Posted: June 24, 2009 |
Winners of the NWO/Spinoza Prize 2009 announced |
(Nanowerk News) The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) has announced
the winners of the NWO/Spinoza Prize for 2009. Two of the three
laureates of this year's Prize are Springer authors, Marten Scheffer and
Albert van den Berg. M.D. Ferrari is the other winner. The prize, also
viewed as the 'Dutch Nobel Prize,' is the highest Dutch award in science
and is given for outstanding, pioneering and inspiring research.
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Previously, the prize amount was EUR 1.5 million, but this year, each of
the three researchers will receive EUR 2.5 million to spend on research
of their choice. Dutch Education Minister Ronald Plasterk will
officially present the prizes on 25 November 2009 in the Nieuwe Kerk in
The Hague, Netherlands.
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Professor Marten Scheffer is an aquatic ecologist at Wageningen
University and Research Centre and has made pioneering contributions to
our understanding of critical transitions in complex systems, varying
from transitions in shallow lakes to climate change and the collapse of
ancient cultures. Dr. Scheffer published his book Ecology of Shallow
Lakes with Springer.
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Professor Albert van den Berg is a physicist at the University of
Twente, and has made key breakthroughs in the understanding and
manipulation of fluids in micro- and nanochannels, and has applied this
knowledge to areas such as the development of new medical equipment.
Dr. van den Berg is co-author of the Springer book Lab-on-Chips for
Cellomics and co-editor of the proceedings volumes Micro Total Analysis
Systems.
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The WO/Spinoza Prize is awarded to Dutch researchers who rank among the
world's top scientists. The laureates are internationally renowned and
know how to inspire young researchers. This is the fifteenth occasion on
which the Spinoza Prizes have been awarded.
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