The Kavli Prize
Article | Last updated: 13/06/2024 | Ministry of Education and Research
The Kavli Prize recognises outstanding scientific research and honours highly creative scientists. The prize should also promote public understanding of scientists and their work, and foster international cooperation among scientists.
The Kavli Prize was established in 2005 and is a partnership between The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, The Kavli Foundation (United States), and the Ministry of Education and Research. The three prizes in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience are awarded every other year. The prize consists of 1 million USD in each field.
Kavli Prize laureates
| Astrophysics | Nanoscience | Neuroscience | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Sara Seager and David Charbonneau | Robert S. Langer, Armand Paul Alivisatos and Chad A. Mirkin | Nancy Kanwisher, Doris Tsao og Winrich Freiwald |
| 2022 | Conny Aerts, Jørgen Christensen-Dalsgaard and Roger Ulrich | David L. Allara, Ralph G. Nuzzo, Jacob Sagiv and George Whitesides | Jean-Louis Mandel, Harry T. Orr, Christopher A. Walsh and Huda Y. Zoghbi |
| 2020 | Andrew Fabian | Harald Rose, Maximilian Haider, Knut Urban and Ondrej L Krivanek | David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian |
| 2018 | Ewine van Dishoeck | Emmanuelle Charpentier, Jennifer A. Doudna and Virginijus Šikšnys | A. James Hudspeth, Robert Fettiplace and Christine Petit |
| 2016 | Ronald W.P. Drever, Kip S. Thorne and Rainer Weiss | Gerd Binnig, Christoph Gerber and Calvin Quate | Eve Marder, Michael M. Merzenich and Carla J. Shatz |
| 2014 | Alan H. Guth, Andrei D. Linde and Alexei A. Starobinsky | Thomas W. Ebbesen, Stefan W. Hell and Sir John B. Pendry | Brenda Milner, John O’Keefe and Marcus E. Raichle |
| 2012 | David Jewitt, Jane X. Luu and Michael Edwards Brown | Mildred S. Dresselhaus | Cornelia Isabella Bargmann, Winfried Denk and Ann Martin Graybiel |
| 2010 | Jerry Nelson, Ray Wilson and Roger Angel | Donald Eigler and Nadrian Seeman | Thomas Südhof, Richard Scheller and James Rothman |
| 2008 | Maarten Schmidt and Donald Lynden-Bell | Louis E. Brus and Sumio Iijima | Pasko Rakic, Thomas Jessell and Sten Grillner |
The Kavli Prize Week
The Kavli Prize Week, in September every other year, is both a celebration of science as well as an opportunity for dialogues on significant research in the Kavli Prize fields. Held primarily in Oslo, its signature event is the Kavli Prize Award Ceremony in Oslo Concert Hall, followed by the Government banquet at the City Hall in honour of the laureates. The Kavli Prize brings internationally leading scientists, and politicians to a range of events discussing engaging topics as far-ranging as science itself.
Fred Kavli and the Kavli Foundation
Fred Kavli (1927–2013) was a Norwegian-American entrepreneur, business leader, and philanthropist. He was born in Eresfjord in Norway, and educated at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim. He emigrated to the United States in 1956, where he built up Kavlico Corporation, a world-leading business specialising in sensors for the aerospace and automotive industries. Kavli divested his interest in the company in 2000 and established the Kavli Foundation.
The Kavli Foundation is dedicated to the goals of advancing science for the benefit of humanity and promoting increased public understanding and support for scientists and their work. In addition to the Kavli Prizes, the foundation's mission is implemented through an international programme of research institutes, professorships, and symposia in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience, neuroscience, and theoretical physics.
