The Kavli prizes recognize scientists for extraordinary achievements in astrophysics, nanoscience and neurosciennce.
President Bush congratulated the Kavili prize winners, and Dr. Marburger, Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, thanked the Kavli Foundation for establishing these prestigious awards. He expressed pride in the fact that American scientists were among the first round of recipients “The fields in which the awards are given are among the most exciting and productive in science today, and the work that is being recognized has in each case opened new opportunities for discovery by generations of investigators,” he said, and congratulated the recipients for their outstanding contributions.
The 2008 US Kavli Prize Winners are Maarten Schmidt, California Institute of Technology (Astrophysics Prize Winner), Louis E. Brus, Columbia University (Nanoscience Prize Winner), Pasko Rakic, Yale University School of Medicine (Neuroscience Prize Winner), and Thomas Jessell, Columbia University (Neuroscience Prize Winner).
The laureates were chosen for their groundbreaking research which has advanced our understanding of 1) the nature of quasars, 2) matter on an ultra-small scale, and 3) the basic circuitry of the human brain, and. They are the first recipients of the 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 were awarded by Norway’s Crown Prince Haakon on Tuesday September 9, 2008, during a ceremony in Oslo Concert Hall. Fred Kavli, founder of the prizes, a Norwegian-born businessman and philanthropist, was present at the ceremony.
The biannual awards complement the Nobel Prizes. Seven winners, from Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States, each receive a share of the $1,000,000 prize.
The Kavli Foundation was established in December 2000 by its founder and benefactor, Fred Kavli, a prominent Norwegian-born California business leader and noted philanthropist. Currently, the foundation is involved in establishing major research institutes at leading universities and institutions in the United States, Europe and Asia.