Harvey Prize

Invitation to the Media

The Harvey Prize 2016: For the Discovery of Gravitational Waves and the Development of Optogenetics

Technion will award the prestigious prize to five world-renowned researchers in the fields of technology, science, and health

On Sunday, June 11, Technion will award the prestigious Harvey Prize to five world-renowned researchers. The prize is awarded annually to men and women who have made a significant contribution to humanity. The prize, named after the late Leo M. Harvey, is considered a Nobel predictor – about 20% of those who have won it were later awarded the Nobel Prize.

In the field of science and technology, the prize will be awarded to Professor Emeritus Rainer Weiss of MIT, and Professors Emeritus Ronald Drever* and Kip Stephen Thorne of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). The three scientists, who led the LIGO experiment, will receive the prize for the discovery of gravitational waves, which confirmed a central prediction of Einstein’s general theory of relativity and opened a new window to the universe.

In the field of human health, the prize will be awarded to Professor Karl Deisseroth of Stanford University and Professor Peter Hegemann of the Humboldt University of Berlin. They will receive the prize for the discovery of the opsin molecules involved in sensing light in microorganism cells and their digitalization in the development of optogenetics. This innovative and original approach has revolutionized the field of neurobiology and enables us to learn about the functioning of nerve cells and the connection between neural networks and animal behavior.

The Harvey Ceremony will take place at the Heller Cinema, Zielony Student Union Building, on Sunday, June 11, at 12:30 pm.

*awarded posthumously

For further details: Technion Spokesperson Doron Shaham – 050-310-9088