U.S. Government Scientist Wins UNESCO Prize

Professor Deborah JIN is a 2013 laureate of the L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Awards for Women in Science. Professor Deborah Jin and her team invented an ingenious method of cooling molecules down to near absolute zero, the lowest possible temperature – which has the effect of slowing them down. In fact, they slow down enough for researchers to actually see what goes on during chemical reactions. The study of ultra-cold molecules could lead to new precision-measurement tools, new methods for quantum computing and help us better understand materials that are essential to technology.

Read more:

• About Dr. Jin
• About the L'OREAL-UNESCO 2013 awards

Human Rights Day 2012

On the occasion of the Human Rights Day 2012, UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova and the Mayor of the City of Bilbao Mr Iñaki Azkuna will award the UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights to Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu from South Africa. Read more!

L’ORÉAL-UNESCO Award for Women in Science - 2012

Professor Bonnie BASSLER has won the North American Award
Department of Molecular Biology, Princeton University, USA
For understanding the chemical communication between bacteria and opening new doors for treating infections.

Bonnie Bassler has devoted herself to studying the revolutionary notion that bacteria are not simply individual organisms working on their own for better (helping us digest food, for example) or for worse (causing disease). In fact, as she discovered, they are ineffective on their own and must work as coordinated ‘armies’ to be able to be successful at both keeping us healthy and making us sick. It would be impossible for groups of bacteria to act in unison, however, if they did not communicate with each other. Bassler has shown that bacteria ‘talk’ using chemicals as their words. These startling discoveries may someday lead to the development of new antibiotics that interfere with bacterial conversations as well as many other applications, such as infection-resistant surgical implants.

Congratulations to Professor Bassler!

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, co-winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize

 On 8 March 2006, the President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirlea, opened an International conference entitled Women in Politics organized by UNESCO within the framework of the celebration of International Women's Day.

Unesco Director Asks Dictator to Withdraw Science Prize

The director of Unesco called Friday for a West African dictator to withdraw the controversial prize he has endowed for the organization. The prize in the life sciences, financed by and named for President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, would damage the “prestige” and “credibility” of Unesco, its director general, Irina Bokova, said at a meeting of the group’s executive board in Paris. 


Read more about the situation from"

• The AAAS ScienceInsider
• The New York Times

Plaza de Mayo Grandmothers receive UNESCO Peace Prize

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo (Argentina) receive the 2010 Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize at UNESCO Headquarters on 14 September, in the presence of the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, President of Côte d'Ivoire Alassane Dramane Ouattara and several other Heads of State or Government.*

Much Belated Congratulations to the UC Irvine and University of Arizona

In 2007, UNESCO) named the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing (CHRS) at UC Irvine and the National Science Foundation Science and Technology Center for Sustainability of Semi-arid Hydrology and Riparian Areas (SAHRA) at the University of Arizona joint winners of the 2007 Great Man-Made River International Water Prize.

The prize recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions in advancing the assessment, development, management and use of water resources in arid and semi-arid areas, such as ground and surface water availability and usage in areas subject to drought and desertification.

The two centers were recognized “for their action in strengthening the capacity to manage the water resources of arid and semi-arid areas around the globe through a network of international and regional cooperation.”

Nominations are sought for UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication

UNESCO invites its Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) maintaining official relations with it, to nominate candidates for the UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication 2012. The deadline for submitting nominations is 30 September 2011.

Established in 1985, the UNESCO-IPDC Prize for Rural Communication aims to reward a pioneering and meritorious activity that contributes to improving communication in rural communities, primarily in developing countries, empowering people and giving them a voice to participate in their own development. Awarded on a biennial basis, it consists of a sum of US$ 20,000 and a diploma.

The Prize is linked with the objectives of the International Program for the Development of Communication (IPDC), especially with the priority of supporting community media. Community-based media contribute to pluralism, diversity of content and the representation of a society’s different groups and interests. The UNESCO-IPDC Prize is, therefore, recognition not only to those who win it, but to all community media, which through a determined day-to-day effort contribute to the respect of right to freedom of expression and to the consolidation of democracy. Read more.....

Jillian Banfield profiled in L’Oréal-UNESCO video

Jillian Banfield, UC Berkeley professor of earth and planetary science, of environmental science policy and management and of materials science, was one of five women honored on March 3 at the 13th Annual L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards ceremony in Paris. The elaborate festivities included the showing of a video interview with Banfield, who discussed her research and her philosophy of science. Read more...

Congratulations to Jillian Banfield

Jillian F. Banfield, a UC Berkeley biogeochemist, geomicrobiologist and professor of materials science and engineering, will receive two prestigious awards -- the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Earth and Environmental Science and the L'Oreal-UNESCO "For Women in Science" award -- for her groundbreaking work on how microbes alter rocks and interact with the natural world.

Congratulations to Professor Jillian BANFIELD

Professor Banfield was one of five laureates of the 2011 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards. Each year, five outstanding women scientists – one per continent – are honoured for the contributions of their research, the strength of their commitments and their impact on society. The awards ceremony will take place on March 3, 2011 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. Each Laureate will receive US $100,000 in recognition of her contribution to science.

Dr. Banfield is Professor of Earth and Planetary Science, of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, and of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. She was honored "for her work on bacterial and material behaviour under extreme conditions relevant to the environment and the Earth."

Read more about the new laureates.

The Controversy over a proposed UNESCO Science Prize

An earlier photo of President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Principle source for this post: "African Union 'would consider taking on UNESCO-Obiang science prize'," Yojana Sharma, SciDev.Net, 27 August 2010

There is a controversy now over the proposed UNESCO-Obiang Prize. According to UNESCO, the proposed purpose of this Prize was "to reward the projects and activities of an individual, individuals, institutions, other entities or non-governmental organizations for scientific research in the life sciences leading to improving the quality of human life."

"UNESCO member states agreed in 2008 to establish the award with a US$3 million endowment from Equatorial Guinea's president Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, but the decision on the first prize due to be awarded last March was postponed because of a public outcry over apparent association with the Obiang regime."

According to the New York Times, one of the precipitating actions that encouraged UNESCO's Director General, Irina Bokova, to request that the Executive Board reconsider the prize was a letter from U.S. Permanent Representative to UNESCO, David Killion, urging UNESCO to suspend plans to award the prize.

Now it appears that the African Union may be willing to step in and award the prise instead of UNESCO. A formal decision by UNESCO is expected  in October.

Clearly such a prize has the potential to recognize important scientific achievements, and equally clearly there are significant issues in associating UNESCO with the donor of this prize in so public a manner, as well as accepting funds from such a source. Were the African Union to accept the responsibility of awarding the prize, it might choose to limit the award to African scientists, which might be helpful in stimulating useful scientific research where it is so badly needed.

John Daly
(The opinions expressed in this posting are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Americans for UNESCO.)

Mónica González Mujica to receive UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize 2010

The Chilean journalist, Mónica González Mujica, a heroine of the struggle against dictatorship in her country, has been named laureate of the 2010 UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize.

“Throughout her professional life, Mónica González Mujica has shown courage in shining the light on the dark side of Chile,” said the President of the jury, Joe Thloloe, Press Ombudsman of the Press Council of South Africa. “She has embodied the very spirit of the Award. She has been jailed, tortured, hauled before the courts but has remained steadfast.”

“Ms González is now ploughing her experience back to the younger generation through her work at the Center of Journalism and Investigation and her workshops on investigative journalism in various countries,” added Mr Thloloe.

Read more!

Rita Colwell Wins The Stockholm Water Prize

Rita Colwell, a Professor working with the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, has won the Stockholm Water Prize worth $150,000, for conducting a research on finding techniques to prevent Cholera and other waterborne illnesses.

Dr. Colwell is a member of the Board of Directors of Americans for UNESCO. She has had a long and distinguished career, including serving as the Director of the National Science Foundation, President of the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute and President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Read more about Dr Colwell.

Read more about the award to Dr. Colwell.

Congratulations Rita!

2010 Women in Science Laureates

Discover the 2010 L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Laureates in life sciences. 5 amazing women. 5 world regions. 5 scientific breakthroughs for a better world...

U.S. Scientist Wins L'OREAL-UNESCO Science Prize

Elaine Fuchs, Professor at the Laboratory of Cellular Biology of The Rockefeller University was awarded the prize “for the discovery of stem cells and key processes involved in skin development, maintenance and repair”. The prize, one of five awarded each year to outstanding women scientists, includes $100,000 for the recipient.

The Science Prizes and 15 international UNESCO-L’Oréal Fellowships were awarded last week at UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

According to Rockefeller University:

Dr. Fuchs received her B.S. in chemistry from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, in 1972 and her Ph.D. in biochemistry in 1977 from Princeton University. She was a postdoc at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1977 to 1980. Dr. Fuchs was the Amgen Professor of Basic Sciences at The University of Chicago before coming to Rockefeller in 2002. She was named the Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor the same year. She has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator since 1988.

Dr. Fuchs has received a number of honors and awards, including the Bering Award and the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Award for Scientific Excellence in 2006, the Dickson Prize in Medicine in 2004, the Novartis/Drew Award in Biomedical Research in 2003, the Cartwright Award from Columbia University in 2002 and the Women in Cell Biology Senior Women’s Career Achievement Award in 1997. In 1994 Dr. Fuchs was elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2005 and the NAS in 1995. She was named one of the Nation’s Outstanding Scientists by the White House in 1985 and holds honorary doctorates from the University of Illinois and the Mount Sinai and New York University Medical Schools.

Read Ambassador David Killion's blog posting on the awards!

Click here for a video of Dr. Fuchs discussing her life in science!

UNESCO Science Prize Proves Controversial

Source: "Rights group criticizes UNESCO partnering with Equatorial Guinea's dictator," DONNA BRYSON, Associated Press via The Washington Examiner, 12/23/09.

A human rights watchdog group, Global Witness, called on UNESCO to cancel the $300,000 UNESCO-Obiang Nguema Mbasogo International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences, to be awarded for this first time next year. UNESCO's Web site says the prize was founded to recognize scientific research that leads to "improving the quality of human life." Global witness holds that UNESCO "is being hypocritical by collaborating with Equatorial Guinea's dictator."

Read:

• The article in The Washington Examiner
• The press release from Global Witness
• The Wikipedia entry for Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo

Elaine Fuchs to receive 2010 L'Oréal-UNESCO prize for women scientists

Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor at Rockefeller University, will be the North American recipient of a 2010 L'Oréal-UNESCO Award in the Life Sciences, which recognizes exceptional women scientists. Fuchs is one of five scientists representing five continents who will be honored with the award this year.

UNESCO KING HAMAD BIN ISA AL-KHALIFA PRIZE FOR THE USE OF INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES IN EDUCATION

The Prize consists of a sum of US$25,000 and a diploma to be awarded each year to each of two prize winners.

The Prize is awarded to individuals, institutions, other entities or non-governmental organizations for excellent models, best practice, and creative use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to enhance learning, teaching and overall educational performance.

Candidatures must be presented by the government of a Member State of UNESCO or an international non-governmental organization, maintaining formal consultative relations with UNESCO and active in the relevant fields covered by the Prize. Each government or international non-governmental organization is entitled to nominate only two candidates per year. A self-nomination cannot be considered.

Deadline for submission: 30 September 2009

Go to the call for nominations.

Shirley Malcom on Mondongo Jury

Shirley M. Malcom, Head of Education and Human Resources of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, was one of five jurors selecting finalists for the Mondialogo Engineering Award by Daimler and UNESCO.

The finalists for the Mondialogo Engineering Award 2009 were selected in Stuttgart. An international jury of experts nominated 30 teams and their project ideas for the finale of the worldwide contest for engineering students organized by Daimler and UNESCO. Participants from 28 countries will be represented in the finale, among them American students from universities in Berkeley, Bethlehem, El Paso, Greensboro, Madison, Mesa, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, Raleigh, Stanford, West Lafayette and Worcester. The finalist teams will take part in the Mondialogo Symposium from November 6 - 9, 2009 in Stuttgart, where they will receive their Awards. These will be presented in three categories: gold awards worth Euro 15,000, silver and bronze awards worth Euro 10,000 and Euro 5,000 respectively. The total award prize money is Euro 300,000 in this third round of the Mondialogo Engineering Award. Engineering students from 94 countries have submitted a total of 932 project ideas, which are focused on addressing climate change, sustainable development, and the eradication of poverty in developing countries.