Ten editions, twenty honored scientists conducting research in various fields. The Foundation for Polish Science (FNP) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) celebrate the tenth anniversary edition of the COPERNICUS Polish-German Research Award. The two organizations have granted the award since 2006. Watch the animation that summarizes the COPERNICUS Award’s history.
The COPERNICUS Award aims to promote research achievements that result from close Polish-German scientific collaboration. The FNP and the DFG present the award every two years to a pair of collaborating scientists from Poland and Germany. The award is named after the astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543).
“We established the COPERNICUS Award with our DFG partners because we know that international scientific collaboration proves essential for advancing knowledge. For us, the partnership with researchers from Germany seems only natural. We proudly celebrate the tenth anniversary edition of the COPERNICUS Award, its eighteen-year history, and twenty outstanding researchers across various fields that we honored to support their research and strengthen Polish-German scientific ties”, says Professor Maciej Żylicz, the President of FNP’s Management Board.
A jury composed of scholars representing the Polish and German academic communities selects award winners in a competition that recognizes unique scientific achievements, opening new research perspectives, knowledge and experience exchange, building bridges in science and supporting the careers of young researchers. The award amounts to EUR 200,000, with each winner receiving half of it, which they can use to further their research and enhance Polish-German collaboration.
Scholars of all fields can receive the COPERNICUS Award. Previous awards honored research on such topics as cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology, photostability of living matter, physics of semiconductor nanostructures for optoelectronic devices, the use of IT tools for the optimization of industrial processes and bioinformatics, mitochondrial biogenesis mechanisms, Holocaust studies, cardiology, quantum optics, quantum information theory, mathematical techniques in computer science and astronomy.
Winners of the Anniversary Edition
The winners of this year’s tenth edition of the award are Professor Andrzej Udalski from the Astronomical Observatory of the University of Warsaw and Professor Dr. Joachim Wambsganss of the Heidelberg University – scientists who have collaborated for over twenty years. They discovered the first exoplanet with an exceptionally low mass, approximately five times heavier than Earth. They also determined that nearly every star in the Milky Way hosts a planet. According to the jury, Wambsganss and Udalski significantly advanced the study of exoplanets and our understanding of planetary systems outside the Solar System.
“Andrzej Udalski and Joachim Wambsganss, winners of the award’s anniversary edition, focus on exoplanets in their recognized work. In a way, the Professors refer to the legacy of Nicolaus Copernicus, the award’s namesake,” adds Professor Maciej Żylicz.
The anniversary award ceremony and anniversary symposium will take place in Berlin on October 24 and October 25, 2024.
The Foundation for Polish Science supports international scientific collaboration as a fundamental pillar for the advancement ofscience. Besides the COPERNICUS Award, the FNP grants another bilateral recognition – the Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie Polish-French Science Award.
Anniversary animation
Watch the animation that summarizes the COPERNICUS Award’s history: