Gruber Foundation at Yale presents 2012 science awards
The Gruber Foundation at Yale has awarded three International Prizes honoring individuals for their groundbreakingwork in the sciences.
The Gruber Foundation was established at Yale to honor and encourage excellence in the fields of cosmology, genetics, neuroscience, justice, and women’s rights. It has continued the International Prize Program of The Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, founded by the philanthropists in 1993 as the Peter Gruber Foundation. Considered among the most prestigious awards in the sciences, the foundation’s International Prizes honor individuals whose groundbreaking work provides new models that inspire and enable fundamental shifts in knowledge.
The recipients of 2012 Gruber Prizes are:
Cosmology Prize: Charles L. Bennett of Johns Hopkins University and the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe team, for their contributions to the study of the early universe.
Genetics Prize: Douglas C. Wallace of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, for his pioneering work in the study of mitochondria, the power plants of cells.
Neuroscience Prize: Lily Jan and Yuh Nung Jan of the University of California-San Francisco and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, for their work in identifying how brain cells diversify and specialize during embryonic development.
The missions of the former Justice and Women’s Rights Prizes are now promoted by the Gruber Program for Global Justice and Women’s Rights, administered by Yale Law School. The Gruber Foundation, in partnership with preeminent science organizations, funds young scientist awards in the three science fields, as well as the Gruber Fellows at Yale
“We are deeply gratified that Yale University will continue the recognition of groundbreaking discoveries through the Gruber Prizes,” said Patricia Gruber, co-founder and president emeritus of The Gruber Foundation. “It is the realization of a long-held wish that recognition and encouragement in the sciences, which have so much to offer the world, will continue indefinitely through these programs at Yale.”
Media Contact
Bill Hathaway: william.hathaway@yale.edu, 203-432-1322