Kavli Prize awarded to Pasko Rakic, pioneering Yale neur...(f Oslo and chair of the Kavli Neuroscien...),Health

The seven winners who hail from the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands, Japan and the United States will receive a scroll, medal and a share of the $1 million for each area. Ole Didrik Lrum, President of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, revealed the names of those selected to receive the awards at a ceremony in Oslo. The announcement was transmitted via a live simulcast to Columbia University, New York, where it was part of the opening of the first annual World Science Festival.

The Kavli Prize is named for, and funded by Fred Kavli, the entrepreneur and philanthropist who was inspired to seek a career in science and engineering while marveling at the northern lights in the skies above the tiny Norwegian village where he grew up. He later moved to the US where he founded the Kavlico Corporation, which became one of the worlds largest suppliers of sensors for aeronautic, automotive and industrial application.

Attending the ceremony in New York, Kavli said, The Kavli Prizes were created to recognize achievements in three exceptionally exciting fields which we believe promise remarkable future discoveries and benefits for humanity in the 21st century and beyond.

Through these prizes, we hope to honour, support and bring recognition to scientists who have not only pondered the same questions, but whose work has profoundly advanced the frontiers of our knowledge, Kavil said. We aim to do so while raising peoples awareness of the benefits of fundamental science to their own, everyday lives.

Sir Martin Rees, president of the
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