The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters announced the 2024 Kavli Prize Laureates in the fields of astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience. 

Eight scientists from three countries were honored for their research. The laureates in each field will share $1 million.

This year’s Kavli Prize Laureates are:

• Astrophysics: David Charbonneau (Canada/USA) and Sara Seager (Canada/USA). They were honoured for discoveries of exoplanets and the characterisation of their atmospheres. They pioneered methods for the detection of atomic species in planetary atmospheres and the measurement of their thermal infrared emission, setting the stage for finding the molecular fingerprints of atmospheres around both giant and rocky planets. Their contributions have been key to the enormous progress seen in the last 20 years in the exploration of myriad exo-planets. 

• Nanoscience: Robert S. Langer (USA), Armand Paul Alivisatos (USA) and Chad A. Mirkin (USA). They revolutionised the field of nanomedicine by demonstrating how engineering nanoscale materials can advance biomedical research and application. Their discoveries contributed foundationally to the development of therapeutics, vaccines, bioimaging and diagnostics.

• Neuroscience: Nancy Kanwisher (USA), Winrich Freiwald (Germany), and Doris Tsao (USA). They were honoured for the discovery of a specialised system within the brain to recognise faces. Their discoveries have provided basic principles of neural organisation and made the starting point for further research on how the processing of visual information is integrated with other cognitive functions.

The Kavli Prize

• The Kavli Prize is a partnership among the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, the Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research, and the Kavli Foundation (USA). 

• The Kavli Prize honours scientists for breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience that transform our understanding of the big, the small and the complex. 

• Three one-million-dollar prizes are awarded every other year in each of the three fields. 

• The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters selects the laureates based on recommendations from three independent prize committees whose members are nominated by The Chinese Academy of Sciences, The French Academy of Sciences, The Max Planck Society of Germany, The US National Academy of Sciences, and The Royal Society, UK.

• The Prize was first awarded in 2008.

• The Kavli Foundation was established in December 2000 by Fred Kavli.

Who was Fred Kavli?

• Born in 1927, Fred Kavli grew up in Eresfjord, Norway, a village along the Eira River. He completed his studies in 1955, earning a degree in applied physics.

• Immediately following his graduation from university, Fred left for America, with his sights set on California. He had a job offer within a short period of time, agreeing to join Astrolab Testing Corporation, a subsidiary of Crescent Engineering and Research that engaged in development of the Atlas missile – the first intercontinental ballistic missile built for the US Air Force by Convair. 

• At Astrolab, Fred quickly rose to vice president, overseeing design, development and production testing. He was supervising innovation at the very forefront of US space science.

• Later he founded the Kavlico Corporation.

• In the 1980s, the company diversified from defense and aerospace to automotive sensors. As Kavlico entered the automotive market, its revenues continued to grow, eventually reaching nearly $200 million annually.

• In December 2000, he established The Kavli Foundation with the aim to advance science for the benefit of humanity. In addition to supporting basic science, one of Fred’s earliest ambitions was establishing a prize that honors the best of science on a global level. 

• He passed away in 2013.

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