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Kavli Prize 2024 announced

The Kavli Prize for 2024 has been announced recently. Eight scientists received this year’s prize for their contributions to astrophysics, neuroscience, and nanoscience. The scientists are professors at leading American universities teaching their respective subjects.

Key highlights

  • Two scientists- David Charbonneau of Harvard University and Sara Seager of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) were awarded the Kavli Prize for their discoveries in astrophysics. They discovered exoplanets and characterized their atmosphere. According to the citation, they used unique methods to discover atomic species in the planetary atmosphere and they also measured their thermal infrared emissions. This will help in detecting the molecular fingerprints of the atmosphere around the giant and rocky planets.
  • In the neuroscience category, three scientists – Nancy Kanwisher of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Winrich Freiwald of Rockefeller University, and Doris Tsao of the University of California at Berkeley- emerged winners. They received this award for their decade-long efforts in mapping the connection between facial recognition and the brain. Kinwisher detected the precise location of the brain’s face processing centre. Tsao and Freiwald took this discovery forward by mapping out the neural architecture of the human brain.
  • In the Nanoscience category, Robert Langer of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Armand Paul Alivisatos of the University of Chicago, and Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University won the award. Langer was given the award for his innovative concept of using nanotechnology for creating a material that would allow therapeutic biomolecules to be released under regulated conditions. Alivisatos created semiconductor crystals, also known as “quantum dots”. Mirkin presented the spherical nucleic acid (SNA) concept, which is used in various fields.

About Kavli Prize

  • This Prize is given in honour of Fred Kavli who was a Norwegian-American businessman and philanthropist. Kavli was an engineer and founder of Kavlico which is a leading manufacturer of pressure sensors and associated systems. He later established the Kavli Foundation to facilitate high-level research.
  • The award is given in three categories- Astrophysics, Nanoscience, and Neuroscience.
  • This prize was first announced in 2008 when seven scientists were recognized for their contributions. Since then, 73 scientists have been offered this prestigious award which is announced once every two years.
  • The Prize contains a $1 million cash reward for each category, a medal and a scroll.
  • 10 Kavli Prize winners also won the Nobel Prize.
  • No Indian has won this award until today.

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