Nominations Open for 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics, Life Science and Mathematics

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In collaboration with ALLEA, the Breakthrough Prize is releasing the call for nominations for the 2025 awards in fundamental physics, life sciences, and mathematics. This prestigious international recognition celebrates groundbreaking research and advancements in these fields. ALLEA warmly invites members of the European scientific community to participate actively by nominating individuals and teams for these esteemed awards. This is an opportunity to spotlight the outstanding contributions of European scientists on the global stage, emphasising their vital role in shaping the landscape of research worldwide.

 

Press release, The Breakthrough Prize, 9 January 2024

The public nomination period for the 2025 Breakthrough Prizes in Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences and Mathematics is now open. Nominations can be submitted online today through 1 April 2024. While self-nominations are prohibited, anyone may nominate another person. The nomination forms and rules are available at breakthroughprize.org.

For the 13th year, the Breakthrough Prize, recognised as the world’s largest science prize, will honour top scientists, handing out three prizes in Life Sciences, one in Fundamental Physics and one in Mathematics. Each prize comes with a $3 million award. In addition, six New Horizons Prizes, each for $100,000, will be available to promising early-career researchers in the fields of Physics and Mathematics. Nominations will also be taken for the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize, an annual $50,000 award presented to early-career women mathematicians who have completed their PhDs within the previous two years.

The Breakthrough Prize, dubbed ‘The Oscars of Science,’ hosts an annual globally broadcast gala awards ceremony to celebrate the laureates’ achievements and to foster broad popular support for scientific endeavours and inspire the next generation of scientists. The cohort of 2024 laureates was announced in September 2023.

For the eighth year, the Breakthrough Prize will partner with two prestigious institutions – the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities (ALLEA) and ResearchGate – to directly engage with researchers and the science community.

ALLEA brings together more than 50 academies from over 40 countries, with members leading scholarly enquiry across all fields of the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities.

ResearchGate is the professional network for researchers. Over 20 million researchers use researchgate.net to share and discover research, build their networks, and advance their careers. Based in Berlin, ResearchGate was founded in 2008. Its mission is to connect the world of science and make research open to all. ResearchGate members are encouraged to nominate their peers for the 2025 prizes in Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics.

Selection Committees are composed of previous Breakthrough Prize laureates, who select the winners from the list of candidates generated during the nomination period.

Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

One 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics ($3 million) will recognize an individual or individuals who have made profound contributions to human knowledge. It is open to theoretical and experimental physicists. The prize can be shared among any number of scientists. Nominations are also open for the New Horizons in Physics Prize, which will include up to three $100,000 awards for early-career researchers who have already produced important work in their fields.

The Selection Committee for the 2025 physics prizes includes: Eric Adelberger, Nima Arkani-Hamed, Charles H. Bennett, Charles L. Bennett, John Cardy, Sheperd Doeleman, Michael Green, Jens Gundlach, Alan Guth, Blayne Heckel, Joseph Incandela, Charles Kane, Hidetoshi Katori, Alexei Kitaev, Andrei Linde, Arthur McDonald, Juan Maldacena, Eugene Mele, Lyman Page, Saul Perlmutter, Alexander Polyakov, Adam Riess, John Schwarz, Nathan Seiberg, Ashoke Sen, David Spergel, Andrew Strominger, Cumrun Vafa, Ewine F. van Dishoeck, Yifang Wang, Rainer Weiss, Edward Witten, and Jun Ye.

Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Three 2025 Breakthrough Prizes in Life Sciences ($3 million each) will be awarded to individuals who have made transformative advances in comprehending living systems and extending human life. One of the prizes is designated for progress in understanding of Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative disorders.

The Selection Committee for the 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences includes: David Allis, James Allison, Victor Ambros, David Baker, Shankar Balasubramanian, Cornelia Bargmann, Alim Louis Benabid, Frank Bennett, David Botstein, Edward Boyden, Clifford P. Brangwynne, Lewis Cantley, Emmanuelle Charpentier, Zhijian “James” Chen, Joanne Chory, Don Cleveland, Hans Clevers, Karl Deisseroth, Titia de Lange, Mahlon DeLong, Jennifer Doudna, Catherine Dulac, Stephen Elledge, Napoleone Ferrara, Jeffrey Friedman, Thomas Gasser, Sabine Hadida, Michael Hall, John Hardy, Ulrich Hartl, Demis Hassabis, Helen Hobbs, Arthur Horwich, Anthony A. Hyman, John Jumper, David Julius, Carl June, Katalin Karikó, Jeffery W. Kelly, David Klenerman, Adrian Krainer, Eric Lander, Robert Langer, Virginia Lee, Richard Lifton, Dennis Lo, Pascal Mayer, Emmanuel Mignot, Kazutoshi Mori, Kim Nasmyth, Paul Negulescu, Harry Noller, Roeland Nusse, Yoshinori Ohsumi, Svante Pääbo, Gary Ruvkun, Michel Sadelain, Charles Sawyers, Ellen Sidransky, Andrew Singleton, Fredrick Van Goor, Alexander Varshavsky, Bert Vogelstein, Peter Walter, Robert Weinberg, Drew Weissman, Shinya Yamanaka, Masashi Yanagisawa, Richard Youle, Xiaowei Zhuang, and Huda Zoghbi.

Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics

One 2025 Breakthrough Prize in Mathematics ($3 million) will be awarded to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the field of mathematics. Nominations are also open for the New Horizons in Mathematics Prize, which will include up to three $100,000 awards for early-career researchers who have already produced important work in their fields. In addition, up to three $50,000 Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prizes will be presented to early-career women mathematicians who have completed their PhDs within the previous two years (2019, 2020).

The Selection Committee for the 2025 mathematics prizes includes: Ian Agol, Simon Brendle, Alex Eskin, Simon Donaldson, Martin Hairer, Maxim Kontsevich, Christopher Hacon, Vincent Lafforgue, Jacob Lurie, James McKernan, Takuro Mochizuki, Daniel Spielman, Terence Tao, and Richard Taylor.

Information on the Breakthrough Prizes is available at breakthroughprize.org.

[End of press release]

ALLEA Announces Date and Theme for 2024 General Assembly in Berlin

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ALLEA is delighted to announce its forthcoming 2024 General Assembly, scheduled to convene in Berlin on 22–23 May 2024, celebrating the organisation’s 30th anniversary and co-hosted by its German member academies.

Read more

ALLEA Ceases Activities on X/Twitter

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After careful consideration, ALLEA has decided to cease communication activities on X, formerly known as Twitter, starting from January 2024. ALLEA’s commitment to academic freedom and science as a global public good is at the core of its activities, and X’s current policies don’t align with its mission.

This decision wasn’t made lightly, and we appreciate the support of our community throughout this journey. Moving forward, we invite you to join us on LinkedIn and Mastodon. ALLEA remains dedicated to fostering collaboration, dialogue, and the dissemination of knowledge within the academic and scientific community. Thank you for your continued support as ALLEA navigates this transition and continues to uphold our values in the pursuit of advancing science and the humanities.

Follow ALLEA on LinkedIn / Mastodon, or subscribe to our newsletter.

ALLEA Outlines Its Vision for the Future of European Research and Innovation

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Today, ALLEA published a statement on the guiding principles for the forthcoming 10th European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10), outlining a transformative vision for European Research and Innovation (R&I).

Emphasising the need for a robust FP10, which will run from 2028-2034, and a ring-fenced budget of €200 billion, ALLEA envisions a future where Europe stands at the forefront of global competitiveness and leadership in R&I. The statement advocates for heightened investment, reinforced basic research, Open Science, international collaboration, the nurturing of diverse talent, and streamlined processes to propel European R&I forward. It follows a position submitted to the European Research Area and Innovation Committee (ERAC) in September 2023, presenting key guiding principles and recommendations for the seven-year EU research programme.

“Investing in European Research and Innovation is not only a financial commitment, it is much more an investment in our common future. ALLEA envisions a transformative Framework Programme for R&I, which guarantees ambitious investments in science, open collaboration, and excellence across disciplines and borders. With a commitment to diversity, we also call for a more inclusive European Research Area, delivering knowledge for a better tomorrow.”

– Antonio Loprieno, ALLEA President

What’s next?

The budget for FP10 will be defined by the negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) due in the summer of 2025, which will be preceded by an interim evaluation of the Horizon Europe Programme. Seeking expert advice for FP10, the European Commission recently established a high-level group, while Member States are working in parallel on their own report in the ERAC.

Building on the guiding principles outlined in this statement, the European academies stand ready to actively support and engage in these activities and further discussions to design a Framework Programme that will have a positive impact on future societies by fostering collaboration, excellence, and inclusivity.

The statement was drafted by the ALLEA Working Group on the European Research Area (ERA), incorporating insights from the ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics (PWGSE) and the ALLEA Open Science Task Force.

Read the statement

 

New ALLEA Report Highlights the Evolution of Digital Practices in the Humanities

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In an era marked by rapid advancements in technology and an increasing emphasis on Open and digital outputs, the humanities have seen a significant transformation in their scholarly practices. To address, evaluate and recognise these changes, the report ‘Recognising Digital Scholarly Outputs in the Humanities’ sheds light on the evolving landscape of digital humanities scholarship.

Drafted by the ALLEA Working Group E-Humanities, the new report stresses that the expansion of digital practices and open outputs in humanities scholarship should be regarded as a natural progression of scholarly endeavours leveraging digital technologies. It calls for the adaptation of assessment systems, emphasising the importance of interdisciplinary work, novel research methodologies, and innovative scholarly outputs that go beyond traditional academic formats such as books or journal articles.

The report also underscores the significance of linking studies with FAIR research data, acknowledging continuations and open-ended outputs, recognising multiple scholarly roles in the authorship attribution, providing interdisciplinary competence-building, and improving evaluation processes.

The report’s second section provides practical recommendations for evaluating specific types of digital scholarly outputs, such as digital scholarly editions, extended publications, databases and datasets, visual representations (infographics and maps), code, blogs, and podcasts. Each case study includes examples and suggested reading materials.

Maciej Maryl, chair of the ALLEA Working Group E-Humanities says:

“Although the digital age offers a plethora of formats that seem better equipped to communicate diverse scholarly findings, our research assessment systems still heavily favour traditional outputs like journal articles and books. In our report, we provide examples of good practices for emerging and innovative digital outputs, as well as a framework for researchers and institutions of how to evaluate them.

Ultimately, this should contribute to increasing the diversity of scholarly outputs and ensuring that researchers receive the appropriate recognition and reward for developing and using them.“

Read the full report here

TechEthos Holds Final Policy Event on Ethics for the Green and Digital Transition

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On 14 November, the Horizon 2020-funded TechEthos project held its final policy event in Brussels to discuss the role of ethics in the green and digital transitions for an audience of researchers, policymakers, and the wider community.

Since 2020, an EU-funded consortium led by the Austrian Institute of Technology (AIT) has been exploring the societal and ethical impacts of new and emerging technologies. The TechEthos project aims to facilitate “ethics by design”, i.e., it advocates to bring ethical and societal values into the design and development of technology from the very beginning of the process.

The policy event, which signals the end of the project in 2023, was hosted by Barbara Thaler, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) and member of the Panel for the Future of Science and Technology (STOA). The event highlighted ongoing ethical debates, as well as current and expected EU policy debates such as the proposed AI Act, the implementation of the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, the European Green Deal, and the European Commission’s proposal for a Carbon Removal Certification Framework.

In his opening statement, Mihalis Kritikos, Policy Analyst at the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), stressed that ethically designed policies are essential for public acceptance of new technologies, and ultimately for a just digital and green transition.

His remarks were complemented by TechEthos Coordinator, Eva Buchinger, who provided an overview of how TechEthos addresses possible concerns from society related to new and emerging technologies using an approach that combines scanning, analysing and enhancing existing frameworks and policies. The key messages are condensed in a number of TechEthos policy briefs, which are available here.

Ethics for the digital transformation

In the first keynote of the day, Laura Weidinger, Senior Research Scientist at Google DeepMind, discussed different approaches to socio-technical safety evaluation of generative AI systems to explore how we can ensure that models like ChatGPT are safe to release into society. At an early developmental stage, it can be challenging to predict a technology’s capabilities, how it will be used, and its impact on the world.

Most of the current safety evaluations and mechanisms focus on fact-checking the direct capability of language models, i.e., whether the information they generate is accurate. However, the believability of such information, as well as its impact on society, remain largely understudied. Weidinger advocated for an ethics evaluation framework with a clear division of roles and responsibilities, where model-builders carry the main responsibility for capability testing, application developers for studying their use, and third-party stakeholders for looking at systemic impact.

A panel consisting of Laura Weidinger, Alina Kadlubsky (Open AR Cloud Europe), and Ivan Yamshchikov (CAIRO – the Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotic), introduced by Alexei Grinbaum (CEA – the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission & TechEthos partner), dived deeper into the ethical, social, and regulatory challenges of Digital Extended Reality and Natural Language Programming.

The panel reflected on key ethical issues related to emerging technologies, including transparency (should AI-generated content always be marked as such, and is this sufficient for users to process it accordingly?), accountability (how do we balance the responsibilities of users and developers and can real-world values and regulations be translated into the metaverse?), and nudging/manipulation (what should be permitted, and when does it serve the benefit society?).

Ethics for the green transition

In the afternoon, Behnam Taebi, Professor of Energy & Climate Ethics at Delft University of Technology, gave a keynote lecture on the governance and ethical challenges of emerging technologies for the green transition. Climate Engineering technologies continue to be controversial, and some researchers have even called for a complete ban on research in this area. This is largely due to substantial possible risks (e.g., ozone depletion, negative impacts on agriculture, and many as yet unknown risks), as well as regulatory complexity due to their international and intergenerational nature.

However, these technologies are increasingly being considered essential to cap global warming at 1.5 degrees, meaning that an ethically-informed future governance framework will be needed. Taebi emphasised that these technologies (and their potential and risks) continuously evolve, and so do public perception and moral beliefs. Therefore, a dynamic ethical assessment will be required to make regulatory frameworks fit for the future.

The lecture was followed by a panel discussion with Behnam Taebi, Dušan Chrenek (European Commission, DG Climate Action), and Matthias Honegger (Perspectives Climate Research), introduced by Dominic Lenzi (University of Twente & TechEthos partner), which provided further insights into the ethical, social, and regulatory challenges related to Climate Engineering .

The panel concluded that any technological opportunities that contribute to climate change mitigation should be explored. However, they emphasised that it is important to acknowledge that different technologies (i.e., carbon dioxide removal v. solar radiation modification) have very different societal implications, hugely diverse risk profiles, and unique intellectual property challenges, and should therefore be subject to tailored ethical analyses and regulatory frameworks.

Highlights and outlook for the ethical governance of emerging technologies

In the final session, Maura Hiney, Chair of the ALLEA Permanent Working Group on Science & Ethics, placed TechEthos’s outcomes in the larger context of the recently revised ALLEA Code of Conduct for Research Integrity, and reiterated the requirement for suitable research integrity frameworks to guide researchers that work on emerging technologies.

To conclude the event, Eva Buchinger, Laurence Brooks (University of Sheffield), and Renate Klar (EUREC – European Network of Research Ethics Committees) shared their views and insights on the continuation and implementation of the work beyond the lifetime of the TechEthos project.

 

ALLEA Participates in EU-Funded Project to Support Reforms in Research Assessment 

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Research assessment has the aim of making well-informed decisions about funding, hiring, and promotion, and remains a core pillar of our research system. However, while current assessment practices provide an important means to support the advancement of knowledge and recognise and reward excellence, they rely heavily on quantitative approaches rather than qualitative evaluation. Likewise, they often fail to acknowledge the diversity of the research outputs and skills that are needed for a thriving research ecosystem. 

In October 2023, a consortium of European research stakeholder organisations embarked on a Horizon Europe-funded project in order to bring research assessment beyond its simplistic reliance on quantitative indicators. The three-year-long project has a budget of €5 million and aims to enact a systemic reform of research assessment following the principles and commitments agreed upon by the Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment (CoARA). ALLEA has been actively involved in the drafting of this European agreement, and was one of the early signatories and members of the coalition.  

The “CoARA Boost” project is led by the European Science Foundation (ESF), and includes, alongside ALLEA, leading European network organisations for (early career) researchers, research funders, and universities committed to promoting change. The key objectives of the CoARA Boost Project are to i) strengthen CoARA’s operational capacity, ii) catalyse knowledge development, policy evolution, and institutional change in research assessment, iii) facilitate the collection and exchange of information, and iv) widen the Coalition’s membership in Europe and beyond. 

The consortium will convene for a kick-off meeting in Brussels on 7-8 December 2023 to delve into the specifics of the collaboration, which will play a pivotal role in advancing CoARA’s mission. 

ALLEA approaches the topic of research assessment through its various working groups and task forces. A complete overview of these activities can be found here.

CERN Director-General Fabiola Gianotti Awarded ALLEA’s 2023 Madame de Staël Prize

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ALLEA is proud to announce that particle physicist Fabiola Gianotti has been awarded the 2023 Madame de Staël Prize for European Values in recognition of her remarkable scientific achievements and her exemplary leadership as Director-General of the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).

“I am deeply grateful to ALLEA for this prestigious award, and truly honoured to receive it in the context of my work as the Director-General of CERN, one of Europe’s greatest achievements from the perspective of scientific excellence, societal impact and international collaboration, as well as for the values of diversity, inclusion and open science that it embraces and promotes,” said Fabiola Gianotti about her nomination.

The selection committee felt that Gianotti’s efforts in pursuing CERN’s mission of bringing European nations together and her commitment to fostering an environment in which research can flourish beyond national boundaries were both outstanding in their own right, as well as complementary to ALLEA’s own mission of facilitating scientific collaboration across borders and disciplines. 

“The jury wholeheartedly agreed to award Fabiola Gianotti with the 2023 Madame de Staël Prize, as recognition of her outstanding scientific work in particle physics and, most notably, her exemplary achievements in shaping a truly collaborative research community at CERN. Under her directorship, CERN has evolved to become a research environment in which European values such as cultural diversity, borderless collaboration, and equal opportunities are central and essentially contribute to achieving the highest scientific standards,” said Antonio Loprieno, President of ALLEA and chair of the Madame de Staël Prize Selection Committee.  

Read more about the Madame de Staël Prize here

ALLEA Addresses Dangerous and Exploitative Predatory Publishing Practices during International Open Access Week

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Over the past two decades, open access publishing has rapidly grown into a global industry, making scholarly publications readily available to researchers, policymakers, and the general public. While this has generally been seen as a positive development, the predominant “Gold” open access route has also given rise to unforeseen challenges.

On the occasion of International Open Access Week 2023, ALLEA is contributing to the discourse around “Community over Commercialization” through the publication of a statement issued by the Permanent Working Group on Science and Ethics, with Professor László Fésüs (Hungarian Academy of Sciences) as principal author, ‘Curbing Predatory Practices in Open Access Publishing‘.

The statement is both a set of guidelines and an appeal to the broader research community to collectively identify and disempower so-called “predatory” journals with subpar editorial and publication standards. The proliferation of such outlets comes with increasingly sophisticated exploitative practices, impacting researchers, eroding research integrity, and wasting financial and human resources. Indeed, the 2023 revised edition of the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity explicitly states that supporting or using journals, publishers, events, or services that undermine research quality is a violation of research integrity norms and is considered misconduct.

“Upholding the integrity and quality of scholarly work is a fundamental pillar of ALLEA’s mission, and as such, our Member Academies play a crucial role in promoting publishing outlets with appropriate editorial and publication standards recognised by the broader research community. We are committed to ensuring that the best interests of the academic community and the public remain at the forefront of open access initiatives.”

— ALLEA President Antonio Loprieno

 

Read the full statement here

ALLEA Working Group Gathers in Tirana to Shape Future of European Research Area and FP10

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On 13 October 2023, the ALLEA Working Group on the European Research Area (ERA) convened a hybrid meeting in Tirana, hosted by the Academy of Sciences of Albania. The working group expressed its eagerness to actively participate in shaping the next ERA Policy Agenda and the forthcoming EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10), thereby highlighting its commitment to the ERA’s advancement and to creating opportunities for European and national policymakers to engage with the insights and perspectives of European Academies.  

Professor Skënder Gjinushi, President of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, officially welcomed the working group members who were present and stressed the vital importance of research collaboration within the European Union (EU), while calling for the expansion of the number of states participating in the ERA beyond the bloc. Professor Arben Merkoçi, Chair of the ALLEA Working Group on the ERA, and representing the host academy, opened the meeting, which involved representatives from 17 European academies.  

The meeting kicked off with an engaging discussion concerning the future of the ERA. Key topics debated included the European Commission’s proposal for the next ERA Policy Agenda within the Expert Group on the ERA Forum for Transition, in which ALLEA is participating as a stakeholder organisation. The working group generally welcomed the efforts by the European Commission and the Member States in the ERA Forum to deepen research collaboration in the ERA, as well as the move to streamline actions and reduce complexity. It also highlighted the importance of effective communication and emphasised expanding stakeholder engagement and contextualising actions within a broader political narrative. 

Another central issue discussed was the next EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10). Based on the position it had recently submitted to the European Commission, the working group agreed that the central action points in the ERA Forum should also be reflected in the guiding principles for FP10. These principles should include: widening participation, open science, global scientific collaboration, research integrity, academic freedom, a healthy and effective science-policy interface, sustainable research careers, and responsible use of generative AI in research. 

About the ALLEA Working Group on the European Research Area 

The ALLEA Working Group on the ERA aims to contribute to the further development of the ERA, its political framework, implementation and monitoring. The breadth of expertise and geographical representation of the group’s membership aptly reflects the heterogeneity of the ERA itself. Chaired by Professor Arben Merkoçi of the Academy of Sciences of Albania, the working group engages with European institutions, particularly the European Commission, and collaborates with like-minded umbrella organisations from the European research and innovation landscape.