Money for Top Researchers in Germany
October 27, 2001
The Nobel prize may be the most famous academic prize in the world, but it isn’t the most valuable. That honor goes to the Wolfgang Paul Award of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in Germany with its 4.5 million Marks.
The award is granted to 14 top-ranked scientists and scholars from abroad, who will use the money to conduct research at German universities and science institutes.
This one-time prize was made possible by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research. The funds were provided by the Federal Government’s Investment in the Future Program, which raised the money through the sale of UMTS licenses. The award will be handed over by the Minister for Education and Research on November 6 in Berlin.
The President of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Professor Wolfgang Frühwald, announced, “We are giving this award in honor of academic achievement at an internationally excellent level.”
The goal of the Wolfgang Paul Award is to offer the winners the best possible working conditions at research institutes in Germany. “In this way, the best brains from abroad can pursue their research projects free from administrative red-tape, while at the same time building up their own working groups with highly qualified younger academics in Germany,” Frühwald said.
Eight of the 14 winners come from research institutes in the United States. Three are currently researching in Russia. And one winner each comes from Great Britain, Hungary and Italy. The scholars all work in different fields ranging from the life sciences to physics, mathematics, engineering and geo-science. Two winners also came from the humanities: a philosopher and a linguist.
A total of 70 researchers from 23 countries were nominated for the Wolfgang Paul Award by German research institutes.