The Körber European Science Prize is a science award presented annually by the Körber Foundation in Hamburg, Germany. It recognizes scientists conducting research in Europe and alternates between the life sciences and the physical sciences. The prize is endowed with €1,000,000 (€750,000 up to 2018).
History The prize was initiated by the entrepreneur Kurt A. Körber with the help of Reimar Lüst, the president of the Max Planck Society, and was first awarded in 1985. At first, European research teams were honored, but since 2005, it has been awarded only to individual scientists.
Selection process The prize alternates between life sciences and physical sciences. Candidates are identified by two search committees, one for each field, and shortlisted candidates are invited to submit a summary of their scientific breakthrough and a research proposal. Independent international reviewers assess the candidates and their work, and up to three finalists are presented to the Trustee Committee, which selects the prize winner. Self-nominations are not accepted.
Prize money The prize is endowed with €1,000,000; 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.
Presentation The prize is presented every year in the Great Hall of Hamburg City Hall, often with participation by representatives of the Hamburg Senate.
Prize winners The Körber Foundation lists the following prize winners ( indicates Nobel Prize recipients):
Year Prize winner(s) Project or research area 2026 Sara Wickström The hidden senses of cells 2025 Stephanie Wehner Pioneering the quantum internet 2024 Erin Schuman Making memories: brain-cell communication 2023 Cordelia Schmid Smart image recognition for autonomous robots 2022 Anthony A. Hyman Cell condensates 2021 Clare Grey Battery research 2020 Botond Roska Vision restoration 2019 Bernhard Schölkopf Artificial intelligence and machine learning 2018 Svante Pääbo ( 2022) Neanderthal genetics 2017 Gravitational-wave detection 2016 Hans Clevers Organoids and stem-cell biology 2015 Nicola Spaldin Multiferroic materials 2014 May-Britt Moser ( 2014) and Edvard Moser ( 2014) The brain's navigation system 2013 Immanuel Bloch Quantum gases 2012 Matthias Mann Proteomics 2011 Stefan Hell ( 2014) Nanoscopy 2010 Auxin and plant growth 2009 Andre Geim ( 2010) Graphene 2008 Maria Blasco Cancer and aging 2007 Peter Seeberger Carbohydrate vaccines 2006 Ulrich Hartl Protein folding and chaperones 2005 Philip Russell Photonic-crystal fibres 2004 Markus Aebi, Thierry Hennet, Jaak Jaeken, Ludwig Lehle, Gert Matthijs and Kurt von Figura Therapies for hereditary diseases 2003 Ben Feringa ( 2016), Martin Möller, Justin Molloy and Niek F. van Hulst Light-driven molecular walkers 2002 Mark W. J. Ferguson, Jeffrey Hubbell, Cay M. Kielty, Björn Stark and Michael G. Walker Scar-free wound healing using tissue engineering 2001 Wolf B. Frommer, Rainer Hedrich, Enrico Martinoia, Dale Sanders and Norbert Sauer Optimised crops through genetic engineering 2000 Rodney Douglas, Amiram Grinvald, Randolf Menzel, Wolf Singer and Christoph von der Malsburg Perception of shape in technology with insights from nature 1999 Bernd Kröplin, Per Lindstrand, John Adrian Pyle and Michael André Rehmet High-altitude platforms for telecommunications 1998 Henry Baltes, Wolfgang Göpel and Massimo Rudan Electronic micronoses to enhance safety at the workplace 1998 Werner Heil, Michèle Leduc, Ernst W. Otten and Manfred Thelen Magnetic resonance tomography with helium-3 1997 Pawel Kisielow, Klaus Rajewsky and Harald von Boehmer Mutant mouse models in clinical research 1996 Michael F. Ashby, Yves Bréchet and Michel Rappaz Computer-assisted design of materials 1996 Pierre Charles-Dominique, Antoine Cleef, Gerhard Gottsberger, Bert Hölldobler, Karl E. Linsenmair and Ulrich Lüttge Tropical treetop habitats 1995 Rudolf Amann, Erik C. Böttger, Ulf B. Göbel, Bo Barker Jørgensen, Niels Peter Revsbech, Karl-Heinz Schleifer and Jiri Wanner Genetic probes in environmental research and medicine 1994 Dénes Dudits, Dirk Inzé, Anne Marie Lambert and Horst Lörz Modern plant breeding 1993 Felix Chernousko, François Clarac, Holk Cruse and Friedrich Pfeiffer Bionics of walking 1992 Philippe Behra, Wolfgang Kinzelbach, Ludwig Luckner, René Schwarzenbach and Laura Sigg Spread and transformation of contaminants in ground water 1991 Lars Ehrenberg, Dietrich Henschler, Werner Lutz and Hans-Günter Neumann Environmental chemicals and cancer 1990 Lennart Bengtsson, Bert Bolin and Klaus Hasselmann ( 2021) Forecasting short-term changes in climate 1989 Christian Brunold, Yury Y. Gleba, Lutz Nover, J. David Phillipson, Elmar W. Weiler and Meinhart H. Zenk Active substances from plant cell cultures 1988 Alfons Buekens, Vasilij Dragalov, Walter Kaminsky and Hansjörg Sinn Pyrolytic destruction of toxic wastes 1987 Riitta Hari, Matti Krusius, Olli V. Lounasmaa and Martti Salomaa Creating ultralow temperatures 1987 Karl-Heinz Herrmann, Friedrich Lenz, Hannes Lichte and Gottfried Möllenstedt Further development of electron holography 1986 Jean-Claude Gluckman, Sven Haahr, George Janossy, David Klatzmann, Luc Montagnier ( 2008) and Paul Rácz Retrovirus research 1985 Walter Brendel, Michael Delius, Georg Enders, Joseph Holl, Gustav Paumgartner and Tilman Sauerbruch Applications of shock waves in medicine 1985 Teodor Balevski, Rumen Batschvarov, Emil Momtschilov, Dragan Nenov and Rangel Zvetkov Back pressure casting technology
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