Kalinga Prize

Louis de Broglie, the first recipient of the Kalinga Prize

The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting scientific ideas to lay people. It was created in 1952, following a donation from Biju Patnaik, Founder President of the Kalinga Foundation Trust in India.

Background

The recipient of this annual award must have demonstrated – during a brilliant career as writer, editor, lecturer, film producer, radio/television programme director or presenter – talent in interpreting science and technology for the public. The recipient should have striven to emphasize the international importance of science and technology and the contribution they make to improving public welfare, enriching the cultural heritage of nations, and solving problems facing humanity. Many past prize winners have been scientists, while others have been trained in journalism or have been educators or writers.

Each member state is entitled to nominate a single candidate, through its National Commission for UNESCO, on the recommendation of the national associations for the advancement of science or other science associations, or national associations of science writers or science journalists. Applications from individuals are not accepted.

The laureate is selected by the Director-General of UNESCO upon the recommendation of a four-member jury designated by him. Three members of the jury from different countries of the world are designated on the basis of equitable geographical distribution and the fourth on the recommendation of the Kalinga Foundation Trust.

The Kalinga Prize is awarded during the Celebration of the World Science Day in odd years (2003, 2005, etc.) and in New Delhi, India, in even years. Under the terms of the Prize, the recipient receives twenty thousand dollars (US$20,000) and a UNESCO Albert Einstein Silver Medal. The recipient is also awarded the Ruchi Ram Sahni Chair, introduced by the Government of India in 2001 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Kalinga Prize. As holder of the Ruchi Ram Sahni Chair, the winner travels to India for a period of two to four weeks as the guest of the Government of India. The Chair also comprises a token honorarium of US$5,000. In the years when the award ceremony take place during the celebration of the World Science Day, the recipient travels to the city where the science day is being celebrated (2003 in Budapest) as the guest of UNESCO. In the years when it is awarded in New Delhi, the recipient is invited, as the guest of the Kalinga Foundation Trust, to undertake a brief lecture tour in India. For this reason, it is preferable that the recipient be proficient in English.

Each National Commission for UNESCO proposes a candidate only on the recommendation of the national associations for the advancement of science or other science associations, or national associations of science writers or scientific journalists.

The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is administered by the Science Analysis and Policies Division of UNESCO. Erik Jacquemyn receives the 2017 UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science.

Kalinga Prize laureates

Source: Kalinga Foundation Trust

1950s	1960s
1952 Louis de Broglie – France 1953 Julian Huxley – UK 1954 Waldemar Kaempffert – US 1955 Augusto Pi Sunyer – Venezuela 1956 George Gamow – US 1957 Bertrand Russell – UK 1958 Karl von Frisch – Germany 1959 Jean Rostand – France	1960 Ritchie Calder – UK 1961 Arthur C. Clarke – UK 1962 Gerard Piel – US 1963 Jagjit Singh (writer) – India 1964 Warren Weaver – US 1965 Eugene Rabinowitch – US 1966 Paul Couderc – France 1967 Fred Hoyle – UK 1968 Gavin de Beer – UK 1969 Konrad Lorenz – Austria
1970s	1980s
1970 Margaret Mead – US 1971 Pierre Victor Auger – France 1972 Philip H. Abelson – US; Nigel Calder – UK 1973 no award 1974 José Reis – Brazil; Luis Estrada Martínez – Mexico 1975 no award 1976 George Porter – UK; Alexander Oparin – Russia 1977 Fernand Seguin – Canada 1978 Hoimar von Ditfurth – Germany 1979 Sergei Kapitza – Russia	1980 Arístides Bastidas – Venezuela 1981 David Attenborough – UK; Dennis Flanagan – US 1982 Oswaldo Frota-Pessoa – Brazil 1983 Abdullah Al Muti Sharafuddin – Bangladesh 1984 Yves Coppens – France; Igor Petryanov – Russia 1985 Peter Medawar – UK 1986 Nicolai G. Basov – Russia; David Suzuki – Canada 1987 Marcel Roche – Venezuela 1988 Björn Kurtén – Finland 1989 Saad Ahmed Shabaan – Egypt
1990s	2000s
1990 Misbah-Ud-Din Shami – Pakistan 1991 Radu Iftimovici – Romania; Narender K. Sehgal – India 1992 Jorge Flores Valdés – Mexico; Peter Okebukola – Nigeria 1993 Piero Angela – Italy 1994 Nikolai N. Drozdov – Russia 1995 Julieta Norma Fierro Gossman – Mexico 1996 Jiří Grygar – Czech Republic; Jayant V. Narlikar – India 1997 Dorairajan Balasubramanian – India 1998 Regina Paz Lopez – Philippines; Ennio Candotti – Brazil 1999 Marian Ewurama Addy – Ghana; Emil Gabrielian – Armenia	2000 Ernst W. Hamburger – Brazil 2001 Stefano Fantoni – Italy 2002 Marisela Salvatierra – Venezuela 2003 Pervez Hoodbhoy – Pakistan 2004 Jean Audouze – France 2005 Jeter Bertoletti – Brazil 2006–2008 No awards due to change of UNESCO rules 2009 Yash Pal – India; Trinh Xuan Thuan – US-Vietnam
2010s
2010 Gokulananda Mohapatra – India 2011 René Raúl Drucker Colín – Mexico 2012 Basanta Kumar Behura – India 2013 Prof. Xiangyi Li – China 2014 Prof. Trilochan Pradhan – India 2015 Prof. Diego Golombek – Argentina 2017 Erik Jacquemyn – Belgium 2019 Karl Kruszelnicki – Australia

Statistics

By 2015 the prize had been awarded to 67 people from 23 countries:

Country	No. of Awards
United Kingdom	10 times
USA	9 times
India	8 times
France	6 times
Russia	5 times
Brazil
Venezuela	4 times
Mexico
Pakistan	2 times
Germany
Italy
Canada
Argentina	1 time
Armenia
Australia
Austria
Bangladesh
Belgium
Czech Republic
Finland
Egypt
Ghana
Romania
Nigeria
Philippines
Vietnam

63 laureates have been awarded.

See also

• Public awareness of science
• Popularization of science
• Science journalism
• Physics Outreach
• List of general science and technology awards
• List of science communication awards

External links

• "Kalinga Foundation Trust: List of Kalinga Prize Laureates". kalingafoundationtrust.com. Retrieved August 28, 2010.
• "UNESCO Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science". Retrieved January 24, 2013.