Young scientists awarded with Heineken Young Scientists Award
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences has announced the names of four young scientists who will be awarded the Heineken Young Scientists Award in 2020. The jury selected internist-infectiologist Meta Roestenberg, linguist Mark Dingemanse, physicist and chemist Freddy Rabouw and developmental psychologist Anna van Duijvenvoorde as winners from 61 nominations.
The Heineken Young Scientists Awards are important encouragement prizes for young researchers who make outstanding scientific achievements and thereby set an example for other young scientists. The award includes a cash prize of 10,000 euros and a work of art.
Medical/Biomedical Sciences
Meta Roestenberg, internist-infectiologist, Leiden University Medical Center
Meta Roestenberg, photo by Milette Raats
Meta Roestenberg (1981) will receive the Heineken Young Scientists Award 2020 in the Medical/Biomedical Sciences domain for her research on the development of a malaria vaccine. Malaria, with some 228 million cases and more than 400,000 deaths per year, is one of the world’s most far-reaching infectious diseases, affecting young children in particular. The vaccine candidate from Roestenberg and colleagues is the world’s first genetically modified vaccine.
For the press release, click here.
Humanities
Mark Dingemanse, linguist, Radboud University Nijmegen
Mark Dingemanse, photo by Milette Raats
Mark Dingemanse (1983) is receiving the Heineken Young Scientists Award 2020 in the Humanities domain for his research on why languages are the way they are and how language use makes us human. Dingemanse’s research is primarily fundamental, but relevant to all kinds of social developments. We talk more and more with devices, just think of Siri from the iPhone and Google Home. For that to run smoothly, we need to know more about the structure of conversations, and preferably the universal structure, not limited to a few European languages. Dingemanse’s research can contribute to that.
For the press release, click here.
Natural Sciences
Freddy Rabouw, physicist and chemist, Utrecht University
Freddy Rabouw, photo by Milette Raats
Freddy Rabouw (1988) is receiving the 2020 Heineken Young Scientists Award in the Natural Sciences domain for his research into new materials to create light, for example for solar cells or displays. The materials he investigates are mainly nanocrystals that are only a few thousand atoms in size. What the researcher is trying to figure out is how such a nanocrystal can efficiently convert one color of light into another. It’s fundamental research, with a variety of applications. For example, semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots, are in the latest generation of televisions.
For the press release, click here.
Social Sciences
Anna van Duijvenvoorde, development psychologist, Leiden University
Anna van Duijvenvoorde, photo by Milette Raats
Anna van Duijvenvoorde (1983) is the recipient of the 2020 Heineken Young Scientists Award in the Social Sciences domain for her research on brain development and behavior in young people. Her work is fundamental but can have important applications in society. For example, her research on how young people learn can help understand the impact of online education during the corona crisis.
For the press release, click here.
About the Heineken Young Scientists Awards
The winners of the Heineken Young Scientists Awards are selected from four science fields: Medical/Biomedical Sciences, Humanities, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences. The jury consists of KNAW members and members or alumni of The Young Academy and this year was headed by Carl Figdor, KNAW member and professor of immunology Radboud University Nijmegen. The award includes a cash prize of 10,000 euros, funded by the Alfred Heineken Funds Foundation, and a work of art.
The Heineken Young Scientists Awards are part of the biennial Heineken Prizes for Science and the Arts, ten prizes in all. The laureates of the Heineken Prizes will receive their awards on Thursday, 1 October 2020.
