The Kavli Prize will be awarded for the first time in the autumn of 2008 in Oslo. This event will give Norway an important position on the international research map. The initiative for the Prize was taken by a Norwegian-American, Fred Kavli, and it has been set up as a joint venture between the Kavli Foundation, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research and the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters.
The Kavli Prize includes three separate prizes, which are awarded for outstanding scientific research in the fields of astrophysics, neuroscience and nanoscience, and each consists of USD 1 million in cash, a medal and a diploma. The Kavli Prize will be awarded in Oslo every two years.
Fred Kavli emigrated from Norway to the US after completing his studies in physics at the Norwegian Institute of Technology in Trondheim (now the Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in the 1950s. After nearly 50 successful years in the business sector, he sold all his interests in 2000, and established his own research foundation. The Kavli Foundation is involved in a wide range of international activities, including the establishment of research institutes in connection with many of the world’s foremost universities and the establishment of various professorships. The Kavli Prize is one of the Foundation’s recent initiatives.
The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters is to have full responsibility for selecting the prize winners to ensure that this process is independent of the funding organisation. The Academy has set up three selection committees made up of top international scientists within the respective fields for which the prize is awarded. They have been chosen in close cooperation with the equivalent institutions in the US, China, France, the UK and Germany. Four of the committee members are Nobel Laureates. The committee members can nominate candidates for the prizes, although they may not, of course, nominate themselves. The nomination process for this year’s prize took place in the autumn of 2007, and the deadline was 15 December. The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters will publish the names of the prize winners in June 2008. The Prize will be awarded in September.
The Prize is intended not only as an accolade for the individual scientists concerned, but also as a recognition of research efforts that are of the utmost importance for the future of mankind. It aims to promote international cooperation between researchers and to increase awareness of the importance of research among the general public.
Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs