Presentation of the Kavli Prize

The award ceremony was hosted by former Minister of Culture and singer Åse Kleveland and US actor Alan Alda. A variety of musical performances were featured between the presentation of the prizes in the various fields.

King Harald presented the Kavli Prize to eight scientists:

The awards

• The Kavli Prize in Astrophysics was awarded to Jerry Nelson, Ray Wilson and Roger Angel “for their crucial contribution to the development of giant telescopes.”
   
• The Kavli Prize in Nanoscience went to Donald M. Eigler and Nadrian Seeman “for their development of unprecedented methods to control matter on the nanoscale.”
   
• The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience was awarded to Thomas Südhof, Richard Scheller and James Rothman “for their work in establishing the exact molecular basis for neurotransmitter release.”

The musical interludes during the gala event featured the orchestra Oslo Camerata, the soprano Silvia Moi and the tenor Didrik Solli-Tangen. The programme also included a performance by 13-year-old violinist Kerson Leong and the trumpeter Trond Sagbakken, also aged 13.

The Kavli Prize

The Prize was established to:

• Recognise outstanding scientific research
• Honour highly creative scientists
• Promote public understanding of scientists and their work
• Foster international cooperation among scientists

Each Kavli Prize consists of USD 1 million, a scroll and a gold medal for each scientific field. The Kavli Prize was awarded for the first time in 2008, and was presented on that occasion by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon.

The Kavli Prize is awarded every second year and is a partnership between the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Kavli Foundation (US) and the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research.

(Source: The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters)

Official banquet

On Tuesday evening King Harald attended the official banquet held in honour of the Kavli Prize laureates. Minister of Research and Higher Education Tora Aasland was the host of the banquet, which took place at Oslo City Hall. The King met the laureates before the procession into the main hall. Some 500 guests were in attendance.

During the banquet James Roger Prior Angel spoke on behalf of the laureates. US humorist Bill Bryson, whose many works include the popular science book A Short History of Nearly Everything, was the evening’s main speaker and entertained the guests with a lecture entitled An Even Shorter History of Nearly Everything.