Brussels, 03/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - The 2004 Descartes Prize ceremony takes place on 2 December in Prague Castle, with the new European Research Commissioner Janez Potocnik, awarding the prizes.
This year, two research teams will be sharing the EUR 1 billion prize for outstanding cross-border research projects. One of the two prize-winning teams did research into quantum cryptography, vital for secure global telecoms networks, while the second did research into mitochondrial DNA and the ageing process.
Illustrating the vital link between science and communications, a new Descartes Prize, of 250,000 euros for communication in science has been awarded to five people for exceptional prowess in bringing science and technology in Europe to the people. The five joint prize-winners are: 1) French producer Vincent Lamy for a documentary on 'phasmes' (stick insects), (2) Ignaas Verpoest for an innovative new exhibition about composite materials, (3) British broadcaster David Attenborough for universally admired and innovative wildlife films, (4) Wolfgang Heckl for making pure science more popular to the general public, and (5) Hungarian scientist Peter Csermely for innovative work to get disadvantaged young people involved in advanced research work.