Four Balzan Prizewinners awarded. 1 Million Swiss Francs to Stem Cell Researcher

Rome, 19 November 2010 - The Balzan Prizes for 2010 were presented on November 19 by the President of the Italian Republic. During the ceremony, which took place at the Palazzo del Quirinale, the prizes were presented to:
Shinya Yamanaka (Japan, Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, The J. David Gladstone Institute San Francisco), for Stem Cells: Biology and Potential Applications,
Manfred Brauneck (Germany, University of Hamburg), for The History of Theatre in All Its Aspects,
Carlo Ginzburg (Italy, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei) for European History, 1400-1700,
Jacob Palis (Brazil, Instituto de Matemática Pura e Aplicada, Rio de Janeiro) for Mathematics (pure or applied).

The ceremony took place in the presence of the Chairmen of the International Balzan Foundation "Prize", Bruno Bottai, and "Fund", Achille Casanova. In accordance with the ceremony s usual formalities, each Prizewinner, introduced in turn by Salvatore Veca, Chairman of the General Prize Committee, gave a speech of acceptance and thanks.

According to established tradition reflecting the Italo-Swiss nature of the International Balzan Foundation, the Award Ceremony takes place in alternate years in Rome, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, and in Bern, in the presence of a Representative of the Federal Council of the Swiss Confederation, usually the Head of the Federal Department of Home Affairs.

The Balzan Prize 2010 for Stem Cells: Biology and Potential Applications went to Shinya Yamanaka "for the discovery of a method to transform already differentiated cells into cells presenting the characteristics of embryonic stem cells".
The Prize for The History of Theatre in All Its Aspects was given to Manfred Brauneck "for his wide-ranging account of two and a half millennia in the history of European theatre, as well as his research on currents and events of an international nature in the world of theatre".
Carlo Ginzburg received the Balzan Prize for European History, 1400-1700 "for the exceptional combination of imagination, scholarly precision and literary skill with which he has recovered and illuminated the beliefs of ordinary people in Early-modern Europe".
In the field of Mathematics (pure or applied) Jacob Palis was recognized "for his fundamental contributions to the Mathematical Theory of Dynamical Systems".

The International Balzan Foundation awarded one million Swiss Francs (approx. 750,000 Euros, 1,000,000 USD) for each 2010 prize, a figure which places the Balzan Prize amongst the biggest prize funds in the world of Science and Culture. The winners are each required to allocate half of their prize money to funding research projects carried out preferably by young scholars or scientists in their respective fields.
The subject fields honoured (which change every year and which are chosen from arts, letters, moral and physical sciences, mathematics and medicine) and the winners are chosen by the General Prize Committee, an independent body belonging to the International Balzan Foundation "Prize" which is presided over by Salvatore Veca and is composed of twenty leading academics from ten European countries.
The Ceremony was preceded on Thursday, 18 November, by the Balzan Prizewinners Interdisciplinary Forum 2010, which took place in the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. The Forum was a public event dedicated to the Balzan Prize subject areas for 2010 with the four Prizewinners playing a prominent role with Members of the Balzan General Prize Committee and Members of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei.

The International Balzan Prize Foundation’s aim is to promote culture, the sciences and the most meritorious initiatives in the cause of humanity, peace and brotherhood among peoples throughout the world.

Currently, four annual awards are made: two in literature, moral sciences and the arts; and two in the physical, mathematical and natural sciences and medicine. In 2001, regulations concerning the prizes were changed, and prize winners must now destine half of their awards for research projects carried out preferably by young humanists and scientists.

At intervals of not less than three years, the Balzan Foundation also awards a prize for Humanity, Peace and Brotherhood among Peoples.

The Balzan Foundation acts jointly through two Foundations: one with headquarters in Milan and the other with headquarters in Zurich. At the “Prize” Foundation in Milan, the General Prize Committee, which is composed of eminent European scholars and scientists, chooses the subject areas of the awards and makes the nominations. The “Fund” Foundation in Zurich administers Eugenio Balzan’s estate.

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This release was published on openPR.