PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH THE EBBE NIELSEN PRIZE

 1.  To honour the memory of Ebbe Nielsen, GBIF will offer the Ebbe Nielsen Prize to a promising young researcher (normally within three years of the receipt of his/her Ph.D.) who is combining biosystematics and bioinformatics research in an exciting and novel way

2.  The Prize shall be given annually. It shall consist of €30,000, and is intended to allow the recipient to engage in biosystematics/bioinformatics research outside his/her country of residence for a period of 3-6 months. However, the use of the funds will be at the discretion of the recipient.

3.  Each year, each GBIF Voting Participant may nominate one individual for the Prize. The nominee may be a citizen of any country, not just the country of the nominating Participant.

4.  The nominating package will consist of :

• a statement from the Participant describing the novel and exciting nature of the nominee’s previous research;
• up to three supporting letters from experts in the fields of biosystematics and bioinformatics;
• a statement from the nominee describing how he/she would use the Prize; and
• a curriculum vitae for the nominee.

5.  The winner of the Prize will be chosen by the GBIF Science Committee.

6.  The Prize will be awarded at a Governing Board meeting, at which time the recipient will be invited to present a lecture on his/her research, with an emphasis on placing the research in its broader societal perspective. The public shall be invited to attend these lectures.

7.  The lecture and information about the recipient will be placed on the GBIF web site, in a special area describing Ebbe’s role in forming GBIF and in stimulating international bioinformatics and biosystematics research.

8.  The first Ebbe Nielsen Prize will be awarded in 2002.