NWO/Spinoza Prize for archaeology, entomology, physics and law
20 Nov 2007
'Dutch Nobel prize' for four top Dutch researchers.
Every year the NWO/Spinoza prize, also viewed as the 'Dutch Nobel 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. The official presentation of this year’s prize will take place on Wednesday 28 November 2007 in the Nieuwe Kerk in The Hague.
Each researcher receives one-and-a-half million euros to freely devote to his or her research. Is that all? They also get a nice statuette to adorn their desk. The winners of the NWO-Spinoza prize 2007 are:
- Prof. D.M. (Deirdre) Curtin, lawyer at Utrecht University. Curtin has made outstanding contributions to the development and promotion of international and European law and has developed groundbreaking visions for the governance of international organisations such as the European Union. Read the jury report.
- Prof. M. (Marcel) Dicke, ecological entomologist at Wageningen University. Dicke discovered, for example, that in response to insect feeding plants produce specific volatile chemicals that attract enemies of their enemies. Read the jury report.
- Prof. L.P. (Leo) Kouwenhoven, physicist at Delft University of Technology. Kouwenhovens groundbreaking work on so-called spin qubits is vitally important for the use of quantum information, for example in a fundamentally new type of computer. Read the jury report.
- Prof. J.W.M. (Wil) Roebroeks, archaeologist at Leiden University. Roebroeks has made original observations on early hominids and the development of human society. Read the jury report.
This is the thirteenth occasion on which the NWO/Spinoza prizes have been awarded. The first occasion was in 1995.. Those allowed to make nominations are the principals of universities, and the chairs of the departments of Literature and Physics of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW), the Netherlands Society of Technological Sciences and Engineering, the Dutch National Network of Female Professors, the Social Sciences Council and the NWO Divisions.
