Crafoord Prize


The Crafoord Prize is an annual science prize established in 1980 by Holger Crafoord, a Swedish industrialist, and his wife Anna-Greta Crafoord. The Prize is awarded in partnership between the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the Crafoord Foundation in Lund. The Academy is responsible for selecting the Crafoord Laureates. The prize is awarded in four categories: astronomy and mathematics; geosciences; biosciences, with particular emphasis on ecology; and polyarthritis, the disease from which Holger severely suffered in his last years.
According to the Academy, "these disciplines are chosen so as to complement those for which the Nobel Prizes are awarded". Only one award is given each year, according to a rotating scheme – astronomy and mathematics; then geosciences; then biosciences. A Crafoord Prize in polyarthritis is only awarded when a special committee decides that substantial progress in the field has been made. The recipient of the Crafoord Prize is announced each year in mid-January; on Crafoord Days in April or May, the prize is presented by the King of Sweden, who also presents the Nobel Prizes at the ceremony in December. The prize money, which is 6,000,000 kr.
The inaugural laureates, Vladimir Arnold and Louis Nirenberg, were cited by the Academy for their work in the field of non-linear differential equations. The first woman to be awarded the prize was astronomer Andrea Ghez in 2012.

Laureates

The Crafoord prize has been awarded to the following scientists:
YearCategoryImageLaureateNationalityWork
1982MathematicsVladimir ArnoldRussianTheory of non-linear differential equations
1982MathematicsLouis NirenbergCanadian / AmericanTheory of non-linear differential equations
1983Geosciences—Edward Norton LorenzAmericanGeophysical hydrodynamics
1983GeosciencesHenry StommelAmericanGeophysical hydrodynamics
1984BiosciencesDaniel H. JanzenAmericanCo-evolution
1985AstronomyLyman SpitzerAmericanStudies of the interstellar medium
1986GeosciencesClaude AllègreFrenchIsotope geochemical relations
1986Geosciences—Gerald J. WasserburgAmericanIsotope geochemical relations
1987Biosciences—Eugene OdumAmericanEcosystem ecology
1987BiosciencesHoward T. OdumAmericanEcosystem ecology
1988MathematicsPierre DeligneBelgianAlgebraic geometry
1988MathematicsAlexander GrothendieckNoneAlgebraic geometry
1989GeosciencesJames Van AllenAmericanExploration of space, the discovery of the Van Allen belts
1990BiosciencesPaul R. EhrlichAmericanDynamics and genetics of fragmented populations
1990BiosciencesE. O. WilsonAmericanTheory of island biogeography
1991Astronomy—Allan SandageAmericanStudy of galaxies
1992Geosciences—Adolf SeilacherGermanResearch into evolution of life
1993Biosciences—W. D. HamiltonBritishTheories of kin selection and genetic relationship
1993BiosciencesSeymour BenzerAmericanGenetical and neurophysiological studies of fruit flies
1994MathematicsSimon DonaldsonBritishFour-dimensional geometry
1994MathematicsShing-Tung YauAmericanNon-linear techniques in differential geometry
1995Geosciences—Willi DansgaardDanishDevelopment of isotope geological analysis methods
1995GeosciencesNicholas ShackletonBritishDevelopment of isotope geological analysis methods
1996BiosciencesRobert MayAustralianEcological research
1997AstronomyFred HoyleBritishStudy of nuclear processes in stars, stellar evolution
1997Astronomy—Edwin Ernest SalpeterAmericanStudy of nuclear processes in stars, stellar evolution
1998GeosciencesDon L. AndersonAmericanStudy of the structures and processes in the interior of the Earth
1998GeosciencesAdam M. DziewonskiPolish / AmericanStudy of the structures and processes in the interior of the Earth
1999BiosciencesErnst MayrAmericanDeveloping the concept of evolutionary biology
1999BiosciencesJohn Maynard SmithBritishDeveloping the concept of evolutionary biology
1999Biosciences—George C. WilliamsAmericanDeveloping the concept of evolutionary biology
2000Polyarthritis—Marc FeldmannBritishDefinition of TNF-alpha
2000PolyarthritisRavinder N. MainiBritishDefinition of TNF-alpha
2001MathematicsAlain ConnesFrenchTheory of operator algebras, founder of the non-commutative geometry
2002Geosciences—Dan McKenzieBritishDynamics of the lithosphere
2003BiosciencesCarl WoeseAmericanThird domain of life
2004Polyarthritis—Eugene C. ButcherAmericanStudy of molecular mechanisms concerning white blood cells
2004Polyarthritis—Timothy A. SpringerAmericanStudy of molecular mechanisms concerning white blood cells
2005AstronomyJames E. GunnAmericanUnderstanding the large-scale structure of the Universe
2005AstronomyJames PeeblesAmericanUnderstanding the large-scale structure of the Universe
2005AstronomyMartin ReesBritishUnderstanding the large-scale structure of the Universe
2006GeosciencesWallace Smith BroeckerAmericanResearch into the global carbon cycle
2007Biosciences—Robert TriversAmericanAnalysis of social evolution
2008AstronomyRashid Alievich SunyaevRussianContributions to high-energy astrophysics and cosmology
2008MathematicsMaxim KontsevichRussianContributions to mathematics from modern theoretical physics
2008MathematicsEdward WittenAmericanContributions to mathematics from modern theoretical physics
2009PolyarthritisCharles DinarelloAmericanIsolation of interleukins, understanding their role in the onset of inflammatory diseases
2009PolyarthritisTadamitsu KishimotoJapaneseIsolation of interleukins, understanding their role in the onset of inflammatory diseases
2009PolyarthritisToshio HiranoJapaneseIsolation of interleukins, understanding their role in the onset of inflammatory diseases
2010GeosciencesWalter MunkAmerican"for his pioneering and fundamental contributions to our understanding of ocean circulation, tides and waves, and their role in the Earth's dynamics".
2011BiosciencesIlkka HanskiFinnish"for his pioneering studies on how spatial variation affects the dynamics of animal and plant populations".
2012AstronomyReinhard GenzelGerman"for their observations of the stars orbiting the galactic centre, indicating the presence of a supermassive black hole".
2012AstronomyAndrea M. GhezAmerican"for their observations of the stars orbiting the galactic centre, indicating the presence of a supermassive black hole".
2012MathematicsJean BourgainBelgian"for their brilliant and groundbreaking work in harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, ergodic theory, number theory, combinatorics, functional analysis and theoretical computer science".
2012MathematicsTerence TaoAustralian / American"for their brilliant and groundbreaking work in harmonic analysis, partial differential equations, ergodic theory, number theory, combinatorics, functional analysis and theoretical computer science".
2013PolyarthritisPeter K. GregersenAmerican"for their discoveries concerning the role of different genetic factors and their interactions with environmental factors in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical management of rheumatoid arthritis".
2013PolyarthritisLars KlareskogSwedish"for their discoveries concerning the role of different genetic factors and their interactions with environmental factors in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical management of rheumatoid arthritis".
2013PolyarthritisRobert J. WinchesterAmerican"for their discoveries concerning the role of different genetic factors and their interactions with environmental factors in the pathogenesis, diagnosis and clinical management of rheumatoid arthritis".
2014Geosciences—Peter MolnarAmerican"for his ground-breaking contribution to the understanding of global tectonics, in particular the deformation of continents and the structure and evolution of mountain ranges, as well as the impact of tectonic processes on ocean-atmosphere circulation and climate".
2015Biosciences—Richard LewontinAmerican"for their pioneering analyses and fundamental contributions to the understanding of genetic polymorphism".
2015Biosciences—Tomoko OhtaJapanese"for their pioneering analyses and fundamental contributions to the understanding of genetic polymorphism".
2016AstronomyRoy KerrNew Zealand"for fundamental work concerning rotating black holes and their astrophysical consequences"
2016AstronomyRoger BlandfordAmerican"for fundamental work concerning rotating black holes and their astrophysical consequences"
2016MathematicsYakov EliashbergAmerican"for the development of contact and symplectic topology and groundbreaking discoveries of rigidity and flexibility phenomena"
2017PolyarthritisShimon SakaguchiJapanese"for their discoveries relating to regulatory T cells, which counteract harmful immune reactions in arthritis and other autoimmune diseases."
2017Polyarthritis—Fred RamsdellAmerican"for their discoveries relating to regulatory T cells, which counteract harmful immune reactions in arthritis and other autoimmune diseases."
2017PolyarthritisAlexander RudenskyAmerican"for their discoveries relating to regulatory T cells, which counteract harmful immune reactions in arthritis and other autoimmune diseases."
2018Geosciences—Syukuro ManabeJapanese / American"for fundamental contributions to understanding the role of atmospheric trace gases in Earth’s climate system."
2018Geosciences—Susan SolomonAmerican"for fundamental contributions to understanding the role of atmospheric trace gases in Earth’s climate system."
2019Biosciences—Sallie W. ChisholmAmerican"for the discovery and pioneering studies of the most abundant photosynthesising organism on Earth, Prochlorococcus".
2020AstronomyEugene N. ParkerAmerican"for pioneering and fundamental studies of the solar wind and magnetic fields from stellar to galactic scales".
2020MathematicsEnrico BombieriItalian / American"for outstanding and influential contributions in all the major areas of mathematics, particularly number theory, analysis and algebraic geometry".