Changes at the Neuron Endowment Fund

From this year the Neuron Endowment Fund is introducing a new system of financial support for outstanding Czech scientists which is a breakthrough in this country.

Whereas science in the Czech Republic is today funded through grants paid to scientific institutions, the Neuron Endowment Fund will now transfer the money connected with the Neuron Award directly to the personal account of the person honoured, and it will be entirely up to them what they use the funds for. In modern patronage of Czech science, the Neuron Endowment Fund supports the element of trust, because it believes that scientists themselves know best how to use the money.

The Neuron Endowment Fund, which is thereby fundamentally innovating its strategy of supporting science, will give only the Neuron Awards, with a high financial value, once a year at the end of the year in three categories:

• The Neuron Award for young promising scientists, worth CZK 500,000 / seven awards in all seven fields
• The Neuron Award for a significant scientific discovery, worth CZK 1 million / three awards for three of the seven fields
• The Neuron Award for lifelong contribution to science, worth CZK 2 million / one award for one of the seven fields

The Neuron Awards are thus the most significantly endowed awards for scientists in the Czech Republic. The laureates will be selected from seven scientific disciplines (the humanities, medicine, mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology and computer science). In 2018 Neuron plans to pay out a total of 10 million crowns in awards, together with support for an expedition and for popularising projects.

"Our intention is not only to encourage the scientists we honour but to motivate other researchers to further top-class scientific work. We also want to show that besides the global Nobel Prize there are significant awards at national level intended directly and personally for talented and capable scientists," explains the chair of the fund's Scientific Board Pavel Hobza.

Nominations may be submitted until the end of March by representatives of public scientific institutions (deans, rectors, directors of academic institutes, representatives of the Czech Academy of Sciences), members of the Neuron Scientific Board, and also laureates of previous years. The holders of the awards will be decided by the Neuron board; in the case of the Award for a significant scientific discovery and the Award for lifelong contribution, the International Scientific Board will also take part in the assessment.

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About the Neuron Endowment Fund

The Neuron Endowment Fund for the support of science is a non-profit organisation that develops modern patronage in the area of science and research in the Czech Republic. Neuron is funded exclusively from private sources. It was founded in 2010 by Karel Janeček and was soon joined by other significant patrons who are aware of the benefit of science for the development of society. Over the course of its existence the fund has already paid out a total of 51 million crowns, though so far mostly in the form of grants. The fund's aim is to support top Czech scientists and to help them carry out their research in the Czech Republic.

For more information please contact Monika Vondráková:
monika.vondrakova@nfneuron.cz or +420 603 803 390

This year the Neuron Awards will be received by laureates in all three categories — for lifelong work, for a significant scientific discovery, and six young talented scientists will also be honoured. All the laureates receive, along with the award, a personal financial prize donated by the fund's patrons. An international scientific board also takes part in selecting the laureates. All of this makes the Neuron Awards unique. "Among this year's honoured are again people whose work builds an excellent reputation for the Czech Republic all over the world. The aim of the Neuron Awards is to show our public that there are people here we can rightly be proud of," says Monika Vondráková.

This year's ceremony will take place on 6 November 2019 at the National Museum in the presence of representatives of scientific, social and cultural life. The public will have the chance to meet the new Neuron Award laureates at a public debate on 7 November 2019 from 5 p.m. at the Opero coworking centre, Salvátorská 931/8, Prague 1. It is hosted by Ondřej Cihlář. Registration for the debate is necessary at rsvp@nfneuron.cz.

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2363046580465471/

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