Gran Scharmer (b. 1951) has been engaged in solar research since 1984. His work to develop the concept and design of the new 'Swedish 1-m Solar Telescope' (SST) has permitted close-ups of the Sun -- an acknowledged scientific breakthrough. These photographs have been published in leading magazines: Science, Nature and National Geographic Magazine. In 2002, Science included the image series in its account of advances in adaptive optics, which were cited among the ten major scientific accomplishments of the year. Gran Scharmer is the Director of the Institute for Solar Physics, part of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and his research is conducted largely in the Canary Islands where the SST is located.
The Award, which is for SEK 100,000, will be presented in the course of Karolinska Institutet's annual installation ceremony in Berwaldhallen, Stockholm, on Thursday 4 November.
Information about the Award and its winner, along with a range of illustrated reading matter, may be found at the Karolinska Institutet web site, www.ki.se. The material will be freely available on the occasion of the LENNART NILSSON AWARD presentation.
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Contact: Sabina Bossi
sabina.bossi@admin.ki.se
46-85-248-3895
Swedish Research Council
24-Sep-2004