The Crafoord Prize () is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord following a donation to the

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

. It is awarded jointly by the Academy and the Crafoord Foundation in

Lund Lund (, ;"Lund"
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...

, with the former selecting the laureates. The Prize is awarded in four categories:

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

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 spheres ...

, biosciences (with an emphasis on

ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...

) and polyarthritis, the final one because Holger suffered from severe

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...

in his later years. The disciplines for which the Crafoord Prize is awarded are chosen so as to complement the

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

s. Only one award is given each year, according to a rotating scheme – astronomy and mathematics, then geosciences, then biosciences. Since 2012, the prizes in astronomy and mathematics are separate and awarded at the same time; prior to this, the disciplines alternated every cycle. 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 every year in mid-January and the prize is presented in April or May on "Crafoord Days", by a member of the

Monarchy of Sweden The monarchy of Sweden is centred on the monarchical head of state of Sweden,See the #IOG, Instrument of Government, Chapter 1, Article 5. by law a constitutional monarchy, constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system.Parl ...

. , the prize money is 6,000,000

Swedish kronor The krona (; plural: ''kronor''; currency sign, sign: kr; ISO 4217, code: SEK) is the currency of Sweden. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use for the krona; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usual ...

(US$560,000), roughly half that of the Nobel Prizes. The Prize is usually awarded to one recipient, but there can be as many as three. The inaugural laureates,

Vladimir Arnold Vladimir Igorevich Arnold (or Arnol'd; , ; 12 June 1937 – 3 June 2010) was a Soviet and Russian mathematician. He is best known for the Kolmogorov–Arnold–Moser theorem regarding the stability of integrable systems, and contributed to s ...

and

Louis Nirenberg Louis Nirenberg (February 28, 1925 – January 26, 2020) was a Canadian-American mathematician, considered one of the most outstanding Mathematical analysis, mathematicians of the 20th century. Nearly all of his work was in the field of par ...

, were awarded the prize in 1982 for their work in the field of non-linear differential equations. Since then, the winners of the Prize have predominantly been men. The first woman to be awarded the Prize was astronomer Andrea Ghez in 2012.

Laureates

Notes

References

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External links

* {{Official website, http://www.crafoordprize.se/
Full list of laureates
on the Crafoord Prize website
Crafoord Prize
at the

website Awards established in 1980 Awards of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Mathematics awards

Laureates

Notes

See also

References

Sources

External links