This week,
25 young scientists were offered a European Young Investigator
Award (EURYI) in a ceremony that kicked off the World Science Forum
in Budapest, Hungary. Although these generous prizes will go a long
way toward assuring these scientists’ future success, what these
young scientists have been given above all is a vote of confidence
and an affirmation of the professional--and sometimes
personal--choices they've made so far.
The EURYI scheme was launched in 2004 by the European Heads of Research Councils
(EuroHORCS) and the European Science
Foundation (ESF) to give young scientists an incentive to stay
in, or come back to, Europe. Offering up to 1,250,000 euros to be
spent over the next 5 years, the awards will allow each of the
winners to assemble their own research group and state-of-the-art
laboratory.
The 25 EURYI awardees selected this year will be developing
their independent career in 11 countries from across Europe;
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, the
Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom are
all represented. Starting this week and continuing for the next
several weeks, Next Wave will profile some of the winners, asking
them about the choices they've made, why they've made them, and how
things have worked out for them. We'll also be asking them about
their career paths and what made them successful, both in their
EURYI awards and in their young careers in general.
Finding a Niche
Dutch scientist
Edwin Cuppen admits to initially have found his vocation
almost by chance. Now a group leader at the Netherlands Institute
for Developmental Biology in Utrecht in the Netherlands, Cuppen
believes that finding a good research niche is essential to making
it as a scientist.
Using Maths to Predict Physical Phenomenon
Predicting how black holes collide is one of the challenges
EURYI award winner,
Snorre Christiansen , hopes to tackle over the coming
years.
An International Scientist
Born in London, raised in Paris, and trained in Switzerland, the
United States, and the Netherlands,
Adrian Bachtold is finally enjoying the feeling of being
in the right place and the right professional situation, though he
is settling down in yet another new country.
An Italian Researcher with Vision
Not many scientists have the audacity to change research
directions in the early stages of their independent research
career, and fewer still have the courage to leave a tenure-track
position for a postdoc. But for
Valentina Emiliani , changes like this have become
commonplace.
The third call for the EURYI awards is now open. Researchers
with between 2 and 8 years postdoctoral experience from anywhere in
the world may apply. Applications will go through a stage of
selection at the national, then European, level. For more
information on the awards and how to apply, please see the
ESF Web site .The deadline for applications is 30 November
2005.