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, as well as
Charité—– 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, 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 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), 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
** 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
** Institutional Award — Psychological Science Accelerator
** Early Career Award — Ape Research Index
* 2023:
** Individual Award —
Yves Moreau
** Institutional Award —
Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences
** Early Career Award — Responsible Research Assessment/Anne Gärtner
Funding
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, advisory board
*
Martin Grötschel, executive board (chair 2011–2015)
*
Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, board of trustees
*
Amélie Mummendey, chair of the board of trustees
*
Stefan Rinke, advisory board
*
Johanna Wanka, advisory board
*
Günter M. Ziegler, foundation council
Notable grant and other support recipients
Individuals/research fellows
*
Cecilia Clementi — chemist
*
Channing Der — microbiologist
*
Eduard Feireisl — mathematician
*
Katharina Galor — art historian and archeologist
*
Adele Goldberg — linguist (2010–2014)
*
David H. Gutmann — neurologist (2017-2022)
*
Stefan Hecht — chemist
*
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 ...
)
*
Yannís G. Kevrekidis — chemist (2016–2018)
*
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 — chemist
*
Stefan Rinke — historian (2013–2015)
*
Richard J. Samuels — political scientist
*
Surjo R. Soekadar — physician, neuroscientist, and development aid worker (2018)
*
Thomas C. Südhof – 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 ...
)
*
Viola Vogel — biophysicist
Programs and institutions
*
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
*
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 ...
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
2009 establishments in Germany
Albert Einstein
Foundations based in Germany
Non-profit organisations based in Berlin
Organizations established in 2009