The Einstein Foundation Berlin is a foundation based in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Germany "that aims to promote science and research of top international caliber in Berlin and to establish the city as a centre of scientific excellence." It does this through various objectives, including the cross-institutional promotion of Berlin research projects, the appointment of outstanding scientists to Berlin, targeted support for young researchers, and better cooperation between university, non-university, and private sector institutions.
The foundation supports research in many fields beyond science, including
linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...
,
archeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...
, and
political science
Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
. It gives out annual awards and sponsors various projects, including the "Einstein Center of
Catalysis
Catalysis () is the increase in rate of a chemical reaction due to an added substance known as a catalyst (). Catalysts are not consumed by the reaction and remain unchanged after it. If the reaction is rapid and the catalyst recycles quick ...
".
The Einstein Foundation Berlin is separate from the short-lived Albert Einstein Foundation for Higher Learning, Inc., founded in 1946.
History
The Einstein Foundation was established by the city and state of Berlin in 2009.
Activities
Science communication
In addition to the direct funding of research projects and scientists, one of the foundation's key tasks is science communication. The Foundation's science podcast, ''#AskDifferent'', has been on air since 2020, making people and fields of work that are particularly associated with the foundation known to a broad public. The journal ''ALBERT'', published since 2015, also focuses on research areas that reflect the diversity and complexity of Berlin's scientific landscape.
As part of science communication, the Einstein Foundation Berlin also acts as an organizer. It organizes the public event series "Meeting Einstein" and "Einstein in the Dome" in cooperation with the Planetarium Berlin.
Financial support
Einstein Foundation Berlin provides institutional support to the
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
, the
Humboldt University of Berlin
The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany.
The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...
, the
Technische Universität Berlin
(TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...
, and the
Berlin University of the Arts
The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...
, as well as
Charité
The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine; ) is Europe's List of hospitals by capacity, largest university hospital, affiliated with Humboldt University of Berlin, Humboldt University and the Free ...
—– Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Publicly funded research institutions in Berlin can be supported as cooperation partners of the eligible institutions, including institutes of the
Fraunhofer Society
The Fraunhofer Society () is a German publicly-owned research organization with 76institutes spread throughout Germany, each focusing on different fields of applied science (as opposed to the Max Planck Society, which works primarily on Basic re ...
, the
Helmholtz Association
The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres () is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. The official mission of the Association is "solving the g ...
, the
Leibniz Association
The Leibniz Association (German: ''Leibniz-Gemeinschaft'' or ''Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz'') is a union of German non-university research institutes from various disciplines.
Funding and Structure
As of 2020, 96 non-u ...
, and the
Max Planck Society
The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. Founded in 1911 as the Kaiser Wilhelm Society, it was renamed to the M ...
. The
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
is also considered a cooperation partner because it preserves the legacy of
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...
and participates in committees.
The Foundation offers funding programs for various career levels, including professorships, visiting fellows, and so-called starting researchers. Furthermore, in 2023 the Einstein Foundation Berlin supported 19 foreign scientists as part of the program to promote academic freedom for those experiencing restrictions on their academic freedom in their home countries or are otherwise at risk.
Cooperation with the Berlin University Alliance
The cooperation between the Einstein Foundation Berlin and the
Berlin University Alliance
The Berlin University Alliance is a consortium of three universities and one hospital in Berlin: the Free University of Berlin, the Humboldt University of Berlin, the Technische Universität Berlin, and the Charité, Charité – Berlin Univers ...
(BUA) has resulted in programs such as the Einstein BUA/Oxford Visiting Fellow program. This enables visiting researchers from the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
to get involved in Berlin research networks. In addition, the Einstein BUA profile professorship strengthens the BUA's competencies in the defined Grand Challenges by appointing professors. The Einstein Foundation's funding of Einstein Research Units also supports the work on scientifically and socially relevant topics within the Grand Challenges.
Einstein Foundation Award
In 2021, the Einstein Foundation launched the Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research. Since then, the foundation has annually honored contributions that fundamentally increase the validity of research and science and thereby significantly promote their social benefit. Enabling free access to research worldwide (
Open science
Open science is the movement to make scientific research (including publications, data, physical samples, and software) and its dissemination accessible to all levels of society, amateur or professional. Open science is transparent and accessib ...
), establishing equal international cooperation ("Big Team Science"), or commitment to high ethical standards in research are just a few facets of award-worthy activities.
The prize, worth a total of 500,000 euros, is awarded by the Einstein Foundation Berlin together with the QUEST Center for Responsible Research at the
Berlin Institute of Health
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
in the Charité (BIH) in three categories: The "Individual Award" honors researchers or small research groups with 200,000 euros each, and the "Institutional Award" honors organizations and scientific institutions. The "Early Career Award" honors innovative ideas from scientists at the beginning of their careers with 100,000 euros.
The Einstein Foundation Award is financed by the Damp Foundation over a period of ten years and is additionally supported by the State of Berlin. The publishers
Nature Portfolio
Nature Portfolio (formerly known as Nature Publishing Group and Nature Research) is a division of the international scientific publishing company Springer Nature that publishes academic journals, magazines, online databases, and services in scien ...
and
Public Library of Science
PLOS (for Public Library of Science; PLoS until 2012) is a nonprofit publisher of open-access journals in science, technology, and medicine and other scientific literature, under an open-content license. It was founded in 2000 and launched its ...
(PLOS), as well as the Max Planck Foundation and the Berlin University Alliance, support the Einstein Foundation Berlin in the international establishment and implementation of the award.
Einstein Foundation Award winners
* 2021:
** Individual Award —
Paul Ginsparg
Paul Henry Ginsparg is an American physicist. He developed the arXiv.org e-print archive.
Education
He is a graduate of Syosset High School in Syosset, New York, on Long Island. He graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor of Arts in ...
** Institutional Award —
Center for Open Science
The Center for Open Science is a non-profit technology organization based in Charlottesville, Virginia with a mission to "increase the openness, integrity, and reproducibility of scientific research." Brian Nosek and Jeffrey Spies founded the o ...
** Early Career Award — ManyBabies 5
* 2022:
** Individual Award —
Gordon Guyatt
Gordon Henry Guyatt (born November 11, 1953) is a Canadian physician. He is also a Distinguished University Professor in the Departments of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact (formerly Clinical Epidemiology & Biostatistics) and Medicine ...
** Institutional Award — Psychological Science Accelerator
** Early Career Award — Ape Research Index
* 2023:
** Individual Award —
Yves Moreau
Yves Moreau is a Professor of Engineering at KU Leuven. Moreau was elected a Fellow of the International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB) in 2018 for outstanding contributions to the fields of computational biology and bioinformatics
...
Einstein Foundation Berlin is funded by state monies and private support: the Damp Foundation and the Wübben Science Foundation have pledged to support the Foundation with a total of €31 million until 2031. In addition, the Foundation receives matching funds from the state of Berlin in the amount of 50 cents for every privately generated
Euro
The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...
.
Board members
The Foundation is headed by a
board of directors
A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency.
The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...
:
*
Edelgard Bulmahn
Edelgard Bulmahn (born 4 March 1951) is a German politician from the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). She served as Member of the German Bundestag between 1987 and 2017. She was Federal Minister of Education and Research from 1998 to 2 ...
Amélie Mummendey
Amélie Mummendey (19 June 1944 in Bonn, Germany – 17 December 2018 in Jena, Germany) was a German social psychologist. From 2007 until her death, she was a Vice-Rector for the Graduate Academy at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena.
Biogr ...
, chair of the board of trustees
* Stefan Rinke, advisory board
*
Johanna Wanka
Johanna Wanka (''née'' Müller; born 1 April 1951) is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who served as federal minister for education and research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2013 until 2018. F ...
Cecilia Clementi
Cecilia Clementi is an Italian-American scientist who specialises in the simulation of biomolecules. She is a Professor of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics at the Free University of Berlin. She was previously a Professor of Chemistry at t ...
Katharina Galor
Katharina Galor (; born 1966) is a German-born Israeli art historian and archaeologist specializing in Israel-Palestine. She has been teaching at Brown University since 1998, where she is Hirschfeld Visiting Associate Professor of Judaic Studies ...
Stefan Hecht
Stefan Hecht (born 6 January 1974) is a German chemist.
Life
Hecht was born in 1974 in East Berlin.Brian Kobilka – chemist (winner of the
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry () is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outst ...
Edvard Moser
Edvard Ingjald Moser () is a Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist, who is a professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim.
He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2014 with long-term col ...
– neuroscientist (winner of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
)
*
Juri Rappsilber
Juri Rappsilber (born 1971) is a German chemist in the area of mass spectrometry and proteomics.
Career
Rappsilber studied chemistry at Technische Universität Berlin, University of Strathclyde, and with Tom Rapoport, Harvard Medical School. I ...
Thomas C. Südhof
Thomas Christian Südhof (; born December 22, 1955), ForMemRS, is a German-American biochemist known for his study of synaptic transmission. Currently, he is a professor in the school of medicine in the department of molecular and cellular physi ...
– biochemist (winner of the
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine () is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, acco ...
Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies
{{Infobox university
, name =Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies
, image =Berlin Graduate School for Transnational Studies.png
, image_size =250px
, established =2008
, dean =Markus Jachten ...
* BIG-NSE (Berlin International Graduate School of Natural Sciences and Engineering)
* PathoGraphics Research Group,
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
, 2016–2019
See also
*
Albert Einstein Society
The Albert Einstein Society was founded by Dr. Max Flückiger on 28 June 1977. Based in Bern, Switzerland, the society awards the Einstein Medal to individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to science that relates to the work of Alber ...
*
Free University of Berlin
The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...
*
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...
*
Technische Universität Berlin
(TU Berlin; also known as Berlin Institute of Technology and Technical University of Berlin, although officially the name should not be translated) is a public university, public research university located in Berlin, Germany. It was the first ...