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The Kavli Prize Begins Call for Nominations and Announces Prize Committees

International Prize Honors Scientists for Outstanding Research in Astrophysics, Nanoscience and Neuroscience

September 10, 2007 York, UK

The inaugural call for nominations began today for the Kavli Prize, which honors scientists for their outstanding research and seminal advances in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.

The call for nominations was officially announced at a press conference held at the British Association for the Advancement of Science’s “Festival of Science” in York – a conference attended by Jan Fridthjof Bernt, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters; Fred Kavli, Founder and Chairman of The Kavli Foundation; and Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society.

Martin Rees, President of the Royal Society; Fred Kavli, Founder and Chairman of The Kavli Foundation; and Jan Fridthjof Bernt, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. (Photo: Les Gibbon)

“This presentation marks the opening of the call for nominations to the Kavli Prize,” said Bernt. “The nominations of candidates will close 15th of December, the prize winners will be announced 4th of June, and the award ceremony will take place for the first time in Oslo in September, 2008.”

With individual prizes for astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience, each Kavli Prize consists of a scroll, medal and cash award of USD one million dollars. The call for nominations will remain open through December 15, 2007.

“The Kavli prizes highlight the truly international nature of modern science,” Rees said. “They also emphasize that collaboration is often the key to modern scientific advancement, something highlighted by the fact that these prizes are open to groups of scientists as well as individuals.”

Also announced today are the award committees for each of the new prizes. Reflecting the international scope of each prize, the committees are comprised of leading researchers based in Asia, Europe and North America. Chosen for their excellence and reputation in their fields, the committee members will review the prize nominations then provide their final recommendations to the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The Academy will in turn review the final recommendations and select the award recipients. (Committee members are provided below.)

Members of the Kavli Prize committees were nominated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the French Academy of Sciences, the Max Planck Society (Germany), the National Academy of Sciences (US), and The Royal Society (UK).

“I want to emphasize the international aspects of these prizes and the integrity and quality of the selection process,” said Fred Kavli after the conference. “The selection is backed by the Norwegian Academy and supported by other academies, giving us great confidence that the prizes will be awarded to the most deserving.”

The Kavli Prize is presented in partnership with the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and The Kavli Foundation. Award recipients will be declared in 2008 with an award ceremony taking place in Oslo, Norway – Fred Kavli’s native country. Future Kavli Prizes will subsequently be awarded every two years.

PRIZE COMMITTEES

Kavli Prize Committee in Astrophysics

Professor Reinhard Genzel
Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics
Garching, Germany

Professor Wallace L.W. Sargent
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, California – United States

Professor Harvey Tananbaum
Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory
Cambridge, Massachusetts – United States

Professor Scott Tremaine
Institute for Advanced Study
Princeton, New Jersey – United States

Professor Oddbjørn Engvold
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway

Kavli Prize Committee in Nanoscience

Professor Chunli Bai
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of
Chemistry
Beijing, China

Professor Mostafa A El-Sayed
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta, Georgia – United States

Professor Klaus von Klitzing
Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research
Stuttgart, Germany

Professor Cherry Murray
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Livermore, California – United States

Professor Arne Skjeltorp
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway

Kavli Prize Committee in Neuroscience

Professor Linda Buck
Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
Seattle, Washington – United States

Professor Jean-Pierre Changeux
Institute Pasteur
Paris, France

Professor Eric Kandel
Columbia University
New York, New York – United States

Professor Bert Sakmann
Max Planck Institute for Medical Research
Heidelberg, Germany

Professor Jon Storm-Mathisen
University of Oslo
Oslo, Norway

ADDITIONAL MEDIA CONTACTS