In 2015, the Carlsberg Foundation Research Prizes were awarded to two highly acclaimed researchers who have contributed outstanding work within their respective fields of anthropology/biology and physics/chemistry. The recipients were Andreas Roepstorff, professor with special responsibilities and director of the Interacting Minds Centre at Aarhus University, for his cross-disciplinary research into human culture and biology, and Professor Jens Kehlet Nørskov, DSc, of Stanford University, USA, for his important contribution to the theoretical descriptions of surface physics and chemistry, catalysis, materials, nanostructures and biomolecules.
On 2 September, HRH The Crown Princess Mary presented the Carlsberg Foundation Research Prizes for 2015 at Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in the presence of researchers, cultural celebrities, businesspeople and decision-makers. Carlsberg Foundation Chairman Professor Flemming Besenbacher, DSc, paid tribute to the prizewinners and emphasised the need for Danish research to engage more with the international community:
”It is thanks to outstanding researchers like Jens Nørskov and Andreas Roepstorff that Denmark is an internationally important research partner.”
Flemming Besenbacher, Chairman of the Carlsberg Foundation
Andreas Roepstorff
Andreas Roepstorff is a professor of cognition, communication and culture at Aarhus University. He is director of the Interacting Minds Centre.
Andreas Roepstorff conducts research at the interface between anthropology, neuroscience and cognition research. In recent years, he has published more than 100 articles.
Andreas Roepstorff is recognised for his contribution to our understanding of human social interaction and cognition. He researches how our environment is characterised by social interaction and how different forms of social interaction affect the physical condition. Andreas Roepstorff has inspired considerable research innovation through his own contributions and by bringing together leading players from academic disciplines that touch in different ways upon human interaction, including anthropology, religion, music, medicine, neuroscience and cognition research.
Jens Kehlet Nørskov
Jens Kehlet Nørskov is a professor of chemical engineering and photon science at Stanford University, USA, and director of the SUNCAT Center for Interface Science and Catalysis, a partnership between Stanford School of Engineering and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He has had more than 450 scientific articles published and received a string of national and international awards for his scientific work.
Jens Kehlet Nørskov is recognised for his important contribution to theoretical descriptions of surface physics and chemistry, catalysis, materials, nanostructures and biomolecules. Among other things, his research includes the development of theories that can improve our understanding of chemical processes that take place on the surface of materials. He is particularly involved with understanding catalytic processes of relevance to sustainable energy and environmental protection.
The Winter Garden of Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek during the 2015 prizegiving ceremony.