The Körber European Science Prize is presented annually by the
Körber Foundation in
Hamburg honoring outstanding scientists working in
Europe for their promising research projects. The prize is endowed with one million euro (until 2018: 750,000 euro) and promotes research projects in the
life sciences and
physical sciences.[1]
History
The prize was initiated by the entrepreneur
Kurt A. Körber with the help of
Reimar Lüst, the president of the
Max Planck Society. The first award was in 1985. At first, European research teams were honored, but since 2005, only individuals qualify.[2]
Selection process
Candidates for the prize need not be from Europe, but they must be living in Europe.[3] Renowned scientists from all over Europe, grouped into two Search Committees, select promising candidates. The awards are annual and alternate between the life and physical sciences. Those who are shortlisted are then asked to submit a detailed proposal for a research project which is then judged in two rounds of assessment by the Search Committee. The work of the Search Committee is supported by international experts. A maximum of five candidates are subsequently recommended to the Trustee Committee which, based on a summary of expert assessments, previous publications and scientific career history, decides on the new prizewinner. A personal application is not allowed.
Prize money
All prizewinners receive a certificate and one million euro (until 2008: 750,000 euros) prize money. The prizewinners can keep 10 percent of the money for themselves and must spend the rest on research in Europe in three to five years. Aside from these restrictions they alone can decide how to use the money.[3]
Presentation
The prize is presented every year in the Great Hall of
Hamburg City Hall in the presence of the Mayor of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg and 600 guests from science, industry, politics, and society.
Winners
1985: Applications of Shock Waves in Medicine, Walter Brendel, Michael Delius, Georg Enders, Joseph Holl, Gustav Paumgartner, Tilman Sauerbruch
1985: Back Pressure Casting Technology, Teodor Balevski, Rumen Batschvarov, Emil Momtschilov, Dragan Nenov, Rangel Zvetkov
1986: Retrovirus Research (
AIDS), Jean-Claude Gluckman, Sven Haahr, George Janossy, David Klatzmann,
Luc Montagnier, Paul Rácz
1991: Recognizing and Preventing Cancer Caused by Environmental Chemicals,
Lars Ehrenberg,
Dietrich Henschler, Werner Lutz, Hans-Günter Neumann
1992: The Spread and Transformation of Contaminants in Ground Water, Philippe Behra, Wolfgang Kinzelbach, Ludwig Luckner,
René Schwarzenbach, Laura Sigg
1993: Bionics of Walking: The Technical Application of Biological Knowledge, Felix Chernousko, François Clarac,
Holk Cruse,
Friedrich Pfeiffer
1994: Modern Plant Breeding: From the Cell to the Plant,
Dénes Dudits,
Dirk Inzé, Anne Marie Lambert, Horst Lörz
1995: Genetic Probes in Environmental Research and Medicine,
Rudolf Amann, Erik C. Böttger, Ulf B. Göbel,
Bo Barker Jørgensen, Niels Peter Revsbech, Karl-Heinz Schleifer, Jiri Wanner
1996: The Habitat of Treetops in the Tropics, Pierre Charles-Dominique, Antoine Cleef,
Gerhard Gottsberger,
Bert Hölldobler, Karl E. Linsenmair, Ulrich Lüttge
1996: Computer-Assisted Design of Materials, Michael Ashby, Yves Bréchet, Michel Rappaz
2019:
Bernhard Schölkopf, for developing mathematical methods that have made a significant contribution to helping artificial intelligence (AI) reach its most recent heights.[8]