Honouring Excellence

The Greve Prize from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is awarded every two years and is donated by the Helmut and Hannelore Greve Foundation for Science, Development and Culture. Endowed with €250,000, it is presented to scientists and research teams working in Germany at universities, non-university research institutes or at commercial enterprises. It focuses on outstanding research achievements in the areas of natural sciences/medicine and engineering sciences.

A personalized distinction, awarded to scientists or research teams by the Leopoldina and the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft, who have made a significant scientific contribution to tackle the great challenges society is facing today. The prize, first awarded in 2009, is endowed with €30,000 funded by the Stifterverband and awarded every other year.

Starting in 2024, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Commerzbank Foundation will annually honour outstanding young scientists with their new “ZukunftsWissen – the Early Career Award from the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Commerzbank Foundation.” The award is endowed with € 50,000. It replaces the “Early Career Award”, held every other year between 2010 and 2022 and traditionally presented during the Leopoldina Annual Assembly. The Early Career Award was endowed with €30,000, also provided by the Commerzbank Foundation.

The Academy has been awarding the Leopoldina Prize for Junior Scientists since 1993. Since 2019, the prize has been endowed with 5,000 euros and is awarded each year to a young scientist. Originally, the prize was endowed with 2,000 euros from funds of the Karl Lohmann Endowment. In 2015, the Leopoldina Circle of Friends agreed to increase the award money to 5,000 euros each. In the meantime, the prize is financed exclusively by the LAF.

A prize founded by Ilse and Eugen Seibold in 1997 and awarded every other year to students, who have written outstanding dissertations, a subsequent publication or a doctoral thesis on a theme related to the history of science or medicine. It is endowed with up to €2,000 and upon the founders wish in 2005, conferred solely for outstanding dissertations.