatives and projects that bring mathematics closer to society. It was proposed by the EMS Outreach and Engagement Committee, inspired by the family of the British mathematician Simon P. Norton, after whom the prize is named. The first edition took place in 2024 and, since then, it has been awarded every two years with three objectives: to build a mathematical outreach community, raise the visibility of outreach work and commitment in mathematics, and share best practices in outreach, evaluation and fundraising.

In 2026, in addition to UCMAT at ICMAT, Honourable Mentions were also awarded to the projects MaddMaths!, by Associazione MaddMaths! ETS in Rome (Italy); Mathematics without Words, by the Universities of Fribourg and Luxembourg; MoMath outreach programmes, by the National Museum of Mathematics (MoMath) in New York (USA); and LUMS Math Circles, by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in Pakistan.

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This text is an automatic translation from the original Spanish version.