Call for Nominations 2019 – Research Prize

About the Prize

The Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize awards outstanding scientific contributions of individuals from all scholarly disciplines aiming at improving the development and living conditions of children and youth. This includes, but is not limited to, educational sciences, psychology, economics, sociology, family studies, media studies, political sciences, linguistics, neurosciences, computer sciences, and medical sciences.

The prize is endowed with 1 million Swiss Francs, of which 900,000 Swiss Francs are for use in a research project and 100,000 Swiss Francs are for related costs, such as travel, networking, and dissemination. The Jacobs Foundation invites experts in research on children and youth worldwide to nominate candidates. The prize will be awarded to a well-respected, outstanding researcher conducting groundbreaking research on children and youth. It addresses scholars from all countries who have achieved major breakthroughs in understanding child and youth development and at the same time have the potential to advance the field by actively conducting research. Self-nominations cannot be accepted.

A Prize Jury, consisting of internationally renowned scientists, will choose the laureate from the pool of nominated candidates. From 2019 onwards, the Klaus J. Jacobs Research Prize will be awarded every other year in odd years. In even years, the Jacobs Foundation will bestow a Best Practice Prize rewarding exceptional commitment of institutions or individuals who put into practice innovative solutions in the field of child and youth development.

Laureates to date

2009: Laurence Steinberg (Temple University) for his research on the psychopathology, risk-taking and
decision-making behavior of young people

2010: Terrie Moffitt and Avshalom Caspi (Duke University and King’s College London) for their research into
the interplay between genetic disposition and environmental influences in the development of children and
youth

2011: Michael Tomasello (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology) for his research on the
identification of uniquely human forms of collaboration, communication and cultural learning

2012: Dante Cicchetti (University of Minnesota) for his research on the developmental consequences
of child maltreatment and on resilience as a dynamic developmental process

2013: Greg Duncan (University of California, Irvine) for his interdisciplinary research on the long-term
consequences of childhood poverty for life chances in adulthood

2014: Michael Meaney (McGill University, Montreal) for his research on the mechanisms for how
parental care becomes embedded in children’s biology

2015: Sarah-Jayne Blakemore (University College London) for her research on understanding emotional
and social brain development during adolescence

2016: Orazio Attanasio (University College London) for his use of economic models and field experiments
to assess and shape early child development programs and policies in low income countries

2017: Paul Bloom (Yale University) for his research into the origins, nature, and development of children’s
moral thought and behavior