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Prize winners
The Prize was awarded for the first time in 1981.
Here you will find the Prize winners in counter-chronological order with the latest Prize winner first.
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| 2008 |
Bjarne Holmbom and Christer Eckerman
Finland
for their breakthrough research and innovation creating a platform for large-scale separation, isolation, purification and applications of chemical components in wood. The Laureates have created an understanding of the fundamental chemistry of spruce tree knots, i.e. the part of the branches that is embedded in the stem. They developed technical separation methods to extract tree knots from the pulping process and isolate and purify chemicals from the tree knots, opening the field for the forest products industry to improve and broaden its role and commercial prospects with a range of new products and implications e.g. for chemicals, energy, production efficiency and sustainability.
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| 2007 |
Ove Nilsson
Sweden
for his scientific accomplishments that have revealed genes and fundamental molecular mechanisms of regulation of flowering time and have indicated how molecular signals help trees to adapt to the changing seasons. The use of these advances could substantially accelerate the breeding of trees via rapid induction of flowering with environmental safeguards. This in turn offers the potential for more rapid and enhanced yields of forest raw materials and thus increased forest production worldwide.
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| 2006 |
Antoine Kremer
France |
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for his path-breaking discovery of the evolution, organization and distribution of the genetic diversity of Pan-European oaks that will act as an outstanding model for the study of all other species.
Dr Antoine Kremer has worked for 28 years with the French national research organization INRA (L’Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique) and has been a leader in both national and international research groups. His breakthrough is in the combination of information from a number of different sciences at their current state-of-the-art level (from molecular genetics to evolutionary history of forests) to develop new knowledge about oaks at a continental scale. This knowledge will provide a major platform to facilitate decisions about the conservation and management of forests. It also allows prediction of likely future changes under the impact of climate and other environmental changes.
Dr Kremer’s individual researches and synthesis may be applicable to other species throughout the world including industrial indigenous conifers such as those in northern Russia. The techniques will also have relevance to the introduction, management, improvement and use of exotic species elsewhere. The award of the Prize recognizes Dr Kremer as an outstanding scientist and his work as a major contribution to human understanding, resource conservation and industrial development.
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Dr. Antoine Kremer at the announcement on 15 March. |
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