The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by

Holger Crafoord Alf Erik Holger Crafoord (born Lundquist; 25 July 1908 – 21 May 1982) was a Swedish industrialist and patron. He founded Gambro, which developed and commercialized the artificial kidney. He also established the , the proceeds of which fund the ...

, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord. The Prize is awarded in partnership between the

Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences ( sv, Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien) is one of the royal academies of Sweden. Founded on 2 June 1739, it is an independent, non-governmental scientific organization that takes special responsibility for prom ...

and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund. The Academy is responsible for selecting the Crafoord Laureates. The prize is awarded in four categories:

astronomy Astronomy () is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, nebulae, g ...

and

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

;

geosciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four sphe ...

;

biosciences This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, th ...

, with particular emphasis on

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

; and

polyarthritis Polyarthritis is any type of arthritis that involves 5 or more joints simultaneously. It is usually associated with autoimmune conditions and may be experienced at any age and is not sex specific. Causes Polyarthritis is most often caused by an au ...

, the disease from which Holger severely suffered in his last years. According to the Academy, "these disciplines are chosen so as to complement those for which the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...

s are awarded". Only one award is given each year, according to a rotating scheme – astronomy and mathematics; then geosciences; then biosciences. A Crafoord Prize in polyarthritis is only awarded when a special committee decides that substantial progress in the field has been made. The recipient of the Crafoord Prize is announced each year in mid-January; on Crafoord Days in April or May, the prize is presented by the

King of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. which is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parliamentary system: see the Instrument ...

, who also presents the Nobel Prizes at the ceremony in December. the prize money is 6,000,000 kr (or US$700,000). The inaugural laureates, Vladimir Arnold and Louis Nirenberg, were cited by the Academy for their work in the field of non-linear

differential equation In mathematics, a differential equation is an equation that relates one or more unknown functions and their derivatives. In applications, the functions generally represent physical quantities, the derivatives represent their rates of change, ...

s. As of 2022, the winners have predominantly been men. The first woman to be awarded the prize was astronomer

Andrea Ghez Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that ref ...

in 2012.

Laureates

The Crafoord prize has been awarded to the following scientists:

Notes

Nirenberg was born in Canada. Grothendieck was born in Germany, but spent most of his life in France and was legally stateless. He declined his prize. Shing-Tung Yau was born in China. Dziewonski was born in Poland. Kontsevich was born in Russia. Eliashberg was born in Russia. Rudensky was born in Russia.

References

External links

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Crafoord Prize
at

website {{Use dmy dates, date=April 2017 Awards established in 1980 Awards of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

Laureates

Notes

See also

References

External links