The human mind
For and by scientists
Heineken family closely involved
Winning the double:
Heineken Prize/Nobel Prize Winners
Heineken Lectures
www.knaw.nl/heinekenprizes
www.heinekenprizes.com
July 2006
After lengthy deliberation, it was decided in 2005 to establish an award for
research into the human mind, the Heineken Prize for Cognitive Science.
Alfred Heineken considered Psychology too narrow a basis for such
research. It interested him, but he believed there were more research tools
and fields of interest to unravel the mysteries of the mind. Psychology still
had a part to play in the brewery's advertising, as this copy from the mid-
1980s demonstrates:
'It's really very simple: the clock goes forward one hour, so it feels as
though it's an hour later than it is. In fact, it's an hour earlier, and you lose
an hour in the evening because it gets dark later. But then that hour is
added in the morning, because it stays dark longerwhat is time,
anyway?'
The driving force behind the decision to establish the Prize for
Cognitive Science was Prof. W.J.M. Levelt, until 1 May 2005 the President of
the KNAW. He recognised that, with the development of techniques and
methods which opened up new ways of approaching intelligence and
consciousness, cognitive science had evolved into a separate field of
scientific endeavour. "Efforts are being made around the world to support
research in this field, including new university faculties and research
institutes. At the social level, too, cognitive science can play a significant
role. As we make the transition from a labour-driven to a knowledge-driven
society, we have to address demographic, economic and environmental
issues. 'Smart' systems which assist the reliable and independent transfer of
knowledge have an important part to play," says Levelt. Charlene de
Carvalho-Heineken strongly supported Levelt's initiative. "I know my father
was talking to people about this in the 1990s. He was fascinated by the
development of the human mind, a field that is both exciting and highly
topical."
The candidates are assessed and the winners are selected by the KNAW in
Amsterdam. In that respect, the system employed for the Heineken Prizes is
similar to that used for the Nobel Prizes, where the winners are selected by
the Swedish Academy of Sciences.
About a year ahead of the award ceremony, the KNAW invites scientists
from around the world to nominate candidates for the Heineken science
prizes. Nominations must be accompanied by a list of the candidate's
scientific publications. The long list of publications are carefully evaluated
by juries consisting of experts in the various fields. The jury for the art
prize, for which only Dutch artists can be considered, is made up of
independent representatives from the art and science worlds.
Alfred Heineken himself provided the initial capital for the first foundation.
That foundation and those formed subsequently still derive most of their
funding from the Heineken family. While the family has no say in the choice
of the prizewinners, it is closely involved in the selection process. Charlene
de Carvalho-Heineken tries to attend at least one jury meeting for each
prize. Purely out of interest in the work of the nominees, she reads as many
Christian de Duve
Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1973
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1974
Aaron Klug
Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1979
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982
Thomas Cech
Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1988
Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1989
Paul C. Lauterbur
Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine in 1989
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003
Paul Nurse
Dr. H.P. Heineken Prize for Biochemistry and Biophysics in 1996
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001
Barry J. Marshall
Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine in 1998
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2005
Eric R. Kandel
Dr. A.H. Heineken Prize for Medicine in 2000
Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000
of the publications as possible submitted in support of their nominations.
"Unfortunately, I can't manage to read everything. It's high-level work that
isn't always readily accessible to lay people, and dozens of candidates from
all over the world are put forward for each of the prizes," she adds.
It is remarkable how many of the prize winners come from the United
States. "There's simply more money there for scientific research. Our goal
in awarding the Heineken Prizes is to make the winners more visible to the
public. We think it's more important that people should get recognition for
their pioneering work while they are still actively involved in their scientific
research, rather than retrospectively. In that respect, the Heineken Prizes
differ from the Nobel Prizes," says Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken.
One of the regular rituals accompanying the award of the Heineken Prizes
is that the winners come to the Netherlands in the week of the award
ceremony to give lectures at universities. The Heineken Lectures offer a
unique opportunity to see and hear world-class scientists—and potential
Nobel Prize winners—in person. The lectures are open to the public, so they
are advertised via public media, such as posters, billboards and Boomerang
cards. "It's a deliberate choice, because our aim is to raise the profile of the
prize winners among the public at large. That is, after all, where we started
from," states Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken.
For more information on the Heineken Prizes, visit
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