Meyerowitz and Lange Awarded Balzan Prize
Lange and Italian team leader de Bernardis led the international team that developed BOOMERanG (Balloon Observations of Millimetric Extragalactic Radiation and Geophysics), a balloon-borne telescope capable of obtaining images of the universe in its embyronic state, long before the first stars formed. The images obtained in 1998, during a 10-day circumnavigation of Antarctica, revealed that the geometry of the universe is flat, and provided compelling evidence that 95 percent of the universe consists of exotic forms of matter and energy that remain largely a mystery.
Meyerowitz, Beadle Professor of Biology and biology division chair, will share his award for plant molecular genetics with Chris R. Somerville of Stanford University "...for their joint efforts in establishing Arabidopsis as a model organism for plant molecular genetics. This has far-reaching implications for plant science, both on a fundamental level and in potential applications."
Meyerowitz's primary research interest is the genes that control the formation of flowers, how altering these genes will affect flower development; and using computational models to study how plants grow. His laboratory has identified mutations that cause petal cells to develop into stamens instead, and another mutation that causes these same embryonic petals to become sepals. They and their collaborators have also produced computer models that faithfully reproduce the cellular behavior of meristems, the growing tips of shoots.
The winners named will be presented with their Balzan (pronounced bal-ZAHN) Prizes personally by the president of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano, during an award ceremony November 24 at the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, in the Palazzo Corsini in Rome. Each prize is worth one million Swiss francs, about $810,000 US. Because both Lange and Meyerowitz share their prizes with one other person, they will each receive half of the total, or about $405,000 US. Half of the prize money is awarded directly to the prizewinners in recognition of their outstanding scholarly work and they are asked to spend the other half on research projects carried out by young scholars or scientists in their respective fields.
The recipients were chosen by the General Prize Committee, a body chaired by Ambassador Sergio Romano and composed of 20 members representing European cultural institutions, from the candidates nominated by universities, academies, and cultural institutions throughout the world.
Unlike other international forms of recognition, the Balzan Prizes are awarded for different subjects each year, which are chosen annually by the Balzan Foundation. Two prizes are awarded in the humanities (literature, the moral sciences, and the arts) and two in the sciences (medicine and the physical, mathematical, and natural sciences). By rotating subjects, it is possible for the foundation to give preference to new or emerging areas of research, and to sustain important fields of study that may have been previously overlooked.
Additional recipients this year are Ludwig Finscher of the University of Heidelberg, Germany, for history of Western music since 1600, and Quentin Skinner of University of Cambridge, UK, for political thought: history and theory.
In 2007, Balzan Prizes will be awarded in European literature (1000-1500), international law since 1945, innate immunity, and nanoscience. The Prize for Humanity, Peace, and Brotherhood among Peoples will also be awarded next year; past winners include Mother Teresa and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The International Balzan Foundation was founded in 1961 to promote the worthy causes of culture, the sciences and humanities, and peace and brotherhood in the world. The main concern of the foundation is to award the Balzan Prizes, which are given annually to individuals who have earned international distinction in their field, regardless of their nationality, race, or creed. At intervals of not less than three years, the Balzan Foundation also awards the Prize for Humanity, Peace, and Brotherhood among Peoples, which is worth two million Swiss francs. The Balzan Foundation operates on an international level through its two offices, which are legally distinct bodies: its Milan, Italy, headquarters is concerned with awarding the prizes, while the estate of Eugenio Balzan, which funds the Balzan Prizes, is managed from Zurich, Switzerland.
For details, see the Balzan Foundation website: http://www.balzan.it/default_eng.aspx. ### Contact: Jill Perry (626) 395-3226 jperry@caltech.edu Visit the Caltech Media Relations website at http://pr.caltech.edu/media.
