Seven pioneering scientists receive the Kavli Prize

Seven pioneering scientists who have transformed human knowledge in the fields of nanoscience, neuroscience and astrophysics have become the first recipients of the million-dollar Kavli prizes. The President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, Ole Didrik Lærum, announced the names of the prize-winners at the Academy in Oslo today, 28 May.

The astrophysics prize was awarded jointly to Maarten Schmidt, of the California Institute of Technology, US, and Donald Lynden-Bell, of Cambridge University.

Louis E. Brus, of Columbia University, US, and Sumio Iijima, of Meijo University in Japan, share the nanoscience prize.

The neuroscience prize goes to three scientists: Pasko Rakic, of the Yale University School of Medicine, US, Thomas Jessell, of Columbia University, US, and Sten Grillner, of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.

They are the inaugural recipients of the new Kavli prizes, a partnership between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation, and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.

The prizes will be presented to the Kavli Laureates by HRH Crown Prince Haakon at an award ceremony in Oslo Concert Hall on the 9th of September 2008.

More information: www.kavliprize.no (English text)

Press contacts:

Anne-Marie Astad
Information Officer
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters
Office: + 47 22 12 10 92
Mobile: + 47 41 56 74 06

James Cohen
Director of Communications
The Kavli Foundation
Office: (805) 278-7495
Mobile: (310) 666-2289
cohen@kavlifoundation.org