Matea Cañizarez, Age 18, of Quito, Ecuador, Receives Top Honors and $400,000 in Education Prizes for her Original Video Explaining Quark-Gluon Plasma
SAN FRANCISCO, April 18, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Breakthrough Prize Foundation today announced Ecuador-based student Matea Cañizarez as the winner of the 11th annual Breakthrough Junior Challenge, a global competition that empowers young people to creatively communicate complex ideas in the life sciences, physics, and mathematics.
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge will provide $400,000 in educational awards to Matea and her teacher, Roberto Procel. As the student winner, Matea will be granted a $250,000 college scholarship. In recognition of his work as a science teacher, Mr. Procel will receive a $50,000 award. The prize package also includes a cutting-edge science laboratory, designed by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and valued at $100,000, to be installed at Colegio Johannes Kepler, Matea’s current school, located in Quito, Ecuador.
Matea was honored alongside the 2026 Breakthrough Prize laureates at The Breakthrough Prize Ceremony in Los Angeles on April 18, 2026.
“It’s exhilarating to meet bright, curious young people like Matea,” said Julia Milner, co-founder of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, “And to see them pursuing their passion for ideas and communicating it to others makes me truly hopeful for the future,” said Julia Milner, co-founder of the Breakthrough Prize.
Matea’s winning entry explains quark-gluon plasma, an extreme state of matter that existed just after the Big Bang, in which quarks and gluons move freely instead of being bound inside protons and neutrons. Her short video can be seen here. This was Matea’s first entry to the Breakthrough Junior Prize, and she is currently applying for college next fall.
“Coming from a rural town in Ecuador, my passion for science was not a given. I am humbled by the honor of winning the Breakthrough Junior Challenge and hope to work in the service of society and nature by making the most of this opportunity,” said Matea.
“Congratulations on your beautiful video explaining the quark-gluon plasma,” said David Gross, winner of the 2026 Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, whose theories led directly to the discovery of the phenomenon in Matea’s video. Gross continued, “Very exciting, very well done, and I hope you stay in physics and help us understand even better the properties of the quark-gluon plasma in the laboratory, in the early Universe, and perhaps in the core of neutron stars.”
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global program designed to showcase and advance young people’s understanding of science and core scientific principles, spark enthusiasm for STEM fields, encourage pursuit of STEM careers, and engage the broader public in fundamental scientific concepts. Each year, students ages 13 to 18 are invited to produce original videos of up to two minutes that explain a concept or theory in life sciences, physics, or mathematics.
Entries are judged on how effectively participants communicate complex scientific ideas in clear, compelling, and creative ways.
“Seeing students take on complex topics and explain them with enthusiasm and creativity is inspiring,” said Sal Khan, founder and CEO of Khan Academy and Vision Steward of TED. “Their work is a reminder that when young people are given access and opportunity to explore their interests, they can achieve great things.”
This year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge attracted more than 2,500 applicants from around the world. Submissions were narrowed down to 30 semifinalists, which represented the top submissions after two rounds of judging: first, a mandatory peer review, followed by an evaluation panel of judges. Sixteen finalists were selected in December 2025.
Celebrating its 11th year, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge has reached a global community of more than 100,000 students, parents, and educators, drawing upwards of 30,000 applications from students in over 200 countries, including Canada, Nigeria, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Singapore, and the United States. Since its launch, the program has distributed more than $2.5 million in college scholarships, invested $1 million in state-of-the-art science laboratories, and awarded $500,000 to exceptional science and mathematics teachers. Winning submissions have explored subjects ranging from Mechanogenetic Cellular Engineering, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, Circadian Rhythms, Neutrino Astronomy, and more. Challenge alumni have continued their academic journeys at top-tier universities such as MIT, Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford.
This year’s Selection Committee was comprised of: Thea Booysen, MsC, social media director for neurologist Dr. Richard Isaacson and founder of MadeByHuman; Rachel Crane, space and science correspondent, CNN; Pascale Ehrenfreund, PhD, president, Committee on Space Research COSPAR; Dennis Gaitsgory, professor, Max Planck Institute for Mathematics, and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics Laureate; John Grunsfelt, PhD astronaut, associate administrator for science, chief scientist at NASA Headquarters; Mae Jemison, physician, former astronaut, entrepreneur; Jeffery W. Kelly, professor of chemistry, Scripps Research Institute and Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences laureate; Scott Kelly, retired NASA astronaut; Salman Khan, founder and CEO, Khan Academy; Ijad Madisch, CEO, co-founder, ResearchGate; Samaya Nissanke, University of Amsterdam, Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics laureate; Nicole Stott, NASA astronaut, and co-founder of the Space for Art Foundation; Andrew Strominger, professor of physics, Harvard University, and Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics laureate; Terence Tao, UCLA professor and Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics laureate; Esther Wojcicki, founder, Palo Alto High Media Arts Center; Richard Youle, National Institutes of Health, and Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences laureate; and S. Pete Worden, chairman, Breakthrough Prize Foundation.
Partners
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge
The Breakthrough Junior Challenge, co-founded by Julia and Yuri Milner, is a global science video competition, aiming to develop and demonstrate young people’s knowledge of science and scientific principles and communications skills; generate excitement in these fields; support STEM career choices; and engage the imagination and interest of the public-at-large in key concepts of fundamental science.
The Breakthrough Prize
The Breakthrough Prize, renowned as the “Oscars of Science,” recognizes the world’s top scientists. Each prize is $3 million and presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics (one per year) and Mathematics (one per year). In addition, up to three New Horizons in Physics Prizes, up to three New Horizons in Mathematics Prizes and up to three Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes are given out to early-career researchers each year. Laureates attend a gala award ceremony designed to celebrate their achievements and inspire the next generation of scientists.
The Breakthrough Prizes were founded by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner, and Anne Wojcicki. The Prizes have been sponsored by the personal foundations established by Sergey Brin, Priscilla Chan and Mark Zuckerberg, Julia and Yuri Milner and Anne Wojcicki. Selection Committees composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates in each field choose the winners. Information on the Breakthrough Prize is available at breakthroughprize.org.
About Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of providing a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Since 2008, Khan Academy has provided an education safety net, a free platform designed to provide global access to high-quality learning for students and free resources for teachers. Khan Academy partners with more than 600 school districts in the United States and works with school systems in countries around the world, providing tools that personalize education. Khan Academy is at the forefront of using AI in education to support students while ensuring educators remain at the heart of the classroom. Worldwide, more than 200 million registered learners have used Khan Academy in 190 countries and more than 50 languages. For more information, please see research findings about Khan Academy and our press center.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)
The Breakthrough Prize Lab for the winning student’s school is designed in partnership with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL). Founded in 1890, CSHL, an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit, powers transformational discoveries in cancer, neuroscience, artificial intelligence, plant biology, and quantitative biology. Through world-renowned science and education divisions, CSHL nurtures a culture of curiosity, discovery, and innovation to make lives better. CSHL’s DNA Learning Center (DNALC) is the largest provider of hands-on instruction in genetics and biotechnology, reaching nearly 40,000 middle and high school students through field trips, day camps, summer camps, mentored research projects, and teacher training. For more than a century, CSHL has been a powerful and productive environment for developing, connecting, and sharing world-changing ideas. For more information, visit www.cshl.edu<http://www.cshl.edu/>>.
Contact
For more information, including competition rules, video submission guidelines and queries, go to: breakthroughjuniorchallenge.org.
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