30 May 2016
The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has announced the winners of the 2016 Heineken Young Scientists Awards. Each of the five recipients will receive EUR 10,000. Microbiologist Edze Westra, biomedical scientist Mariëtte Boon, ecologist Wouter Halfwerk, historian Karwan Fatah-Black, and neuroscientist Jasper Poort will be presented with their awards on Thursday 29 September at the Beurs van Berlage building in Amsterdam.
Heineken Young Scientists Award for Biochemistry and Biophysics: Edze Westra | |
 | Dr E.R. (Edze) Westra (32), research fellow at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), is receiving the 2016 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Biochemistry and Biophysics for his cross-disciplinary study of CRISPR-Cas, a natural adaptive immune system in bacteria. |
Heineken Young Scientists Award for Medicine: Mariëtte Boon | |
 | Dr M.R. (Mariëtte) Boon (27), researcher at Leiden University Medical Centre, is receiving the 2016 Heineken Young Scientist Award for Medicine for her research on 'brown fat', a special type of fat cell that converts glucose and lipids into body heat. |
Heineken Young Scientists Award for Environmental Sciences: Wouter Halfwerk | |
 | Dr W. (Wouter) Halfwerk (35), assistant professor at VU University Amsterdam, is receiving the 2016 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Environmental Sciences for his creative research on how humans alter communication between animals in nature. |
Heineken Young Scientists Award for History: Karwan Fatah-Black | |
 | Dr K.J. (Karwan) Fatah-Black (35), assistant professor at Leiden University, is receiving the 2016 Heineken Young Scientists Award for History for his study of Dutch formal and informal transatlantic trade in the Golden Age, especially the trade in slaves. |
Heineken Young Scientists Award for Cognitive Sciences: Jasper Poort | |
 | Dr J. (Jasper) Poort (33), researcher at University College London, is receiving the 2016 Heineken Young Scientists Award for Cognitive Sciences for his research on how our brain takes rapid decisions by focusing on the most important information available. |
The Heineken Young Scientists Awards offer important encouragement to talented young scientists who set an example for other young researchers and scientists. On 30 March, the Academy announced the winner of the Dr A.H. Heineken Prize for Art (EUR 50,000 in cash plus EUR 50,000 for a sculpture, a publication and/or an exhibition). On 10 May, the Academy announced the five winners of the Heineken Prizes (USD 200,000 each) for outstanding Dutch and foreign researchers.
Awards ceremony
The 2016 Heineken Young Scientists Awards will be presented on Thursday 29 September during an extraordinary meeting of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences at the Beurs van Berlage building in Amsterdam. The Heineken Prizes will be presented on the same occasion.
About the Heineken Young Scientists Awards
The Heineken Young Scientists Awards offer encouragement to talented young researchers. They are awarded every other year to promising researchers whose outstanding work sets an example for others of their generation. The winners work in the same disciplines as the Heineken Prize laureates and are selected by the same international juries assembled by the Academy. The Heineken Young Scientists Awards consist of a work of art designed by Jeroen Henneman (Amsterdam) and EUR 10,000.
About the Heineken Prizes
The Heineken Prizes are the most prestigious international science prizes of the Netherlands. They are awarded every other year. They are named after Dr Henry P. Heineken (1886-1971); Dr Alfred H. Heineken (1923-2002) and Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken (1954-), chairperson of the Dr H.P. Heineken Foundation, the Dr A.H. Heineken Foundations and the C.L. de Carvalho-Heineken Foundation, which fund the prizes.
For more information about the Heineken Prizes, please visit www.knaw.nl/heinekenprizes.
Note exclusively for media representatives:
Please submit any questions to Kim van den Wijngaard (Academy), +31 20 551 0744, +31 6 1272 0479, kim.van.den.wijngaard@knaw.nl.
High resolution photos of the laureates are available at knaw.nl/press-photos-heineken-young-scientists-awards
