Norwegian winner of Descartes Prize

The European Science Awards are considered Europe's most prestigious research prizes.

Prize to European project for ice core drilling
Dr. Elisabeth Isaksson of the Norwegian Polar Institute heads the Norwegian team in EPICA. (Photo: Jack Kohler/Norwegian Polar Institute) The Norwegian Polar Institute is a key partner in EPICA - the European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica. The Institute contributes with expertise in both deep ice core research and glaciology.
 

"The EPICA project is one of the most important climate projects of our time," explains Norwegian Polar Institute glaciologist Elisabeth Isaksson, who heads Norway's participation in EPICA "This project enables researchers and students to conduct vital climate-related research as part of a diverse international group. The recognition that the Descartes Prize brings will serve to further intensify this close research collaboration."

The EPICA project is one of the European Science Foundation's most successful and longest running Research Networking Programmes. Very appropriately, the Descartes Prize was awarded to the project during the International Polar Year (IPY), which lasts from March 2007 to March 2009.

Three prize categories of European Science Awards
The European Science Awards are presented for three categories. First, the Descartes Prize for Transnational Collaborative Research is given to international research teams that achieve exceptional breakthroughs as a result of collaborative work. This year featured three prize-winners in this category, each with a long tenure of participation in the EU Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development.

The other two prize categories are the Prize for Science Communication, awarded for excellence in disseminating research to the public and especially children, and the Marie Curie Awards, which reward the best examples of researcher mobility.