Pope Leo XIV presents Pius XI Medal to Harvard scientist Karin Öberg

Pope Leo XIV presented the Pius XI Medal to Harvard University astrochemist Karin Öberg during an audience with members of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences on Sept. 24. The award recognizes scientists under the age of 45 who have distinguished themselves through research and show exceptional promise in their field.

Öberg, who holds the Thomas Dudley Cabot Chair in the Natural Sciences at Harvard, directs the Öberg Astrochemistry Laboratory at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her research focuses on chemical processes related to the formation of planets and the chemical possibility of life.

The medal has previously been awarded to several Nobel laureates and the physicist Stephen Hawking. Beyond her scientific work, Öberg has spoken about her conversion to Catholicism, noting that her search for knowledge led her to find it difficult to accept a strictly materialist worldview.