Körber European Science

The journey begins: the Körber Prize 2025 selection process has started! 🚀   We're thrilled to announce that the selection process for the prestigious Körber Prize 2025 is officially underway. This year, the prize will honor groundbreaking achievements in the Physical Sciences. But what happens next? Here's a behind-the-scenes look:   🔎 Where are we now? Right now, the #KoerberPrize Search Committee, in collaboration with Europe’s leading research institutions, is compiling a longlist of outstanding nominees. From this list, the Search Committee will create a shortlist of the most promising candidates.   💡 What happens next? The shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit their innovative research proposals. These proposals will undergo a thorough evaluation by independent experts. Based on these assessments, the Search Committee will make recommendations. The final decision will be made by the Körber Prize Trustee Committee in April.   Stay tuned as we uncover the next big scientific breakthroughs and celebrate the incredible minds shaping the future! 🌍   Want to learn more about the #KoerberPrize selection process? Check out our website (link in comment).   📸 Alice Whitby / Körber-Stiftung   The photo shows Clare Grey, Körber Prize winner 2021. The British chemist pioneered the optimization of batteries using NMR spectroscopy, making groundbreaking contributions to the field of energy storage.   #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience #KoerberPrize 

Happy new year!   🎉 Looking back at a successful 2024 – and forward to an exciting 2025! 🎉 A true highlight in 2024 was the first-ever Hamburg Science Summit, where brilliant minds came together to exchange ideas and inspire new thinking. We were also honored to celebrate the remarkable Erin Schuman as our Körber Prize winner 2024, whose groundbreaking work continues to advance the frontiers of science.   What’s up in 2025? 🚀   📌 Hamburg Science Summit: We are excited about the second edition of the Hamburg Science Summit, which will take place on September 18 this year. Several renowned institutions and distinguished speakers have already confirmed their participation. Details will follow soon – stay tuned!   📌 A highlight of the Summit will once again be the presentation of the Körber European Science Prize at Hamburg City Hall. It will take place on September 19 and will once again honor Europe’s scientific excellence – this time in the Physical Sciences. We wish you a happy New Year and look forward to seeing you in 2025!   #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience #KoerberPrize

🏆What does it take to become a laureate of the Körber European Science Prize? Since 1985, the Körber-Stiftung has honored outstanding researchers with the Körber European Science Prize. Worth € 1 million, it is one of the most prestigious science awards worldwide. What defines a Körber Prize laureate?   ✨ Profound breakthrough – A method, concept, or paradigm shift with significant scientific relevance. 🔬 Active research in Europe – The groundbreaking work must be done in Europe, but the winners do not have to be from Europe originally. 🌍 Global relevance & application – The research has the potential to have a lasting impact on society. 🚀 Innovative projects with a future – The prize aims to advance research that can make significant progress within 3–5 years. 💡 Science communication – Laureates should excel not only in research but also in communicating their work to a broader public. In short: Outstanding science, a clear vision for the future, and the ability to inspire – these are the building blocks of a Körber Prize winner. 👉 Which scientific breakthroughs inspire you? Let’s celebrate excellence and innovation together!   📸 Friedrun Reinhold / Körber-Stiftung   The photo shows Botond Roska, winner of the 2020 Körber Prize. Roska and his team have identified the approximately one hundred different cell types in the retina and studied how they interact. He is now working on turning this fundamental knowledge into benefits for patients and alleviating or curing their diseases. Roska made a breakthrough when he reprogrammed a type of cell in the eye to take over the function of defective light receptor cells. He was able to make blind retinas sensitive to light again. Clinical trials on blind people have already begun.   #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience #KoerberPrize #STEM

The journey continues: the Körber Prize 2025 selection process moves forward! 🚀✨ This year, the Körber Prize honors excellence in the Physical Sciences—a field that pushes the boundaries of knowledge and innovation. 🔍 Where are we now? Nominations are in! Thanks to the members of our Search Committee and nominations by Europe’s leading scientific institutions, we now have a longlist of outstanding candidates, showcasing groundbreaking research in the Physical Sciences across Europe. 📋 What’s next? The Search Committee will vote to create a shortlist of up to eight candidates. These candidates will then be invited to submit detailed proposals of their work, which will be reviewed by independent experts and later by the Search Committee.   🏆 Why it matters The Körber Prize highlights researchers whose work address key challenges and contribute to shaping the future.   Stay tuned as we take the next step toward celebrating the pioneers transforming science and society! 🌟 Want to learn more about the #KoerberPrize selection process? Check out our website (link in comment).   📸 Friedrun Reinhold  / Körber-Stiftung   The photo shows Stefan Hell, winner of the 2011 Körber Prize. The German physicist revolutionised optical microscopy by developing the STED microscope, breaking Abbe's 1873 resolution limit and enabling imaging at resolutions below 15 nanometres, opening up new perspectives in physics, life sciences and biology.   #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience #KoerberPrize #STEM 

✨"Do something that you truly love", says this year's Körber Prize winner Erin Schuman. 🧠 The neuroscientist discovered that proteins are produced directly at the interfaces between nerve cells and not in the cell body - a groundbreaking breakthrough! 🤯 🏆💶 For this revolutionary research, she received the Körber European Science Prize, endowed with one million euros. 🎙️ In the latest "Gesellschaft besser machen" episode, she talks about her path into science, new approaches to treating brain diseases and why it is so important to follow your passion. 🎧 Wherever podcasts are available! 💬 Listen now and get inspired: 👉 https://lnkd.in/dkgd2F5w -- DE 👇 ✨„Mach etwas, das du wirklich liebst“, so die Körber-Preisträgerin 2024 Erin Schuman. 🧠 Die Neurowissenschaftlerin entdeckte, dass Proteine direkt an den Schnittstellen zwischen Nervenzellen produziert werden und nicht im Zellkörper – ein bahnbrechender Durchbruch! 🤯 🏆💶 Für diese revolutionäre Forschung erhielt sie den mit einer Million Euro dotierten Körber-Preis für die Europäische Wissenschaft. 🎙️ In der neuen „Gesellschaft besser machen“-Folge spricht sie über ihren Weg in die Wissenschaft, neue Ansätze zur Behandlung von Hirnerkrankungen und warum es so wichtig ist, der eigenen Leidenschaft zu folgen. 🎧 Überall dort, wo es Podcasts gibt! 💬 Jetzt reinhören und inspirieren lassen: 👉 https://lnkd.in/dkgd2F5w © Marcus Gloger #koerberstiftung #gesellschaftbessermachen #podcast #neurowissenschaft #wissenschaft #proteine Körber European Science Max Planck Society Max Planck Institute for Brain Research

HIV research: From past milestones to future breakthroughs 🔬🧪   On World AIDS Day (1 December), we honor the scientific achievements that have shaped our understanding of HIV and renew our commitment to the path ahead.   In 1986, the Körber European Science Prize recognised a team of pioneering researchers led by virologist Luc Montagnier (later awarded the The Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008). Their groundbreaking work revealed that HIV establishes a "latent reservoir" within the immune system—a critical insight that continues to guide today’s therapies and research efforts.   💡 World AIDS Day highlights the power of science, collaboration, and awareness in driving progress toward prevention, better treatments, and, ultimately, a cure. Let’s continue to support and invest in innovation to overcome this global challenge. 📸 Marcus Gloger / Körber-Stiftung   #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience #KoerberPrize #worldAIDSDay

May we introduce? The Körber Prize, Europe's unique research award. 🏅 The €1 million Körber European Science Prize is one of the world's most valuable science awards – and the only major science prize dedicated to Europe.     ☝️ Established in 1985, the #KoerberPrize is awarded by the Körber-Stiftung – a non-profit foundation based in Hamburg, Germany – to honor research breakthroughs in the Life and Physical Sciences. To date, eight winners have gone on to win the Nobel Prize - that's one in every five Körber Prizes!   More details? Here you go: 👉 The prize alternates annually between the Life Sciences and Physical Sciences, which also include the Computational Sciences.  👉 The main criteria are scientific excellence, global relevance, and potential for application.   👉 Prize winners must be working at a scientific institution in Europe (including, but not limited to EU member states).  👉 Nominations can be made by eligible European research institutions, a dedicated Search Committee, and the Körber Prize Trustee Committee. Unsolicited nominations will not be accepted.      The prize is awarded every year in September in Hamburg, Germany. The award ceremony is the highlight of the annual #HamburgScienceSummit, a major R&I conference for scientists, policymakers, innovators and NGOs.    Curious to learn more? Check out the Nature article👇 and visit the website (link in the comments).  #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience #KoerberPrize  

“Do something that you truly love!” Körber Prize winner Erin Schuman on life choices and how she solved the protein mystery of the brain.   🧠 Proteins keep our brains running. Without them, we couldn't learn, adapt, or form memories. But how does the brain get the right proteins to the right place in the nerve cells? With billions of proteins for each nerve cell, this has long been a mystery.   🔬 American neuroscientist Erin Schuman has solved it. She has discovered that proteins are produced directly at the interfaces between nerve cells – and not, as has long been assumed, in the cell body. For her groundbreaking research, Erin Schuman has been awarded the €1 million Körber European Science Prize.   📻 In the latest episode of Körber-Stiftung’s “Gesellschaft besser machen” podcast, the Director at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research chats about what inspired her to start a career in science, new developments in treating brain diseases, and why it's important to follow your passion in life.   👉 Listen to the podcast now (link in comment)!   🏆 Want to learn more about the #KoerberPrize? Check out our website (link in comment). 📸 Jann Wilken / Körber-Stiftung (Erin Schuman), Cyril Hanus, Stephan Junek (Cerebellum)   #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Science #EuropeanScience

🎉 Congratulations! Rosa Menéndez, member of the #KoerberPrize Search Committee Physical Sciences, has been awarded the Erna Hamburger Prize 2024. 🏆 Awarded by the EPFL WISH FOUNDATION, the Erna Hamburger Prize honors leading women in science. The award ceremony took place on Monday at EPFL in Lausanne. 🔬 Rosa Menéndez is a professor at the Carbon Science and Technology Institute and the first woman to chair the largest public research body in Spain, the Spanish Council for Scientific Research. Congrats, Rosa! We are proud to have you on the Körber Prize Search Committee! 📸 (c) EPFL

From the lab to the marketplace: Top scientists discuss groundbreaking science and how it translates into real-world innovations. 🤖 Europe continues to attract bright minds and produce cutting-edge research, but struggles to get innovation off the ground. Barriers between academia and industry are part of the problem. ❓ How can we maintain Europe’s scientific excellence while strengthening our capacity to innovate? And what role does curiosity-driven research play? Three top scientists – all winners of the #KoerberPrize – have discussed this question at the #HamburgScienceSummit: 💡 Cordelia Schmid, Research Director at Inria 💡 Peter Seeberger, Director at Max-Planck-Institut für Kolloid- und Grenzflächenforschung 💡 Nicola Spaldin, Professor of Materials Theory at ETH Zürich 💡 Moderated by the fabulous Helen Czerski 🎞 Watch the Plenary Table now at Körber-Stiftung (link in comment)! #GesellschaftBesserMachen #Innovation #Europe