Nano molecule 3D illustration: Shutterstock/NTB
Some of the world’s leading researchers in neuroscience, nanoscience and astrophysics are coming to Trondheim and Oslo. You can meet them.
By the Gemini editors
For a whole week starting Saturday, 3 September, the Kavli Prize winners for 2020 and 2022 will be honoured at several events in Oslo and Trondheim.
The Kavli Prize is awarded every two years to scientists who stand out for their research in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience.
The prizes will be awarded during a ceremony in the Oslo Concert Hall on Tuesday. The awards consist of a gold medal, a diploma and USD 1 000 000 from the Kavli Trust.
Award winners for 2022
All the award winners have clearly distinguished themselves in their fields.
This year’s prizes in astrophysics go to three researchers who have worked in the fields of helio- and asteroseismology. Conny Aerts, Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard and Roger Ulrich are behind innovative research that is important for solar and stellar structure theory. Their work has revolutionized scientists’ understanding of the interiors of stars.
The prizes in neuroscience go to Christopher A. Walsh, Harry T. Orr, Huda Y. Zoghbi and Jean-Louise Mandel. These scientists have discovered genes that indirectly cause a number of serious brain diseases.
Four researchers in nanoscience were awarded the prize for their work with surfaces and various coatings. The research done by David L. Allara, George Whitesides, Jacob Sagiv and Ralph G. Nuzzo has had practical implications in everything from medical diagnostic tools to semiconductor devices and paints.
You can read more here about the work of the award winners for 2022.
Winners for 2020 finally honoured
Due to the pandemic, the 2020 Kavli Prize winners have not yet been properly honoured. The winners for 2020 and 2022 are therefore both being invited to this year’s ceremony. See this article for more information on the 2020 winners.
Several events will be held in Trondheim and Oslo during the week. Most of them are open to the public. A detailed overview of the programme for Kavli Prize Week can be found here.
Here is the programme of events happening at NTNU.
Started by philanthropist and entrepreneur
The Kavli Trust collaborates with the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters (DNVA) on the awarding of the prizes.
DNVA appoints three prize selection committees that propose candidates for consideration. The members of the committees are nominated by several leading international academies and scientific organizations.
Philanthropist Fred Kavli and his Kavli Foundation established the Kavli Prize in 2005. Kavli studied physics at NTNU. He was also an entrepreneur, starting a company that became a major supplier of sensors for aviation, space travel and other industries. He made good money from these ventures, but he wanted to share the wealth with others.
Kavli established a number of initiatives that support researchers in several fields. Among those who have benefited from his philanthropy are Nobel Prize winners May-Britt and Edvard Moser at NTNU’s Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience. This is one of several leading research institutes worldwide that Kavli set in motion. Fred Kavli died in 2013, but his name lives on.
