PRESIDENT BUSH HONORS U.S. RECIPIENTS OF THE 2008 KAVLI PRIZE

WASHINGTON—On November 12, President George W. Bush and his Science Advisor, Dr. John Marburger honored the first U.S. recipients of the Kavli Prize (an award that recognizes scientists for their advances in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience) in an Oval Office reception at the White House.

Dr. John Marburger, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy said, “Thanks to the Kavli Foundation for establishing these prestigious awards.  We are proud that American scientists are among the first round of recipients, and hope for more in the future.  The fields in which the awards are given are among the most exciting and productive in science today, and the work that is being recognized has in each case opened new opportunities for discovery by generations of investigators.  Congratulations to the recipients for their outstanding contributions.”

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Inaugural Kavli Prize Laureates Honored In Oslo Ceremony

Fred Kavli addresses the audience at the Kavli Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo, Norway. To view a taped broadcast of the ceremony, as well as a video story, click photograph. (Photo: The Norwegian Academy of Science & Letters/Hakon Mosvold Larsen/Scanpix)

SPECIAL NOTE: The Kavli Prize Ceremony may be viewed by clicking here.

Read remarks presented by Louis E. Brus, Donald Lynden-Bell and Sten Grillner, who spoke on behalf of their fellow laureates during the Kavli Prize banquet dinner. (September 9, 2008)

 

On September 9, 2008, in a ceremony at the Oslo Concert Hall in Norway, seven pioneering researchers in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience were honored as the first Kavli Prize laureates, receiving a gold medal and scroll from His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon Magnus. 

Joining His Royal Highness were representatives of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Research and Higher Education, and The Kavli Foundation, as well as the chairs of the Kavli Prize committees. Speaking before an international audience that included noted researchers and science leaders, said Fred Kavli, founder of the Kavli Prize and The Kavli Foundation, “We are here today to honor and celebrate our scientists – our prize winners – for their work and their contribution to humanity’s splendid journey. Let these prizes be a token of thanks and gratitude for moving us along the path of greater understanding of the human being, nature, and the universe.”

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon Magnus of Norway presents (top to bottom) the Kavli Prize medals in astrophysics, the Kavli Prize medals in nanoscience and the Kavli Prize medals in Neuroscience.

 

Ole Didrik Laerum, president of the Academy, also expressed “congratulations, but also deep thanks” to the laureates for their achievements in each of their fields. Minister of Research Tora Aasland noted the laureates -- from three different continents – reflected the international nature of research.

Asked what the laureates shared in the common, in a press conference, Kavli Prize laureate Pasko Rakic noted, "I believe we share a desire to understand ourselves and our universe."

The 2008 Kavli laureates are:

* Astrophysics: Donald Lynden-Bell, University of Cambridge (UK), and Maarten Schmidt, California Institute of Technology (US).

* Nanoscience: Louis Brus, Columbia University (US), and Sumio Iijima, Meijo University (Japan).

* Neuroscience: Sten Grillner, Karolinska Institutet (Sweden), Thomas Jessell, Columbia University (US), and Pasko Rakic, Yale University (US).

Along with a medal and scroll, The Kavli Prize consists of $1,000,000 US for each prize category.

The Kavli Prize is a partnership of The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation and The Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.  

Additional details about the ceremony, including photographs are available at www.kavliprize.no.

 

 

 

 

Announcement of 2008 Kavli Laureates

The seven laureates are the inaugural recipients of the Kavli prizes, a partnership between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation, and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research. The three biannual awards complement the Nobel Prizes which since 1901 have been given for achievements in physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature and peace.

On May 28, 2008, the first Kavli Prize laureates were announced in Oslo, Norway and at the World Science Summit in New York City. To view the Summit event, click picture.

The joint seven winners, from the UK, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan and the US receive a scroll, medal and a share of the $1,000,000 prize for each science category. On May 28, 2008, Ole Didrik Lærum, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, revealed the names of those selected to receive the awards at a ceremony in Oslo. The announcement was transmitted via a live simulcast to Columbia University, New York, where it was part of the opening of the first annual World Science Festival.

The Kavli Prize is named after and funded by Fred Kavli, who was inspired to seek a career in science and engineering while marveling at the northern lights in the skies above the tiny Norwegian village where he grew up. He later moved to the US where he founded the Kavlico Corporation, which became one of the world’s largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautic, automotive and industrial application.

Attending the May 28 ceremony in New York, Mr Kavli said: “The Kavli Prizes were created to recognize achievements in three exceptionally exciting fields which we believe promise remarkable future discoveries and benefits for humanity in the 21st century and beyond.”

 

 

Astrophysics Prize Recipients

The astrophysics prize was awarded jointly to Maarten Schmidt, of the California Institute of Technology, US, and Donald Lynden-Bell, of Cambridge University, UK, both of whose work underpins our understanding of quasars.

During the 1960s Schmidt analysed the visible light spectra of quasars and used the results to explain just how distant these extraordinarily bright galaxies are, while Lynden-Bell demonstrated how they were powered by the collapse of material into massive black holes.

Nanoscience Prize Recipients

Louis E. Brus, of Columbia University, US, and Sumio Iijima, of Meijo University in Japan, share the nanoscience prize for their respective discoveries of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots, and carbon nanotubes.

Major advances being predicted in fields as diverse as electronics, the environment, energy and biomedicine would not have been possible without Brus and Iijima’s contributions in explaining the unusual properties of particles so small that electron motion is confined to zero or one dimension.

Neuroscience Prize Recipients

The neuroscience prize goes to three scientists who collectively have deciphered the basic mechanisms that govern the development and functioning of the networks of cells in the brain and spinal cord.

Pasko Rakic, of the Yale University School of Medicine, in the US, explained how the neurons in the embryonic brain arrange themselves during development into the complex, densely interconnected circuitry of the adult cerebral cortex.

Thomas Jessell, of Columbia University, US, has revealed the chemical signals behind the differentiation of early progenitor cells into the complex assembly of different types of neurons that make up neuronal circuits.

Sten Grillner, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden showed how neural circuits in mammalian spinal cords generate motor commands for rhythmic movements such as locomotion. His lamprey model is seen as the first and so far only vertebrate neuronal system controlling an integrated function that is understood at a molecular and cellular level.

Prof Sir Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society, the UK’s academy of science, said: “The Kavli prizes highlight three challenging and important fields of research. The choice of winners highlights the international character of modern science, and illustrates that many major advances depends on cooperative and group efforts rather than single individuals.”

SELECTED PRESS STORIES

The New York Times, "Seven Scientists Win First Kavli Prizes" (May 29, 2008)

The Associated Press, "7 Scientists Split $1 Million Prizes" (May 28, 2008)

Reuters, "Seven Scientists Win First $1 Mln Kavli Prizes" (May 28, 2008)

Bloomberg News, "Kavli Prizes, Worth $1 Million, Awarded to Seven Scientists" (May 28, 2008)

Science News, "Kavli Prizes Announced" (May 28, 2008)

National Public Radio, "A Meeting of the Minds" (May 30, 2008)

Marketplace, "A New Prize for the Sciences" (May 28, 2008)